Environmental Education and Ecotourism / SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science (PDF)

Ecotourism is an important field of tourism that has bridged environmentally friendly practices and the tourism industry worldwide. Today, ecotourism has become an important revenue sector for stakeholders and communities. It has provided numerous solutions as a suitable tourism type, but has also caused environmental impacts. Recently, ecotourism has become important in developing countries offering a sustainable practice i.e. ecologically-friendly minimizing the impacts caused by other tourism practices. Education is a key aspect for ecotourism because it has provided a dialogue between communities, stakeholders, researchers, citizens and eco-tourists. Education has provided a framework for any ecotourism practice, because it encourages the basic know how and principles for a environmentally friendly practice. Education is a core aspect in ecotourism because it can provide the necessary momentum to encourage the common citizen to become aware of ecotourism practices and perform responsible ecotourism. This SpringerBrief focuses on the principles of ecotourism such as relevance of the field, origin, fundamental aspects, definitions, philosophy, implications in biodiversity conservation and environmental impacts. Special emphasis is also given to the interaction between ecotourism and education and it is supported by recent publications from the authors.