Sustainable Tourism & Ecotourism

We finished exams last month and we came back to our respective homes. So, for that reason, we forgot about Dones de Viatge. But now, while we fight against high temperatures, our inspiration is growing up and I would like to share with all of you a short presentation I did in Barcelona about Sustainable Tourism and Ecotourism, when I was attending an intensive English course.

I divided my talk into three different parts. Firstly, we have an explanation about what sustainable tourism is and a brief  description of the main types. Secondly, I'm going to give you a short list of tips on how to become and eco-friendly tourist and finally, five different examples will be given to illustrate all the theorical part.

1. What is Sustainable Tourism?

The term "sustainable tourism" comes from the concept of sustainable development. The main objective of sustainable tourism is to obtain the highest profitability but protecting the natural resources that sustain it.

Facing the conventional tourism that looks for maximum profit in a short period of time and space, tourists are starting to be aware of the impact the cause on the environment.

(Lots of documents made by the World Tourism Organization UNWTO give us more material about this topic).

We have lots of types of sustainable tourism, but the most importants are ecotourism, rural tourism and agritourism.

Ecotourism is a type of sustainable tourism in natural areas where the landscape and the ecosystems are the principal attractions. The most important objectives are conservation, integration and participation of local communities.

Rural tourism and agritourism are similar. While rural tourism is more cultural, in agritourism tourists can participate in agricultural tasks.

2. How to become an Eco-Friendly Tourist.

As you read before, sustainable tourism tries to preserve our resources so, how can we help to reach that goal?

Here are some tips, but everybody can visit this website to find more interesting ideas

- Choose the greener type of transport.

- Stay or buy in local hotels and business, helping local communities to grow economically.

- Contribute to save water and produce less waste.

- Use the 3R (recycle, reuse and reduce).

The best tip I can give you is to feel that the country you are visiting is your home. Take care of it and think that future generations could travel there.  

3. Sustainable Destinations.

These five examples are some of the most popular countries in the ecotourism world, and they are developing a strong personality to attract more and more tourists every year.

KENYA

Ngare Ndare Forest - Kenya

Kenya was the first country that did photographic safaris. It counts with a very important resource: the big mammals such as lions, elephants or zebras.

Thanks to ecotourism, it has saved the most part of its ecosystems, and with them, its flora and fauna.

According to a study done in Amboseli National Park, every lion produce a benefit of 515,000 $ as a touristic attraction, while killing them only gives the country 8,500 $ per lion.

COSTA RICA

Costa Rica offers to visitors a huge variety of landscapes, and it posseses a large network of protected areas.

Costa Rica counts with vulcanos, jungle, paradisiac islands and beaches with white sand. It contains about 800 types of birds and 10% of butterflies in the world.

Quetzal, bird from a forest in Monteverde - Costa Rica

AUSTRALIA

Australia has got about 2,000 protected areas, 700 kinds of birds, kangaroos, dingos, crocodiles, etc.

Tourism is the most important industry in the country. One of the most relevant studies done in ecotourism in the world concludes by saying that among six protected areas in Australia earn about 2,000 million $ from visitors.

Aboriginal Tour trough the coast - Australia

BRAZIL

Iguazú Falls - Brazil

Brazil has got the great Amazonic jungle, the Pantanal and the amazing Iguazú Falls. All of these resources are only a small part of what the country can offer.

Nowadays, Brazil is trying to develop an strong ecotouristic industry to attrack visitors and investors to be a sustainable destination.

MALAYSIA

Malaysia counts with 61% of its territory covered by a wood never touched by humans. The natural jewels of the country are Taman Negara, the anciest tropical jungle in the world, and the island of Borneo.

Malaysia offers the oppotunity to see the Tualong, the biggest tree in Asia, or meet the different indigenous groups that live there since hundreds of years.

Marine Park - Malaysia

To sum up, I'm just goint to say that if we don't move towards sustainable tourism we will loose the essence of travelling: meet new people and different ways of live, increase our knowledge and see the beauty of our fragile planet.

For more information about ecotouristic destinations, visit  http://www.ecotourism.org/

Photos from links in the name of the country.

Australian dream.

I always wanted to visit Australia. It has been a dream since childhood and living in Hawaii made it easier to accomplish that dream (Honolulu-Sydney is 10 hours direct flight). Two of my friends joined me and our 10 days adventure began.

Sydney.

Our first stop was Sydney. We stayed there for 5 days and we got lucky to stay in one of the best hotels there- Park Hyatt. Champagne and chocolates were waiting for us in the room! We had view of the opera house and we were close to everything- the bridge, the opera house, the Rocks, George street (many bars there) and the ferry.

Our first day we took the ferry to Darling Harbor (approx $15) and the ride was amazing- beautiful weather (sunny, around 30C) and beautiful scenery (nice houses by the water and many boats). We visited the Aquarium, and on our way to Sydney tower (where you see the whole city) we experienced the busy city life in downtown Sydney. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at a bar at Darling harbor and we had a refreshing mojito! Darling harbor is a spot with many restaurants, bars, and a movie theater and if I lived in Sydney I would probably go there a lot. I really enjoyed the atmosphere, but not the prices (cocktails were $17 and happy hour- $10). That night we went to the Opera house bar- it was crowded, people were having drinks and fun, and listening to life music (apparently the Opera bar is famous among locals on Friday and Saturday night and I definitely recommend it for a drink). We continued the night at Hugos (a bar and a club at Kings cross). Kings Cross is an area that is usually not recommended for tourists but I didn’t find anything disturbing or out of ordinarily. It’s an area with a lot of night life. The bars there are open “till late”!

The next day we took the ferry to Manly beach and we had lunch at a restaurant by the water and we took a nice walk. We didn’t stay at the beach long, may be because of the water- it was very cold, but people were still swimming and surfing! Manly beach area was cozy- like a small surf and beach town. We also went to the famous Bondi beach which was very crowded and we did a tour of the Opera house.

On our last day a friend of ours took us on a speed boat ride for 5 hours and we were able to “see” more of Sydney and its beauty. The weather was perfect and there were many people who enjoyed the sunny day out in the water. I was surprised to see a small boat that sells icecream! I have never seen that before.

Overall, I was glad I went to Sydney and I will probably go back again. I recommend it for a visit during summer (I was there February 1, and the weather was sunny all the time, approx 30C). If you do have time and you are not afraid to drive on the left side of the road, I suggest you visit the Jenolan Caves. They look amazing and I have heard only good things about them. Unfortunately, we didn’t go because none of us wanted to drive for 6 hours total. May be if we stayed an extra day….

Melbourne

Our next stop was Melbourne. Before we went there the weather was very hot- around 40C, but when we arrived it was around 20C and very windy. Locals say that you can have 4 seasons in 1 day! We experienced very cold and windy mornings and nights, and hot days…

We took the scenery hop on and off bus- it’s only $5 and it was enough to see and experience Melbourne.  From the tourist point of view, I wasn’t impressed by the city, but locals love it because it has a lot of coffee shops (it is famous for its coffee), restaurants and shops. They also say that it has a very European look, but me being from Europe, I still love and prefer Europe more.

Cairns.

Our last stop was Cairns. Australians compare it to Hawaii because it is tropical and hot all the time but to me Hawaii is much nicer! We stayed there 3 days and it was raining nonstop and very humid (summer is their wet season; locals told us the best time to visit Cairns and the reef is September and October). There were many fruit bats hanging on the trees on the streets and flying everywhere!  That was exciting to see since I never seen a bat before. They were very loud!

We took a 1day Great Barrier Reef boat tour. The tour included 2 snorkeling locations, food, drinks and introductory scuba dive. Because of the rain and the overcast, we couldn’t see the reef in its perfection but we were still able to see its beauty. Some of the corals were as big as a tree and they were very colorful. There were pretty fish, small and big, different colors. Everything that I have seen about the reef in documentaries was in front of me and it was a great experience and feeling! I definitely recommend the Great Barrier Reef for an exotic adventure!

We also took 1 day Daintree Rainforest tour (Daintree Rainforest is the oldest rainforest in the world- older than the Amazon!) We visited the Wild Habitat Port Douglas where I was able to hold a koala for only $15 and pet a kangaroo! What is Australia without seeing koala and kangaroo, right? )
Desi Stancheva, Hawaii