Tourism

Ecotourism, although purporting to be beneficial to the society, has greatly contributed to the collapse of many ecological systems and led to environmental degradation. The visiting of protected and conserved ecosystems by tourists, who come mostly from places too far away to understand, what the local way of life is and to appreciate the conservation effort, has triggered the debate regarding the real gain obtained out of such visits. The inability by conservationists to halt this practice and the monetary drive by a section of the society has partly been responsible for the expansion of ecotourism in spite of there being other efforts to promote environmental conservation especially in places that have been declared to be special and protected areas. This easy explores the controversial issue of ecotourism with a view to establish its impacts and relevance to the modern society.

Discussion
Doinicar and others in the article Environment Friendly Tourists what do we really know about them expresses the opinion that although ecotourism is harmful to natural habitats and destroys both fauna and flora, there can be ways that these tourists are made to be friendly to the environment. Although this might be true in a way, the common trend as presented by Lawrence in The Future of Ecotourism and the Effects on the World is that tourists have been very destructive to the environment. The fact that ecotourists only visit areas, having been conserved or being protected, presents a great challenge to the wildlife there. The natural setting provides the plants and the animals a chance to really enjoy their natural way of life. The essence of creation is originality and it is only in their natural habitat that such plants and animals can best exhibit originality. Tourists interrupt this natural order in their wild adventures.
   
They carelessly trample on plants and destroy animals. Some animals are solitary and dislike any form of intrusion, and the presence of people offends them. That aside, protected areas are usually home to the worlds most endangered plant and animal species, and the coming of ecotourists increases the risk that these species will diminish and become extinct over time. This is because ecotourists will often pick plant and animal species indiscriminately without as much as a thought of their welfare. Pollution of the ecosystems has been noted as another harmful aspect of ecotourism. These tourists come to the site with all forms of dirt, and by the time they leave, the habitat is a worse condition .
   
According to Stronza, writing in The Economic Promise of Ecotourism for conservation, although ecotourism has provided a lot in terms of economic growth coming directly from the sector of tourism, it has remained a critical matter to understand who actually benefits from such proceeds that come from ecotourism. In addition to this, considering what Fennel states in his article Ecotourism Where We Have Been, Where Were Going, eco-development must go hand in hand with an understanding and adhering to the needs of the people in the society. He adds that while most in the government have continuously lauded the great contribution that ecotourism has on the national economy the people in the community where the ecosystems are located have continued to languish in poverty. Although, there are claims of putting back into the conservation efforts the larger share of the proceeds from ecotourism, not much has been realized as far as development is concerned. There also ought to be a part of the proceeds set aside to go directly to the community and fund other development projects there.
   
Ecotourism has had far-reaching impacts on the local community. As these tourists were coming, they mingled with the local people, who were changed in the process and made to ape the lifestyles and manners of the tourists. Owing to the fact that the majority of these tourists come from very far away, it has been noted that their culture spreads among the locals who quickly forget their own lifestyles. This cultural erosion has been enhanced by the comparatively poor state of some of these local people, who have to do almost everything in order to get monetary or other gains from these tourists. This near-dependency trend has caused many cultural and ethnic values of the local people to be lost. On the contrary, the tourists, who are mostly from Western nations, are able to have their own way in all respects. They use their monetary supremacy to spread their own cultural and personal interests.
   
Ecotourism has very many negative impacts both on the people, where the ecosystems are located, and on the environment.  The ecological balance that usually exists in such areas is usually offset, when the tourists come calling. That aside, they destroy the natural habit by trampling down plant species and killing or harming animals. The fact is that although ecotourism might be responsible for a considerable contribution to the gross domestic product of such countries, the development is hardly translated into visible development projects. Instead, the local people continue to languish in poverty. The cultural erosion that results from ecotourism has been devastating communities as most of the tourists have sought to advance their own cultural interests. Poverty has driven most of the local people to become more vulnerable to these tourists, a factor that has made them to lose their own cultural values and beliefs.