Eco-tourism trends in tourist destinations and communities from many countries have been driven by the growing economic importance of alternative tourism, away from mass tourism. More travelers choose their travel destinations based on their desire to travel positively and to find natural resources. While improving the quality of this tourism, it can also improve the quality of life, help create jobs in some regions, conserve natural resources that will benefit all future generations, increase the economic benefits of general travel, relieve pressure on areas to use limited resources, and improve travelers’ knowledge.
A good method for achieving ecotourism goals can do the following: create an understanding of biodiversity, resources, and ecosystem functioning; foster goodwill and positive attitudes towards areas that protect biodiversity and further funding of these protected areas through ecotourism profits; support ongoing research on ecosystems to aid scientific knowledge and provide educational material for visitors.
Definition and Principles of Eco-Tourism
Eco-tourism is defined as responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local people. The principles of eco-tourism for travelers to follow include minimizing environmental impacts, particularly when camping or participating in activities, and respecting the local culture. The principles also encourage the support of conservation efforts, local communities, and small, locally owned businesses. As the popularity of eco-tourism has increased, the use of the term has also risen, leading to its misapplication to any wildlife and adventure travel.
Eco-tourism brings the benefits of increased awareness, caring, and potential economic support. By capitalizing on regional strengths and natural beauty, eco-tourism can help lessen the need for logging, commercial hunting, trapping, and other industries that degrade the serenity of the countryside. More diligent regulators are needed, as is zero tolerance, to enforce ecologically and socially responsible businesses. The intention of the eco-tourism operator is to be causatively engaged in experiencing deep ecology within some of the last unspoiled wilderness. It is enjoyable and valuable to lose much of the urban rhythm, realign oneself, and recognize the intimate connection with nature that eco-tourism and wilderness encourage, both within and without the traveler.
Benefits of Eco-Tourism in Conservation
One of the benefits that ecotourism offers is funding. The fees generated from local and international visitors can be allocated to finance conservation or restoration projects. In some countries, the fees generated have also gone directly to community-based projects, which have encouraged local support and cooperation. When tourists visit an area, the local people can have the opportunity to market and sell their products and services. In most cases, the local people form part of guiding the tourists, and they may also participate in the arrangement of visits or the introduction of the local culture and way of life. Generally, visitors who visit the area or participate in a project leave with a greater awareness of an issue of some choice. In many cases, local people have found that visitors are confused, initially curious, and often supportive of their environmental practices. In most cases, visitor participation is aimed at having an immediate or direct impact on the people who are affected by conservation issues by providing jobs and funding in some form, and visitors thus become an integral part of the conservation process. This has fostered a sense of social and economic ownership and has encouraged people to change their attitudes or behaviors.
Overview of Thailand’s Ecosystems and Wildlife
The Kingdom of Thailand is situated in Southeast Asia and is comprised of many diverse habitats, including mangrove swamps, granite mountain ranges, and evergreen tropical forests. There are more than 10,000 different plant species and more than 1,000 species of birds, some 300 species of mammals, and over 300 species of reptiles and amphibians that are resident in Thailand. Some of these species, such as the Siamese fighting fish, the European hornbill, and the bearded pig, are found in other countries within Southeast Asia; many other species are endemic to Thailand, including more than 40 species of mammals and 60 species of birds. The interdependence between species and habitats has already been mentioned, so it is obvious that the loss of one species can have a large impact on others. Public awareness and the preservation of ecosystems have increased mainly in line with the increasing global population and global warming, from which Thailand is not exempt, despite contributing only 0.6% to global emissions. The human population is expected to grow from 63.8 million to 71.1 million by 2020. Sea levels in the Gulf of Thailand alone are expected to rise between 4 cm (min) and 29 cm (max) by 27 years, with sea temperatures also expected to rise by 1.4 to 4.5 °C. Rising sea levels and temperatures are expected to have a knock-on effect on the ecosystems and endanger the species they harbor. Aggressive economic development and the increase in the widespread use of new chemicals have led to the drainage of wetlands for agriculture, logging, and shrimp ponds, loss of habitat, selective hunting methods, single species exploitation, and climate change are some of the main threats against the observed successes of Thai wildlife conservation programs.
Challenges to Thailand’s Natural Beauty
Thailand is not only a haven for backpackers and tourists; the answer simply is good travel destinations that provide a variety of resources. Thailand could be called a natural heritage of the world. Most of the reasons mentioned above are common resources as well as the main attractions for visitors or tourists. A clean environment, flora, fauna, and habitat become the second reason for tourists to come, followed, of course, by the friendliness of the Thai population.
The main problem that is under serious consideration is mass tourism. This kind of tourist not only eats and drinks a lot but also does sightseeing or goes on shopping trips. More importantly, there is a negative impact on or deterioration of the environment, which can be clearly seen in our water, forests, mountains, etc. All these construction projects are supposed to “develop” these favorable as well as valuable areas into industrially viable zones; thus, their natural beauty will be reduced, even disappear.
It is quite beyond doubt that both national resources and the environment are under dual pressure from state economic policies and local people’s trade. They are compelled to choose between sacrificing their remaining natural resources to possibly derive income to sustain achievement. The long-term cause and effect are that a portion of the national environmental heritage will be utilized as a bargain for further economic growth. The idea of using land pressure for economic purposes is being propounded currently, and there is negotiation between the arguments of protecting environmental heritage for tourism versus utilizing these lands for more valuable economic purposes. In an effort to reduce environmental damage and ensure long-term sustainability for tourist sites, eco-tourism and general tourism policy call for the preservation and conservation of environmental-economic preconditions to play off against narrow economic growth-oriented strategies.
Impact of Mass Tourism and Unsustainable Practices
Mass tourism has had a direct and negative impact on the environment. When tourism booms, an area’s infrastructure has to be improved and natural landscapes are disrupted or even destroyed. Life-giving water supplies may be diverted to sprinkle lawns and flush toilets in hotels and guesthouses. This disruption puts pressure on the ecosystems that thrive on such water. This is why it is important to take an integrative and holistic approach to conservation and development, rather than only look at a small, restricted area.
In recent years, unsustainable developments and activities, such as unregulated scuba diving and sandal wearers trodding on corals, have negatively impacted the sites that draw tourists in the first place. If this destruction continues, those travelers will go elsewhere, and the country will lose valuable revenue. There is strong evidence that coastal development is occurring too fast and without fully taking into account the environment, traditional communities, and the effects of using non-renewable resources. Similarly, tourists can produce a great deal of garbage, especially at popular sites that draw large numbers of visitors. In order to promote a responsible and sustainable form of travel, such problems have to be addressed on a political, social, and cultural level, in order to foster an ethic of respect and conservation for the environment.
Success Stories and Best Practices in Eco-Tourism
The road to adoption of eco-tourism has not been 100% smooth in this region, but it has been successful. It would indeed be a tragedy to visit a country without experiencing the main two UNESCO World Heritage sites and marveling at the very best adventure tourism, waterfalls, and subtropical beauty. The Thais have worked hard to achieve these sustainable outcomes and practices incorporated into their eco-tour sites. Every stakeholder has applied best practices to achieve the “voluntary” goals of their MOUs, which underline the success of everyone’s synergy pathways, broad thinking, and especially their shared love of the environment. Typically, the record of this partnership and its great success stories is the importance of involving local community groups to make a region attractive to eco-tourists who may not be into “shopping”. In Trat Province, the on-the-ground results focused a little differently towards villages and individuals as an extension of the eco-tourism quick-fix pilot project. The completed MOUs there began rolling out eco-tourism best practices and supporting many upgrades of product, service, and local infrastructure in guesthouses, in the local area, and on the islands, including National Park Islands.
Eco-tourism has breathed new life into all these communities and their villagers. Smaller grassroots eco-tourism projects in these three “model” provinces began actually before the adoption of the eco-tourism strategy. These included Ban Mahat village in Trat, Chiang Mai’s Ban Wang Puttan village, and urgent post-tsunami renewal at Ban Tonson on Phuket Island. The success of these “feel good” pilot projects “sold” the initiative or strategy up to the politicians, and mostly this “paramountcy rule” principle was adopted over the counter. The “nationwide” discussions over what eco-tourism really was, and whose “duty it was to watch over it”, and all well-intentioned, should be shared because at the end of the day we do not want to continually go over those same discussions! If we can “pool our news” and provide messages of outcomes, this might encourage mutual willingness to operate by the walk, not just by the talk. In addition, these little heartwarming short stories attracted people who in the end provided pieces of other “jigsaw” puzzles which, within a very short time, made the heartwarming stories woven into the eco-tourism sector.
Case Studies of Sustainable Eco-Tourism Projects in Thailand
Many projects and activities are now being tried out in various parts of the country to promote sustainable tourism. What follows are details of several of these projects, all of which differ in approach and management techniques. What they share, however, is a clear understanding of the need to preserve both the natural environment and the local cultures and communities. Various approaches have been used to encourage local residents to adopt eco-friendly practices. These range from educational programs to more passive approaches, such as eco-routing, where tourists are subtly encouraged to take part in activities that have less impact on the environment. The financial benefits of adopting these practices are also made clear to local tour guiding associations, who go on to educate their members.
Many of the projects were implemented as far back as 1985. Not all projects are run by the Thai government; for instance, the Marine National Park Management is managed by residents and representatives from concerned agencies. All of the projects mentioned here are very successful in that they achieve the aims for which they were set up. They have not only had a positive impact on the environment and the wildlife population in these areas, decreasing the paperwork at National Parks, but they have also involved the local community and provided incentives for them to help keep their natural environment clean and sustainable. This has had a positive economic effect, resulting in more income for the area, as well as protecting marine and terrestrial life. The park officials seem to care more for the local communities, and the residents seem to care more for the wildlife.
In conclusion, eco-tourism initiatives that attract the kinds of tourists who seek modest and sustainable travel experiences, as well as those that are developed through consensus among all of the stakeholders involved in the tourism industry, have the potential to produce several mutually reinforcing positive outcomes for both for-profit and not-for-profit stakeholders in Thailand. Indeed, implementing eco-tourism would give Thai tourism an edge in the era of sustainability versus environmental and cultural degradation. The recommended policies of collaborating in field studies will help us learn what kind of eco-tourism is best for which location, the socio-economic impacts of eco-tourism in the long and short terms, as well as what kinds of collaboration among stakeholders produce the best long-term socio-economic and conservation outcomes. Planners could recommend appropriate ways of reducing or offsetting the negative impacts of eco-tourism activities. University research would indeed provide timely feedback to all concerned and could help to generate the kinds of data that can serve as indicators of the outcomes produced by specific eco-tourism activities that in turn can be utilized for planning adjustments. Finally, support for local businesses and ventures in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors may yield more economic activity and help to ensure that more wealth from eco-tourism stays in the Thai economy and is spent in Thai communities. Given the many desired outcomes that can be achieved via eco-tourism, it is particularly important to conduct more research in Thailand to determine what can and should be developed further in efforts to attract more eco-tourists as well as more domestic tourists who show great interest in eco-tourism activities. With adaptive management approaches, Thailand could increase the flow of eco-tourists through sustainable management rules, which in turn will provide greater benefits to Thailand and the many for-profit, not-for-profit, and government stakeholders concerned with making a profit from or preserving its natural resources.