Characteristics Of Responsible Tourism And Of Eco-Tourism (Term Paper Sample)

Responsible Tourism and Ecotourism
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Responsible Tourism and Ecotourism
According to Spenceley (2012), responsible tourism refers to any form of tourism consumed in a more responsible manner. As such, responsible tourism aims to minimize negative environmental, economic and social impacts. Also, it plays a critical role in improving the well-being of the local communities and generating greater economic benefits. Therefore, responsible tourism can take different forms like sustainable tourism and ecotourism. Responsible tourism is characterized by the following;
Minimizing negative social, economic and environmental impacts- Goodwin (2016) argues that the tourism industry is one of the fastest growing industries globally. The growth of the tourism industry is associated with placing great stress on the existing indigenous cultures, relocation of the local communities and environmental degradation. Therefore, responsible tourism aims to promote sustainable tourism that is sensitive to the identified dangers and which seeks to minimize the negative social, economic and environmental impacts of tourism.
Generating greater economic benefits for the local communities- Responsible tourism aim at ensuring local communities derive maximum economic benefits from tourism activities. As such, it improves working conditions and enhances the host communities’ well-being through improved transport and educational infrastructure (Goodwin, 2016).
Involving local communities- According to Paul and Rupesh (2013), responsible tourism acknowledges the role of the local communities in safeguarding and maintaining the tourist attraction sites. As such, it strives to ensure involvement of the local communities in making decisions that change and affect their lives. For example, it ensures local communities are involved when making environment conservancy decisions.
Cultural sensitivity- Responsible tourism is sensitive to the local culture and aims to promote as well as to protect the local cultures of the host communities. As such, responsible tourism plays a critical role in promoting respect between tourists and the local people and also in building local communities confidence and pride (Paul &Rupesh, 2013).
On the other hand, ecotourism refers to a form of tourism involving traveling to and visiting natural habitats for pleasure without damaging the environment. Thus, eco-tourism plays a vital role in aiding economic development, cultural and ecological protection as well as increasing the local people awareness on the value of preserving the cultural and national environments (Fennell, 2014).
Ecotourism has the following characteristics;
Support for conservation efforts- According to Fennell (2014) ecotourism aims to support the tourists and local people efforts in conserving the environment. As such, ecotourism offers educational programs on environmental conservation to the tourists and local communities aimed at empowering the locals to be more knowledgeable on environmental conservation issues. Also, as a form of responsible t...