This confrontation may heighten awareness of the value of nature and lead to environmentally conscious behavior and activities to preserve the environment. For instance, Honduran schoolchildren from the capital city of Tegucigalpa are routinely taken to visit La Tigra cloud forest visitor center, funded in part by eco-tourist dollars, to learn about the intricacies of the rainforest. If it is to be sustainable in the long run, tourism must incorporate the principles and practices of sustainable consumption.
Sustainable consumption includes building consumer demand for products that have been made using cleaner production techniques, and for services - including tourism services - that are provided in a way that minimizes environmental impacts.
The tourism industry can play a key role in providing environmental information and raising awareness among tourists of the environmental consequences of their actions. Tourists and tourism-related businesses consume an enormous quantity of goods and services; moving them toward using those that are produced and provided in an environmentally sustainable way, from cradle to grave, could have an enormous positive impact on the planet's environment.
Tourism can significantly contribute to environmental protection, conservation and restoration of biological diversity and sustainable use of natural resources. Because of their attractiveness, pristine sites and natural areas are identified as valuable and the need to keep the attraction alive can lead to creation of national parks and wildlife parks.
In Hawaii, new laws and regulations have been enacted to preserve the Hawaiian rainforest and to protect native species. The coral reefs around the islands and the marine life that depend on them for survival are also protected.
Hawaii now has become an international center for research on ecological systems - and the promotion and preservation of the islands' tourism industry was the main motivation for these actions.
Source: Mundus. Grupo Punta Cana, a resort in the Dominican Republic, offers an example of how luxury tourism development and conservation can be combined. The high-end resort was established with the goal of catering to luxury-class tourists while respecting the natural habitat of Punta Cana.
The developers have set aside 10, hectares 24, acres of land as a nature reserve and native fruit tree garden. Consider visiting reef restoration projects, organic farms, rehabilitation centers, etc. Get to know local people and ask them what to see and do. And the more the demand grows for environmentally conscious accommodations, the more we influence other properties to shift their practices!
You can reduce still your impact by refusing single-use plastic anything , turning off the lights when you leave the room, taking shorter showers, not laundering your towels everyday and keeping the thermostat in your room at a reasonable temperature. Bypass travel agents and avoid booking tours and activities online before you go. Booking locally means the operator or business is making most if not all of the money you pay.
One of the best parts about traveling without a doubt is the food. Although, not all food experiences are sustainable! We love to stay places that support farm to table dining or where we can make out own food. We love to visit roadside stands and local markets when we travel. Also, keep the same standards for food that you would at home in mind. Where is it sourced from? Something to also consider is that many traditional foods are actually not sustainable.
These animals are endangered and by supporting these industries, it fuels the demand for unethical hunting and negatively affects the populations of these animals and the ecosystems they belong to.
Here are some of the ways you can reduce the amount of waste you make when traveling:. We can all do something to reduce our environmental impact while traveling. Thanks for reading! Cabo San Lucas Travel Guide ». But when animals and natural areas bring tourism dollars and jobs to their community, it can help residents see the importance of keeping their natural assets intact and healthy. In Cambodia, for instance, ecotourism is motivating communities to conserve critically endangered bird species, such as the giant ibis and white-shouldered ibis.
Thousands of tourists come from across the world to see these rare and iconic species. The birding operator Sam Veasna Conservation Tours incentivizes community-based conservation in the region by training and employing locals as guides and ecotourism providers, and requiring visitors to donate to village development projects. In return for this income and employment, community members agree to not hunt or cut down trees. Beyond changing mindsets, tourism can prevent ecosystem degradation by creating more sustainable livelihoods for local communities.
Jobs as guides, cooks, or housekeepers offer alternative income sources to environmentally-destructive activities such as logging, slash-and-burn agriculture, quarrying, or illegal hunting. In Rewa, Guyana, poor job security led villagers to illegally harvest and trade wild animals. As a result, wildlife species such as arapaimas, giant river turtles, and giant otters were beginning to disappear.
In , the village opened a community-run eco lodge to improve livelihoods while protecting its ecological diversity. By employing community members as sport fishing guides and boat captains, the lodge allows villagers to maintain rainforest-based livelihoods without causing damage to the ecosystem.
Thanks to tourism, arapaimas, turtles, and otters are now common in the Rewa River. Not to mention, visitors contribute far more money to the local economy than wildlife exploitation did. In fact, research shows that globally wildlife tourism is 5x more lucrative than illegal wildlife trade!
Tourism not only bears the capacity to shift local mindsets and behavior, it can also raise environmental awareness among tourists. From camping to beach lounging, tourism provides countless opportunities for individuals to learn about the natural world and experience it firsthand. When people connect with nature during their travels, it can lead them to appreciate it more and become invested in protecting it. Tours, parks, and other travel experiences often facilitate this type of environmental learning through interpretive techniques such as educational brochures, exhibits, or guided excursions.
And on the Great Barrier Reef, guided boat tours and marine biology talks have been found to influence visitor behavior and minimize the damage that they cause to the reef. Tourism can also provide a compelling incentive for governments and organizations to institute environmental policies and conservation measures.
This includes the creation of national parks, nature reserves, and other protected areas to preserve their biodiversity and correspondingly boost their tourism appeal. Depending on how the calendar fits, […]. If you are one of those limitless adventurers, who like to get out of the usual routes and is looking to discover new cities… we have created a list with the 20 European destinations to visit before the end of Get your suitcase ready because next year you will discover Europe, from the great […].
If you are concerned about the environment, consider these recommendations by Biodiversity Foundation for your next trip: When planning your trip, choose those suppliers who offer you guarantees of quality and respect for the environment.
Use natural resources with measure: water, energy… Try to minimize the generation of waste. When disposing waste, do it as cleanly as possible. Always recycle.
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