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ANYWHERE GOES
The word ‘eco-tourism’ can mean many things, from a bus tour through rainforests
to community based tourism amongst indigenous tribes to somewhere on your own doorstep.
The common threads of eco-tourism are environmental sustainability and
community-based operations that support the local indigenous peoples. That may sound
boring and virtuous, but you’d be wrong to think so. This is not about the
politically correct holiday listening to production statistics at a tractor factory in
Russia or picking up rubbish along the banks of the River Nile (although you can still
book a holiday like that if you can beat the waiting list!). Eco-tourism means doing
positive things for your host communities whilst having fun at the same time.
You don’t have to travel to wild and remote places, or even to go
on organised tours. Eco-tourism is, in part, an attitude of mind that you can take
anywhere. You can experience local communities and practice ecologically sustainable
tourism by electing to stay in a small B&B or gite on your next domestic or
European holiday. You can make sure you buy local, authentic souvenirs rather than mass
produced gimmicks. You can eat at local cafes and restaurants, buy local food and potter
around back country lanes by bike!
FAR-AWAY PLACES
On the other hand, the world can be your oyster. Organised tours can be for a day or a
month. You could try anything from drumming classes in Senegal, to a township tour with a
Xhosa guide in South Africa, to yak trekking in Mongolia. You can go on a whale watching
trip in New Zealand, or a walk through the Amazon with a local Amerindian, who will point
out the health properties of jungle plants. Accommodation can be in the most luxurious of
safari lodges or in a local mud hut. All ages are welcome.
 Support for the local community is a loose expression. Some tours or
holidays are run by local tribes with most or all of the profits being ploughed back into
community. Other tours may be commercial, but with a substantial percentage of the profits
being earmarked for local endeavours such as education or health.
What eco-tourism does is allow you to have an adventurous holiday
whilst doing your bit to preserve the environment or to support a local community in their
effort to achieve a balance between their traditional culture and the twenty-first
century. You get a chance to learn a new skill or experience something challenging, or to
add a new dimension to the annual holiday.
So if you are now heading off on the Web to book your llama-trek in
Peru, or a tour of Sydney’s original sites with an aboriginal guide, or maybe just a
week walking in the Dordogne - remember, the feel-good factor about sustainable tourism
and enjoy!
Web sites for more information
www.tourismconcern.org.uk - An organisation
that particularly encourages community-based tourism in third world nations. They publish
a very helpful guide giving details of tours and other organisations.
Eco tour
directory
Their directory contains listings of organisations who can
help to plan eco holidays. You may be looking for eco tours in wilderness of
Alaska or perhaps a stay in an ecolodge deep in the rainforests of Costa
Rica.
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