The term« ecotourism »was proposed in 1980, the Mexican economist Hector Tseballos-Laskureynom (Ceballos Lascurain). In his view, eco-tourism means a combination of travel with respect for nature and brings together the joy of dating and studying samples of flora and fauna with the ability to promote their protection. Gentle attitude to local flora and fauna objects, inanimate nature - meaning eco-tourism.
typical tourist programs may, for example, include airfare (available airline tickets prices from the agency EAVS) and then shipping the bus, horse or camel in a unique natural place, inaccessible to residents of cities and shocking.
The simplest form of eco-tourism is a journey "in nature."More advanced form of eco-tourism includes such areas as the world of animals, plants, diversity of life forms, the stable forms of economy, environment, culture, heritage, society and people. In other words, ecotourism is an important tool for sustainable development of territories.
problem of the choice of definitions of ecotourism worries many experts. So, in preparation for an international conference in 2001 was invited 10 definitions of ecotourism . Here are some of them.
- Any form of tourism based on natural ecological attractiveness of the country (from scuba diving in coral reefs to travel to Savannah).
- Tourism, which is to receive environmental education and information on environmental protection and all the elements that are based on environmentally sustainable principles.
- Traveling unique nature in order to study rare plants, animals, and particular types of ecosystems.
- Travel, which may contribute to the preservation of positive synergies between tourism, biodiversity and local people.
According to the definition of Ecotourism Society (USA) ecotourism - a trip to places with relatively unspoiled. Such trips do not violate the integrity of the ecosystem and are focused on a picture of the natural, cultural and ethnographic characteristics of the territory. At the same time eco-tourism creates economic conditions such as environmental protection is profitable to the local population. In other words, «ecotourism - is stable and natural-oriented tourism and recreation ny» .
Agritourism is a growing trend in the tourism industry, it is not always the same means in different countries, the forms are dynamic, it enters the first and far from the environmental orientation of tourist activity. Therefore, to limit its scope too strict and one only true definition is hardly reasonable.
In scientific literature there are several terms relating to the subject of eco-tourism.
Bioturizm - tourism facilities which are all manifestations of nature, as individual species, and biocenoses.
Nature Tourism - Tourism, which is the object of any nature as a living and non-living (eg, caves, mountains, ponds, etc.). Nature tourism includes bioturizm as one of the thematic areas. Sometimes referred to as nature-based tourism eco-geographical.
World Tourism Organization (WTO), uses the term adventure tourism as a broad concept, including a-emitting eco-tourism. However, eco-tourism adventure does not always contain a component, just as not all adventure tours include the ecological composition of Governors. Unlikely to ecological tours include safaris sports-oriented production of trophies, or the overcoming of obstacles by destroying the bushes or cutting of trees to restore the crossings. Therefore, we believe that the concept of "adventure tourism" and "ecotourism" are largely overlap, but the first does not absorb the second.
There is a growing agritourism , or agro-ecological tourism . This tourism in rural areas, where tourists during their holidays are a rural way of life on the farms and hamlets. The development of this type of tourism is most urgent for the countries of Western Europe (and to some extent the U.S.) with a small percentage of natural landscapes and a high level of agricultural uses.
Historical and Regional Studies Tourism promotes knowledge of the history of human interaction with the environment.
Ethno-ecotourism is aimed at studying specific ethnic groups, their lives in existing natural conditions, the interaction with the natural environment at this time. In the first place it is a small ethnic groups living in harmony with the surrounding natural world.
Commonly used synonymous terms steady , or support, tourism and « green » Tourism mean tourism by technologies that have minimal impact on the environment. However, not all sustainable tourism can be regarded as ecological, as eco-friendly technologies can be used to organize and beach tourism, Mr. i.v gostinich case in large cities, and even in air transportation. Sometimes referred to as soft eco-tourism, nature-oriented, or natural and pristine nature.
These symbols of eco-tourism in one way or another obliged to greening of modern society, as well as the concepts of sustainable, or more specifically, supportive, development and conservation of biological diversity. The principles of ecotourism is widely used in national parks, and in recent years and national parks. The rapid development of ecological tourism in recent decades, due not only to environmental degradation, but also a growing "domestication" of popular recreation areas - mountain resorts, coastal seas and warm, etc.