The Business of Ecotourism

Eco-tourism is defined as responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the welfare of local people.

In Eco-tourism and Sustainable Development, Martha Honey presents an overview of the eco-tourism industry and a first-hand account of eco-tourism projects around the world. Based on interviews and visits to eco-tourist hotspots in Latin America and Africa, the book offers a vivid description and analysis of projects that meet the goals and standards of eco-tourism.
Best ANAYLITCAL investigation of eco-tourism yet published!  From the first chapter which defines eco-tourism and clarifies its origins, Honey documents and analyzes both the promises and perils of eco-tourism. She discusses in various chapters how 'good intentions' or a single logic often miss very negative repercussions for humans and the ecosystem they inhabit. Because the stakeholders have various goals, profit not the least of  them, eco-tourism is not a panacea for developing countries who might want to take advantage of their natural resources -- in some cases eco-tourism is not much better than mining.
Reviewer: A reader from USA, 1999

The Business of Ecotourism
by Carol Patterson
Paperback & Disk (June 1997)

Ecotourism: A Sustainable Option?
by Erlet Cater, Gwen Lowman
Paperback  (1994)
The author, Carol Patterson,  1998
Eco-tourism needs passion AND business skills.   Drawn by their love of nature and the chance to ski, canoe or hike for a living, many would-be entrepreneurs gamble their savings on an ecotourism enterprise, hoping to provide wilderness experiences to travellers from around the world and at the same time, contribute to conservation. Most would agree that not every profitable tourism business is sustainable, but to be sustainable every ecotourism business needs to be profitable or at least break even.		 The publisher, John Wiley & Sons
Eco-tourism has led to a rise in travel to destinations offering a wealth of unspoiled nature. This book examines the problems and prospects from the points of view of host populations, tourist guests, environmentalists and tourism organizations. The diverse backgrounds and disciplines of the contributors have been well represented: decision makers, practitioners, conservationists, consultants, advisors and academics. The geographical coverage of the text is equally diverse.

Table of Contents includes:
Pt. 1. The Context; the Issues; A Global Overview
1. Environment; tourism; a marketing perspective
2. Global environmental issues
3. International summary of tourism and environment: North Europe, the Mediterranean region and North America
4. International summary of tourism and environment: East Asia and the Pacific; the Caribbean; Eastern Europe and states of the former USSR, and rest of the world
5. Travel and tourism: the world's largest industry
6. The environmental significance of holiday and leisure tourism
Pt. 2. Managing Tourism for Sustainability at Specific Destinations
7. Managing tourism - the local destination focus
8. Managing tourism at local destinations - the public sector role
9. Managing tourism at local destinations - the private sector role
10. The marketing process for sustainable tourism at destinations
Pt. 3. The Issues and Cases of Good Management Practice in the Main Sectors of Travel and Tourism
11. The 'R Word' guide to corporate action on sustainability
12. Sustainability in the accommodation sector - with international illustrations
13. Sustainability in the visitor attractions sector
14. Sustainability in the transport sector - with international illustrations
15. Sustainability in the tour operator sector - with international illustrations
Pt. 4. International Cases of Good Management Practice for Sustainability
Kruger National Park, South Africa
Quicksilver Connections Ltd, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Edinburgh's Old Town, UK
Anglian Water Services Ltd: Rutland Water, UK
Ironbridge Gorge Museums, UK
Epilogue: Positive visions for sustainable tourism
App. II. Environmental regulations, market mechanisms and self-regulatory codes of conduct influencing the tourism industry

A valuable tool for understanding the impact of tourism.  The Resource Center of The Americas has recently published a curriculum on tourism in Mexico, using Rethinking Tourism and Eco-travel as its major resource book. Tourism is one of the world's largest industries and Deborah McLaren has done in depth research into its impact on the host community and the environment. Her book helps readers/travellers to analyze the relationship between poverty, environmental exploitation and tourism. It is not all bad news, however. The book shows that there are ways to travel that are responsible. The excellent bibliography gives information on "rethinking tourism" organizations, tour operators and programs, including many web sites. The curriculum that the Resource Center of The Americas developed using Rethinking Tourism and Eco-travel is titled Buen Viaje: Mutually Beneficial Tourism (ISBN 1-893440-00-1). It is for grades 8-12 through adult. It includes descriptions of four tourist sites in Mexico, with narrative accounts from Mexicans who live or work in those areas.  Reviewer from Minnesota, 1999

Table of Contents includes:
1. The geography of sustainable tourism development: an introduction
2. Historical antecedents of sustainable development and eco-tourism: new labels on old bottles?
3. Sustainable tourism - looking backwards in order to progress?
4. Tourism and sustainable development: the global-local nexus
5. Tourism and the environment: sustainability and economic restructuring
6. Land and culture: sustainable tourism and indigenous peoples
7. Tools for sustainability analysis in planning and managing tourism and recreation in the destination
8. The Asia-Pacific eco-tourism industry: putting sustainable tourism into practice
9. Eco-tourism: viable route to rural development?
10. Curry County sustainable nature-based tourism project
11. Public transport and sustainable tourism: the case of the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership
12. Market segmentation and eco-tourism development on the Lower North Shore of Quebec
13. Development in Nepal: the Annapurna Conservation Area Project
14. Sustainable tourism development and planning in New Zealand: local government responses
15. Sustainable urban tourist attractions: the case of Fort Edmonton Park
16. The geography of sustainable tourism: lessons and prospects

Table of Contents includes: SUSTAINABILITY AND GLOBALISATION; POWER AND TOURISM; TOURISM AND SUSTAINABILITY; A NEW TOURIST CLASS: TRENDIES ON THE TRAIL; SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS: WHERE SHALL WE SAVE NEXT?; THE INDUSTRY: LIES, DAMNED LIES AND SUSTAINABILITY; GOVERNMENTS AND TOURISM: WHAT CAN WE SELL OFF

Eco-tourism has preserved all kinds of creatures who were being massacred by hunters or driven to extinction. From the High Arctic to Antarctica, across every ocean and continent, authors Magnus Elander and Staffan Widstrand describe the world's principal nature reserves, the animals to be found in each, accommodations available, and more.
Experience Natural Magnificence.  From the Arctic to Antarctica, over every ocean and across five continents, "Eco-Touring: The Ultimate Guide" takes you on a global adventure, complete with stunning full-color photographs, to the most impressive natural habitats in the world. Thirty-two unique wildlife regions are surveyed in detail, and another 130 locations are briefly described, as well as the world's best places for coral reef snorkelling and whale watching.
The publisher, Firefly Books, 1998