PARTICIPANTS IN THE ECOTOURISM ACTIVITY AND ECO-TOUR PLANNING
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Keywords
ecotourism, development, plan, eco-tour, tourism industry, management
Abstract
Ecotourism is a concept that evolved in the past 20 years as the conservation community, people living in and around protected areas, and the travel industry witnessed a boom in nature tourism and realized their mutual interests in directing its growth. It provides opportunities for visitors to experience powerful manifestations of nature and culture and to learn about the importance of biodiversity conservation and local cultures. At the same time, ecotourism generates income for conservation and economic benefits for communities living in rural or remote areas. The attributes of ecotourism make it a valuable tool for conservation. Also, ecotourism process embraces a huge range of participants doing different parts of the whole development stages. Of all the participants in the ecotourism activity, the tourism industry is perhaps the most important and the least appreciated by conservationists.