ABSTRACT
Ecotourism has, since the 1990s, become a buzzword among tourism practitioners and those in academia. The term ‘ecotourism’ was coined by a Mexican conservationist, Hector Ceballos-Lascarain, in 1983 (Ceballos-Lascurain, 1996). Despite its global impact, ecotourism as a concept is surrounded by confusion (Bjork, 2000). This is because different researchers and practitioners have defined it differently. Dowling (2000) states that between 1993 and 1994, over 30 definitions of ecotourism were created and marketed. Because of its many definitions, ecotourism has become a subject of controversy among those in academia. Valentine (1993) and Bjork (2000) state that ecotourism is a fuzzy concept defined and named in many different ways. However, the theme that runs across most of the definitions of ecotourism is that which describes ecotourism as nature-based tourism that includes an educational component, promotes the socioeconomic well being of local people and is managed on a sustainable basis. As such, ecotourism implies a tourism industry that is mostly nature-based, promotes environmental conservation, environmentally friendly tourists and the socioeconomic well being of the local people. Ecotourism is thus seen as an alternative to mass tourism due to its small-scale infrastructure development and its ability to minimize environmental impacts (Mbaiwa, 2005). This responsibility also applies to other stakeholders such as tour operators and the government. This approach to tourism management and environmental conservation contributes to the ecological sustainability and sustainable tourism in the tourism destination areas.
