Ecotourism and Sustainability of the Tourism Sector: Global Perspective
Abstract
In the global economy, tourism sector is a significant form of economic activity contributing 10% to global GDP, 30% of global service exports and over 236 million job opportunities. However, sustainability of tourism in terms of diversification, community empowerment and environmental conservation remains limited. There are various components of tourism and include ecotourism, cultural tourism, geotourism, industrial tourism, agritourism and many others. Moreover, ecotourism is most common and more developed. Ecotourism aims at creating sustainable economy while conserving the environment. Ecotourism presents excellent opportunities of enjoying tourism activities while at the same time learning about the need to protect the environment. From the literature review, it was identified that sustainability of the tourism sector industry takes a multidimensional approach that include economic sustainability, environmental sustainability and social sustainability. The sustainability of the tourism sector has to take into consideration the economic aspect, environmental aspect and social aspect. Ecotourism helps in create a sustainable tourism industry by being conscious on in the protection of the environment, expanding tourism related economic opportunities and recognising social aspects of the humanity. Ecotourism aims at empowering the community, protecting cultures and heritages of the human society and recognizing the role of community in protecting environment. There is need to develop sustainable ecotourism by involving all stakeholders that include local communities, local authorities, government and international bodies like World Tourism Organization. This can be done through community training and awareness on the importance of conserving the environment.
Key words: Ecotourism, sustainability, tourism sector
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