Untitled

Samuelson, P.A. and Nordhaus, W.D. �1993)
Economics, New York: McGraw-Hill.
ecoresort
EDUARDO FAYOS-SOLAÁ ,SPAIN
AURORA PEDRO, SPAIN
An ecoresort is a self-contained, upmarket, naturebased
accommodation facility. It is characterised
by environmentally sensitive design, development
and management which minimises its
adverse impact on the environment, particularly
in the areas of energy and waste management,
water conservation and purchasing. An
ecoresort acts as a window to the natural world and
as a vehicle for environmental learning and
understanding.
ROSS K. DOWLING, AUSTRALIA
ecosystem see environment; planning,
environmental
ecotourism
The term `ecotourism' is usually attributed to
Ceballos-Lascurain, who defined it as `tourism that
consists in travelling to relatively undisturbed or
uncontaminated natural areas with the specific
objective of studying, admiring, and enjoying the
scenery and its wild plants and animals, as well as
any existing cultural manifestations �both past and
present) found in these areas.' However, there is no
widely accepted definition. For some, it is little
more than a marketing concept attached to
almost any tourism product to attract those
sympathetic to environmental causes. For others,
true ecotourism must contribute directly to the
maintenance and enhancement of parks and
protected areas, the well-being of resident
communities and environmental education, in
addition to those attributes identified by Ceballos-
Lascurain which, in the absence of the latter, may
be viewed as nature tourism. In the former case,
the term has little meaning whereas in the latter
ecotourism 165
case the definition is so restrictive that few cases
which meet the criteria can be found, and the
description is one to which operators and destination
areas may aspire rather than being a clear
notion of a widely-available tourism product.
Usually regarded as a form of alternative
tourism, ecotourism overlaps with other types
such as adventure tourism and safaris. A
distinction is sometimes made between hard
ecotourism �in which minimal facilities are provided
and there is close interaction with the
environment) and soft options �see soft tourism)
which involve the use of considerable support
facilities.
Ecotourism is often viewed as being a new form
of tourism. Although the term is less than two
decades old, there are many precedents and
visiting natural areas has a long history. Often
cited as being one of the fastest growing forms of
tourism, definitional problems have frustrated the
collection of data to substantiate this claim. In fact,
while many tourists enjoy and participate in
environmental experiences, true ecotourists and
ecotourism businesses constitute only a small
proportion of the industry. Ecotourism is increasingly
being advocated as an environmentally
benign means of stimulating development and, at
the same time, preserving natural areas and their
wild inhabitants in peripheral locations. As such, it
is viewed as an alternative to mass tourism and
a potential contributor to sustainable development,
although achievement of the latter will
depend very much on the form which ecotourism
takes.
Most ecotourists are residents of the developed
world with above average incomes and educations.
While not confined to such locations, ecotourism
opportunities in the developing world have
attracted the greatest attention in the literature.
This has led to charges of ego-tourism and ecoimperialism
as a wealthy elite from developed
countries with degraded environments advocates
the preservation of relatively natural areas in the
economically poor but ecologically rich lessdeveloped
world.
See also: agrotourism; ecologically sustainable
tourism; rural tourism