Ecotourism: A Tool for Sustainable Development in an Era of International Integration?

Ecotourism, to be successful, must promote sustainable development by establishing a durable productive base that allows local inhabitants and ecotourist service providers to enjoy rising standards of living. An ecotourist project must incorporate the social dimensions of productive organization and environmental conservation. Based on the experience of the overwintering reserves of the Monarch Butterfly in west-central Mexico, we suggest that unless ecotourism actively incorporates the local society into service planning and provision, and includes programs to meet the fundamental needs for income and employment for all people in the region, the special qualities of the site and its flora and fauna may be irreparably damaged. 1 A definition offered by a leading scholarly participant in the discussions of the theme, Kreg Lindberg, of Charles Stuart University in Australia, in the InterNet discussion group “Green-travel” (@igc.apc.org) on 14 March 1996. He adds: “because ‘true’ ecotourism (i.e., verifiably sustainable nature tourism) is comparatively rare, perhaps we are left with ecotourism as a goal.”  