Nowadays in developing countries, ecotourism is us Essays

Nowadays in developing countries, ecotourism is used as an excellent tool for promoting sustainable development. It is very beneficial for local communities creating environmental, economic and social benefits. Ecotourism is carried out by many tourism planners and marketers nowadays. The important aspect involved in ecotourism is its proper planning and implementation. In the case of improper planning it converts all the economic gains into social and environmental disasters. Ecotourism has gained popularity developed into a worldwide phenomenon showing no signs of slowing down. Even though it is not a universal remedy for attaining sustainable development, its potential towards promoting sustainable development deserves considerable attention. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of ecotourism in attaining sustainable development in Costa Rica. Ecotourism The concept of ecotourism was well identified in 1960's by Hetzer who contributed to this by identifying four principles of ecotourism. They are minimizing environmental impacts, respecting host cultures, maximizing benefits to local communities & maximizing tourist satisfaction. Ecotourism is an integration of social, environmental and economical benefits meeting both human and environmental needs. One of the major causes for the evolution of ecotourism is the dissatisfaction with mass tourism creating over development, pollution and foreign investment. According to International Ecotourism Society (2004) Ecotourism is a "Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local people". Sustainable Development The term sustainable development received international recognition in 1980's. In 1987, Bruntland commission defined sustainable development as "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs". It is a combination of social, economical and environmental development. Ecotourism & Sustainable Development It is nothing but sustainable tourism. In 1995 World Trade Organization stated in Agenda 21 that "Sustainable tourism development meets the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunity for the future". Sustainable tourism involves a number of principles in it. Sustainable development is not the only goal of ecotourism, but sustainable development is very important for achieving the goal of ecotourism. About Costa Rica Costa Rica which means "Rich Cost" is a country in South America bordered by Nicaragua in north, Panamma in south, Caribbean Sea in east and Pacific Ocean in west. The government is constitutionally democratic. It constitutionally abolished its army permanently in 1949 becoming military neutral. It was ranked first among the Americas for Environmental Performance Index in 2010. Total area - 19,653 sq.m Water percentage - 0.7 Population - 4,253,897 GDP (nominal) - $29.318 billion It contains 5% of the world's biodiversity. Around 25% of the country's land area is covered by protected national parks and protected areas. About 24 national parks are found in Costa Rica. The Monteverde cloud forest reserve is a home for about 2000 plant species, over 400 birds, over 100 species of mammals and numerous orchids. Growth of ecotourism in Costa Rica Costa Rica earned reputation as a premier ecotourism destination in the world also considered as ecotourism's post child. Some of the factors that influenced ecotourism in Costa Rica are pleasant climate, excellent national park, best public health care system, best public education, highest literacy rate in Latin America etc. It is also blessed with abundant natural resources such as beaches, mangroves, mountains, caves, waterfalls, volcanoes and tropical rainforests which is one of the most biologically diverse areas of the world containing 5% of entire planets biodiversity. In a short period Costa Rica has reached high level of maturity in ecotourism creating both beneficial effects and detrimental consequences on sustainable development. It is considered as a model in implementing ecotourism in many other areas. Economic impacts Globalization plays an important role in global economic decision making. As globalization and unbridled economic competition continue to dominate the global agenda, the travel agents who came up with the idea of ecotourism were now looking for new markets and not the ways to save the world. Because of this issue, many protected regions of Costa Rica are increasingly integrated into the global economy. Park entry fees and other form of revenues increase the value of protected land rather than the revenue obtained from deforestation. Ecotourism also earns foreign exchange to developing countries by bringing tourists from north ( from developed countries). A survey states that in early