Ecotourism is all about visiting well-preserved parts of nature and enjoying the natural state of those locations. In order for an ecotourism business to be successful, it must be able to provide its customers with visits to locations of true natural beauty or importance. Locations such as the rain forest, back country mountain trails or untouched desert are all examples of the types of places that an ecotourism business arranges its tours.
Ecotourism is based around the concept of visiting a location without impacting it or damaging it in any way. Most ecotourists are extremely conscientious and will do their homework when planning a trip. This means that an ecotourism business must be equally careful to be sure that its business is not leaving an impact on the environs it visits.
True ecotourism is not just about minimizing impact, but about actually improving an environment or the lives of the people in an environment through tourism. For example, a visit to the rain forest might be conducted with a goal of creating photo essays by travelers that are used to buoy rain forest conservation efforts. That is true ecotourism.
Much of ecotourism is also concerned with improving the lives of the people in the region that the tour visits. A good ecotourism company should include this element in its business practices. The company should take steps to provide jobs to the local people that need them, and to keep money in the local economy. The more involved an ecotourism business is in making positive change, the closer it comes to meeting the ecotourism mandate.
