ABSTRACT
Ecotourism is booming around the world and a number of countries have embarked on vigorous ecotourism development programs to bolster the perceived economic benefits of tourism. The chapter focuses on general trends in ecotourism including the findings of World Ecotour '97, the First World Congress and Exhibition on Ecotourism, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in December 1997. The definition of ecotourism advanced by the Australian National Ecotourism Strategy is 'ecotourism is nature-based tourism that involves education and interpretation of the natural environment and is managed to be ecologically sustainable'. In the Maldives, opportunities for land-based ecotourism are almost non-existent, due to the small land area and low diversity of terrestrial flora and fauna. Kenyan ecotourism has relevance to a range of Indian Ocean countries as it represents one of the 'oldest' ecotourism destinations and has progressed through a range of stages in its implementation from small-scale safari tourism to widespread 'mass' ecotourism.
