Ecotourism

according to the international ecosystem society , eco tourism is defined as : responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the enviornment and improves the well being of local people . Im going to list the principles, and how I have related to each one in some sense.
minimize impact there is a billboard in san jose that reads " el que tira la basura vive en la basura", another words "who throws trash lives in trash" ; In my opinion tourists are more likely to respect costa ricas enviornment, versus costa ricans who throw trash on the streets. Well I take that back, some people spit on the crocodiles we saw at the river.
build environmental and cultural awareness and respect This principle can be easy to follow, with the right tour guides. We have had many nice ones who are also very informative, I would say especially in Cafe Britt, their whole tour was dedicated to educating the audience about coffee.
provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts this is something cafe brit excelled on , and when we went to De la Cafe Tal, I felt the ambient was somewhat friendly, especially when Sra. Rodriguez gave us some coffee and snacks. She wasnt as pushy as Cafe Brit to bring us to a souvenir shop at the end of the tour, then again, she is not as big.
provide direct financial benefits for conservation This was definatly highlighted when we went to Monte Verde, they had signs in the bathroom as to how someone could give back to Monte Verde. They need something like over 200k to conserve around 315 acres, if i remember that number right. Their souvenir shop was sustainable to the rainforest, in the sense that you buy a tshirt, and that money goes back into the rainforest reserve.
provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people I think a good example of this I experienced at Manuel Antonio, there are local people lined up all across the bridge selling jewerly, towels, pottery, they live off tourists. I dont know how empowering that is for the people, but it is probably their full time job.
raise sensitivity to host countries' political, environmental, and social climate I think a good example of this is right at my host home, my host father knows more about news in the US and other countries than I do, in fact I had no idea we were in a tropical storm until he mentioned it was what occureed after a hurricane, a phenomenon of different kinds of clouds coming together. He looks over tour guides and makes sure they do their jobs, so I know his attitude is a good reflection for this principle.


Ecotourism is what made Costa Rica famous, there was a boom in the 1940´s and in 1992 its Costa Rica´s first source of imcome, competing with Intel, which exports computer chips and finds cheap labor in Costa Rica. This Ecotourism boom was not planned according to Rodolfo our tour guide who took us to an Organic Coffee plantation. Tourism is a good way to sustain our enviornment, if used in the right way, for example...a dead tree that needs to be cut down can be made into ornaments and sold in souvenir shops. False Advertisement is often a problem for Tourists, for example Tortugero which is not as pretty as it is perceived in advertisements. Jaco is a beach known for surfing, waves can sometimes be more dangerous and people should not go into the water. There are many cliche places tourists go to, and these places are in danger.

here is the site I got the principles from http://www.ecotourism.org/webmodules/webarticlesnet/templates/eco_template.aspx?articleid=95&zoneid=2