Ecotourism as a Core of Sustainability in Tourism
225
A little more compactly, the principles are also described as the basis by The
Ecotourism International Society (TIES)—the oldest and the largest ecotourism
society in the world:
• minimise impact
• build environmental and cultural awareness and respect
• provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts
• provide direct financial benefits for conservation
• provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people
• raise sensitivity to host countries’ political, environmental, and social climate
(Bricker 2017).
All the above listed objectives are referred to as lofty principles, but at the same
time are ones that are necessary to meet (Wallace and Pierce 1996).
In ‘The Encyclopaedia of Ecotourism’, Blamey (2001) accentuates that
ecotourism should be simultaneously nature-based, environmentally educated, as
well as sustainably managed. He also draws attention to the necessity of the smallscale, personalisation and alternative nature of ecotourism experiences. All of this
places it at the centre of the sustainable tourism concept (Fennell 2001; Epler Wood
2002; Neth 2008; Barkauskien and Snieska 2013; Kiper 2013; Yasu, Baños and
Hazael 2018). According to Björk (2000), ‘ecotourism must be sustainable and four
central groups of actors have to cooperate, the local people, the authorities, tourists
and companies involved in tourism’.
To date, scientists have broadened and worked out the definition of ecotourism in
most cases, emphasizing its relationship with sustainable tourism (Table 1). Already
in 2001, Fennel prepared a study in which he discussed 85 ecotourism definitions, and in the same year Carr and Higham (2001) collected almost 950 papers
about ecotourism mainly in New Zealand and surroundings (Australia and Pacific),
including also well-known, significant international works. However, it seems that
today the definition of TIES is the most commonly used one: ‘responsible travel to
natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local
people, and involves interpretation and education’. The educational and interpretational aspects were added in 2015, and education is meant to be inclusive of
both staff and guests (www.ecotourism.org/what-is-ecotourism). It is also one of
the first definitions coined in 1989 by Megan Epler Wood, the founder of TIES, the
world’s first international non-profit dedicated to ecotourism as a tool for conservation and sustainable development (https://ecotourism.org/our-story/). It is also often
perceived by others that the educational aspects are more typical for ecotourism
than for wide-seen sustainable tourism (e.g. Lee and Jan 2018). As states Beaumont (2011), ‘Ecotourism can be defined by three core criteria: nature, learning
and sustainability’. The ‘Mohonk Agreement: Proposal for an International Certification Program for Sustainable Tourism and Ecotourism’ (2000) is a document
setting certificate standards for sustainable tourism and ecotourism, which states
that obtaining an ecotourism certificate is more difficult because it requires meeting
additional criteria, mostly connected with nature and environment.
Zar˛ eba (2008) distinguished 9 main rules of the ecotourism journey:
225
A little more compactly, the principles are also described as the basis by The
Ecotourism International Society (TIES)—the oldest and the largest ecotourism
society in the world:
• minimise impact
• build environmental and cultural awareness and respect
• provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts
• provide direct financial benefits for conservation
• provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people
• raise sensitivity to host countries’ political, environmental, and social climate
(Bricker 2017).
All the above listed objectives are referred to as lofty principles, but at the same
time are ones that are necessary to meet (Wallace and Pierce 1996).
In ‘The Encyclopaedia of Ecotourism’, Blamey (2001) accentuates that
ecotourism should be simultaneously nature-based, environmentally educated, as
well as sustainably managed. He also draws attention to the necessity of the smallscale, personalisation and alternative nature of ecotourism experiences. All of this
places it at the centre of the sustainable tourism concept (Fennell 2001; Epler Wood
2002; Neth 2008; Barkauskien and Snieska 2013; Kiper 2013; Yasu, Baños and
Hazael 2018). According to Björk (2000), ‘ecotourism must be sustainable and four
central groups of actors have to cooperate, the local people, the authorities, tourists
and companies involved in tourism’.
To date, scientists have broadened and worked out the definition of ecotourism in
most cases, emphasizing its relationship with sustainable tourism (Table 1). Already
in 2001, Fennel prepared a study in which he discussed 85 ecotourism definitions, and in the same year Carr and Higham (2001) collected almost 950 papers
about ecotourism mainly in New Zealand and surroundings (Australia and Pacific),
including also well-known, significant international works. However, it seems that
today the definition of TIES is the most commonly used one: ‘responsible travel to
natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local
people, and involves interpretation and education’. The educational and interpretational aspects were added in 2015, and education is meant to be inclusive of
both staff and guests (www.ecotourism.org/what-is-ecotourism). It is also one of
the first definitions coined in 1989 by Megan Epler Wood, the founder of TIES, the
world’s first international non-profit dedicated to ecotourism as a tool for conservation and sustainable development (https://ecotourism.org/our-story/). It is also often
perceived by others that the educational aspects are more typical for ecotourism
than for wide-seen sustainable tourism (e.g. Lee and Jan 2018). As states Beaumont (2011), ‘Ecotourism can be defined by three core criteria: nature, learning
and sustainability’. The ‘Mohonk Agreement: Proposal for an International Certification Program for Sustainable Tourism and Ecotourism’ (2000) is a document
setting certificate standards for sustainable tourism and ecotourism, which states
that obtaining an ecotourism certificate is more difficult because it requires meeting
additional criteria, mostly connected with nature and environment.
Zar˛ eba (2008) distinguished 9 main rules of the ecotourism journey: