Over the years, Tourism and the practices involved in this industry, have evolved. Keeping up with all the global concerns and lifestyle trends, more tourists are becoming environmentally concerned, prompting them to adopt more eco-friendly practices. The term Eco-tourism, Green tourism & Sustainable may sound like the same thing, however, each of these terms refers to different practices followed by the tourism industry, and being in this industry we must know the difference between these terms.
What is Green Tourism, Sustainable Tourism, & Eco-tourism?
It all started with Green Tourism which then used to mean small-scale tourism that comprises of visiting natural areas while minimizing environmental impact. But over time it adopted a broader term that is environmentally friendly. Although green tourism sounds eco-friendly, it is quite opposite today as many businesses, hotels use this term as a market tactic, while not actually doing anything to reduce the damage caused by humans, a practice known as greenwashing. This term is a tag for hotels and businesses that haven\’t even adopted the most basic sustainable things like recycling & water conservation.
According to The International Ecotourism Society, ecotourism is \”responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education\”. On the other hand, Sustainable Tourism according to UN World Tourism Organisation is \”to the environmental, economic & social-cultural aspects of tourism development. A suitable balance must be established between these three dimensions to guarantee its long term sustainability\”. In simple words, Ecotourism is all about going out into the natural world as opposed to cities and what you do in a place that where you stay, meanwhile sustainable tourism has the focus on the environmental, financial, & socio-cultural aspects of the area being visited.
Purpose
Over the years, green tourism has gained bad repo, its primary purpose is to generate economic benefit while minimizing harmful effects on the environment. Ecotourism aims at connecting tourists with nature, building environmental, & cultural awareness and respect, ensuring that both the tourist & the host have a positive experience.
The purpose of Sustainable Tourism is making optimal use of environmental resources, maintaining essential ecological processes, helping conserve the natural heritage, & biodiversity, respecting host communities, & ensuring long-term economic operations that will provide economic benefits to all the stakeholders.
Examples
Few Green Tourism Initiatives are the use of environment-friendly cleaning supplies, room keys made out of sustainable materials, or having a water-conservation program where you are staying.
Sustainable tourism is about supporting community conservation projects, recycling, and treating wastes, sourcing locally produced products for restaurants and gift shops, conserving water & energy, & hiring people to form local communities, training them, and paying them fair wages.
People who participate in Ecotourism usually ensure that the place they are traveling to is protected from external danger, and use locals as guides to get an authentic experience of the place. This is the way of trying to make a positive impact on our environment.
Don\’t Leave Carbon Footprints
Living, let alone traveling or touring, responsibly is not a piece of cake. However, if we want our future generations to be able to enjoy the sights and sounds that we enjoy today, it is our responsibility to the sustainable and environmentally friendly tourism business. We should also help local businesses and communities that have so far been sidelined by conventional forms of tourism.
