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Tourism vs. Tourism

© Danita LaSage

Tourism is a multi-billion dollar business these days - at least, for some very wealthy corporations who cater to our travel whims. For others tourism is a curse. Take for example, the Masai tribe of Africa, who according to The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) have been displaced (read: evicted) from their lands to make room for lodges and professional safari companies. Wildlife has suffered, even to the point of endangerment, due to the popularity of safaris. In other locales, coral reefs have been damaged by blasting during construction of expensive resort hotels, and beaches have been subjected to increased erosion caused by poor placement of beachfront hotels.

This is the third in a series of four articles on the subject of ecotravel. In my search for good websites on ecotourism I found that many websites seemed to be just advertisements for travel companies, with no clear commitment to environmental values. The The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) website is a clear exception (http://www.ecotourism.org). Much of the information for this series on ecotravel comes from the TIES website and the Green Hotels Association (http://www.greenhotels.org). If you know other good sites related to ecotravel or ecotourism that you'd like to see included, email me at EnvironmentGuru@lifetips.com, and let's get them on the list, too!

So now you've changed your viewpoint - you're looking for purposeful travel, travel that expands your horizons and feeds your passions. Travel that benefits local economies, respects local cultures, and protects the environment. What next?

Find alternatives to traditional vacations. Avoid hugely popular destinations, knowing that the more tourists that flock to an area, the more stress we are placing on the environment. Look for locally-owned businesses (according to TIES, 80% of the price of packaged tours typically goes to airfare and corporate-owned hotels, leaving little to support local businesses). In giftshops, avoid the mass-imported trinkets and buy locally-made souvenirs. Last weekend I was dismayed to visit a giftshop in an Applachian environment education center to find rain-sticks made in Chile. While I applaud the boon to the Chileans, I was in an area nationally-known for its tremendous unemployment, and would rather have seen locally-made articles for sale.

Seek out environmentally-friendly accomodations, ones that don't automatically change the sheets every day (you don't change them daily at home, do you?) and leave little bars of soap that are used once and then thrown away. Look for restaurants that serve local food, which helps the local economy, rather than depending on imported meals that are exactly the same as you eat at home. Let your travel experience expose you to new food!