Sustainable Tourism in the Americas

By Mirtha Ampudia, Sade Cameron, Rafael Cartay and 12 more

Sustainable Tourism in the Americas introduces the reader to the establishment of sustainable tourism across the region. It examines questions such as 'what is really meant by sustainable tourism?'

Covered in eight chapters, the book discusses the evolution and application of the concept in the Americas from its origins as well as documenting established success stories of sustainable tourism policy and implementation from several countries in the Americas. The country and regional case studies critically examine what sustainable tourism means in their destination and address how in practice the concept of sustainability can be built to show results across different cultural and ecological situations ranging from local indigenous sites to urban environments.

The book presents solid findings and includes content from:

· research of academics and experiences of those working within the heritage setting;
· recent criteria and indicators of sustainable tourism developed by GSTC and other standards, indicators and observatories work associated with UNWTO;
· success stories of managing Western tourism destinations and applies relevant lessons to Americas;
· Provides support to those who need to study and manage impacted destinations.

It will be a valuable addition to the current lack of literature on this concept and of particular interest to those working within and studying tourism management and related themes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CAB International
• Release date: Sep 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9781800623217

Book preview

1 Introduction: Why Does Tourism Need to Be Sustainable?

Edward W. Manning¹* and Luis E. Márquez²

¹Tourisk Inc., Ottawa, Canada and consultant on sustainable tourism to UNWTO, UNEP, and UNIDO; ²Technical University of Manabí, Manabí, Ecuador

*Corresponding author: [e-mail]

©CAB International 2023. Sustainable Tourism in the Americas (eds E.W. Manning and L.E. Márquez)

DOI: 10.1079/9781800623217.0001

Abstract

This chapter introduces the concept of sustainability applied to the tourism sector, now one of the largest economic sectors in the Americas. For tourism activity to be sustainable it needs to operate within the limits to growth, acceptable change, and within ecological and social boundaries. This chapter explores the concept of sustainability as applied to tourism and the evolving role of tourism relative to the economy, society, and ecology of the Americas.

Much has been written about tourism. Observers have highlighted the importance of tourism for national and regional economies, its fragility as an economic activity, and the need for effective planning and management to control and mitigate its impacts. This chapter considers how to define tourism and its effects, focusing on sustainable forms of tourism in the western hemisphere.

The concept of tourism has emerged from many sources and disciplines. One of the first attempts to create a widely acceptable definition of tourism was presented in 1937 by the Council of the League of Nations, referring to: ‘Any person who travels for pleasure and leaves his place of habitual residence for less than 1 year and for more than 24 hours. Trips of less than 24 hours are defined as excursions’ (UNWTO, 2020b). This first definition differentiates between tourism and ‘excursion’: It states that ‘tourism’ involves voyages of more than 24 hours. The League of Nations also noted that these trips were made for ‘pleasure’. Two decades later, specifically in 1963, the United Nations Conference on International Travel and Tourism was held in Rome and recommended to expand the term established by the Council of the League of Nations, to include the concepts of ‘visitor’, ‘tourist’ and ‘excursionist’ (UNWTO, 1993a). These definitions were subsequently reviewed by a group of experts and approved by the United Nations Statistical Commission in 1968.

In 1974, the World Tourism Organization was created, which replaced the International Union of Official Tourism Organizations, whose foundation dates back to 1947. The United Nations World Tourism Organization (with its acronym in English, UNWTO since 2004; in this volume ‘UNWTO’ will be used throughout when referring to the World Tourism Organization), is the main international organization in the field of tourism, and promotes tourism as an engine of economic growth, inclusive development, and environmental sustainability. Its role is to provide leadership and support to the sector, to expand knowledge, and promote tourism policies worldwide (UNWTO, 2021b). Since 1978, this organization has actively participated, together with the United Nations Statistical Division and other international institutions, in ensuring the compatibility and harmonization of existing global concepts and classifications of the demographic, social and economic fields of tourism (INEGI and SECTUR, 2003).

In 1993, a conference was held in Ottawa, Canada to establish a common means of collecting and using tourism-related data. In 1993, the United Nations Statistical Commission approved this initiative, which was followed by recommendations on standards for tourism statistics and the work program for the implementation of those standards. It should be noted that the tourism definitions and classifications made jointly with other organizations, were considered in the report. Statistical work led to a clearer definition of tourism by UNWTO, based on a broad consensus among those active in tourism. The agreement made it possible to define tourism as:

The activities that people carry out during their trips and stays in places other than their usual environment, for a consecutive period of less than one year, for leisure, business, and other reasons. A person’s usual environment includes a specific area around his or her place of residence and all other places that he or she frequently visits.

(UNWTO, 1993a)

This definition, presented in the 1993 UNWTO manual, includes both theoretical and practical considerations, based on the tourism experience of each of the participants. Small communities are major draws attracting people for trips or stays in places other than their usual environment (Fig. 1.1).

A photo of a harbour with nets, ropes, hemispherical crates and boats. Small buildings and houses are in the background.

Fig. 1.1. Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia. Small communities are major draws to the corners of the hemisphere.

The definition of tourism, most recently proposed by the UNWTO in 2020, has been able to more broadly incorporate the parts that make up tourism, considered as:

A social, cultural, and economic phenomenon that involves the movement of people to countries or places outside your usual environment for personal, professional, or business reasons. These people are called travelers (who can be tourists or excursionists; residents or non-residents) and tourism encompasses their activities, some of which involve tourism expenditure.

(UNWTO, 2020b)

This new approach of the UNWTO recognizes tourism mainly as a social, economic, and environmental activity, which has meant for tourism managers the challenge of learning in practice to manage the sustainability of tourism from the multidimensionality, since it is necessary to treat all aspects associated with it and its impact.

This new UNWTO definition (2020b) demonstrates that tourism does not work in isolation; it has an interaction and interdependence with a whole range of parties that make it possible. In other words, tourism is a system in which its parts (natural and cultural resources, services, investment, infrastructure and superstructure, agriculture, trade, transportation, technology, attention to people, among others), can be defined and linked, in pursuit of a common goal. The UNWTO tried to approach the entire ‘tourism system’ as a complex result of the interrelationships between the different elements that must be considered together from a systematic perspective. The interrelationship of the elements that make up the tourism system was already examined eight decades ago, by Professors Hunziker and Krapf, who developed one of the first widely accepted definitions of ‘tourism’, indicating that: ‘It is the set of relationships and phenomena generated by the travel and stay of strangers, provided that the stay does not imply the establishment of a permanent residence and is not related to paid activities’ (as cited in De Andreis and Carioni, 2019, p. 336). At the Tourism Research Institute of the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland, Hunziker and Krapf initiated the scientific study of tourism, emphasizing the essential components of tourism science. This included addressing issues related to economic policy and business management, which are now considered components of tourism sustainability.

Social Elements

The UNWTO definition of tourism highlights a series of phenomena, such as behaviors within a society and their relationship with tourism. Travelers (the tourist) may seek to learn about new cultures and places, favor the preservation of culture, have opinions on how to treat and interact with the residents of the destinations and concerns about personal safety in the destination. This may also include expectations regarding the way the destination is organized, the quality of services, or the way benefits are shared in a community. Likewise, the cultural aspect has been considered, in which the cultural assets contributed by the local community as exchange resources (sharing experiences and history) have also been considered. The tourism sector has increasingly come to recognize the value deriving from experiencing different behavior patterns, lifestyles, and diverse habits, such as gastronomic, linguistic, aesthetic, architectural, folkloric, historical and ethical conditions of a specific community. Tourists have different expectations regarding their experiences. Different cultures and different tourists have distinct expectations regarding nature, crowding, and personal space (Fig. 1.2).

While tourism has essentially been defined as a sociological phenomenon with cultural aspects, many other approaches to tourism primarily consider its economic effects and causes, as well as its cultural and environmental impacts. As pointed out later in this book, approaches have been developed that allow for a much broader holistic approach to tourism than the traditional one, encompassing many socio-cultural, economic, and environmental aspects of tourism, which have been the focus of many tourism-related studies as a part of global development. For the purposes of this book, we will refer primarily to the current UNWTO definition of tourism, as it clarifies the considerable work done by many different countries and disciplines in constructing this definition.

A photo of two people on a beach during sunset. One of them takes a photo of the sky. Rocky outcrops are in the sea.

Fig. 1.2. California beach encounter. How many tourists are too many? This experience will not exist if the beach is crowded.

Importance of Tourism

Tourism is currently recognized as a significant component of the economy, which is why it is now considered to be part of the efforts that help the development of countries around the world. In fact, for more than 40 countries tourism is the main source of foreign exchange (UNWTO, 2020d). In the Americas it is of predominant importance in small island states and to coastal and mountain communities in most nations, notably in the Caribbean (Fig. 1.3) and in many specific destinations in nearly all nations of the western hemisphere. According to statements by Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary General of the UNWTO, international tourism continues to be very important for the world economy. International tourist arrivals grew by 5% in 2018 to reach 1.4 billion; in 2019 its growth was 4% to reach a total of 1.5 billion international arrivals (UNWTO, 2020d). Similarly, at the beginning of this year, export revenues generated by tourism increased to US$1.7 trillion, making the sector a true global engine of economic growth and development, driving the creation of more jobs, serving as a catalyst for innovation and entrepreneurship (UNWTO, 2020d). In other words, tourism is helping to improve the lives of millions of people and positively transform entire communities.

Tourism was one of the sectors identified by Agenda 21 as having the potential to contribute positively to national economies, as well as to achieve a healthier planet. As of 2022, tourism has continued as the main economic development strategy of many nations. In this sense, in 2017, tourism was the third most important category in terms of exports in the world (UNWTO, 2020a). Tourism is an important component of export diversification, both for emerging and for advanced economies, and has a great capacity to reduce the trade deficit and offset the decline in export earnings from other goods and services. A recent estimate of employment indicates that tourism directly and indirectly constitutes one in ten of all global employment, rising from 318.81 million in 2018 to 334 million in 2019, but with a significant drop, as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, to 272 million in 2020 (Statista Research Department, 2021). By mid-2022 many nations were experiencing a rebound, but there has been a significant residual impact of the pandemic on tourism. (This is examined in greater detail in ‘COVID-19 and Tourism in the Americas’ in Chapter 5, this volume.) After the pandemic, the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, highlighted that: ‘Tourism is one of the most important economic sectors in the world. It employs one in ten people on Earth and provides livelihoods for hundreds of millions more’ (UNWTO, 2021a).

A photo of people lounging on a pier under umbrellas and lounge chairs and in a pool. Multiple cruise ships are in the background.

Fig. 1.3. Seven ship day in Sint Maartin. More than 25,000 cruise passengers arrive at the same time in tiny Philipsburg.

In relation to the effects of COVID-19 on tourism, the Secretary General of the UNWTO has stated the following:

This crisis gives us the opportunity to rethink how the tourism sector should be and its contribution to people and the planet; the opportunity that, by rebuilding it, the sector will be better, more sustainable, inclusive and resilient, and that the benefits of tourism will be shared widely and fairly.

(UNWTO, 2021a)

In this regard, the UNWTO Executive Council, at its 112th meeting held in Tbilisi (Georgia) in September 2020, the first hybrid event in the midst of a pandemic, declared that the UNWTO would continue to foster safe and sustainable travel for the future. The effect of the pandemic on tourism in the Americas has also been profound; several examples have been noted in later chapters of this book.

After COVID-19, many countries in the world are betting their economic and social recovery on tourism, especially the Small Island Developing States (SIDS), where tourism represents an important pillar for their economies. For example, in most SIDS, tourism accounts for more than 30% of total exports, and in some cases up to 80% (UNTWO, 2020c). COVID-19 has dealt a serious blow to international tourism in SIDS: international tourist arrivals decreased by 47% in SIDS during January–April 2020, with the almost total suspension of travel by air and sea, restrictions that prolonged travel and border closures. For example, several Caribbean island states banned all tourism for many months to try and limit the impacts on their own citizens. As of 2022, most nations of the Americas have now reopened to some tourism but with enforced limitations on, for example, vaccination status and some limits on recommended or required behaviors in place. Without a doubt, the road to the recovery of tourism will be long and will depend on the will of all the actors involved.

For recovery of tourism, some governments will be able to focus more on stimulating national travel, considering, as an opportunity, the set of restrictions that other destinations have placed on the entry of international tourists. In other words, selling our tourist destinations (and everything that travel to them implies) to nationals. This has potential in larger nations (e.g. Canada, the USA, Mexico, Brazil) but may be more limiting in others. In the midst of a pandemic and after it has disappeared, national travel has become an oxygen for some local economies. In this sense, it should be noted that in 2018 around 9 billion domestic tourist trips (overnight visitors) were recorded worldwide. In all countries, domestic tourism is more than six times greater than international tourism (1.5 billion international arrivals in 2019), measured in number of tourist trips (UNTWO, 2020e). With travelers considering domestic destinations to visit, given the restrictions imposed by international destinations as a consequence of COVID-19, countries with a greater number of attractions and a higher proportion of domestic tourism are likely to recover faster.

International tourism has been rebounding. It is worth highlighting the analysis carried out by the UNWTO in 2022, in relation to the opening of world destinations: although international tourism was still 61% below 2019 levels, the gradual recovery was expected to continue throughout 2022, as more destinations eased or lifted travel restrictions and pent-up demand is released. As of June 2022, 45 destinations (of which 31 are in Europe) had no restrictions related to COVID-19. In Asia, an increasing number of destinations have begun to relax those restrictions (UNWTO, 2022). The latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer (2022) states that international tourism experienced a year-on-year increase of 182% in January–March 2022, and destinations around the world received some 117 million international arrivals, up from 41 million in the first quarter of 2021. Of the additional 76 million international arrivals in the first 3 months, some 47 million were registered in March, showing that the recovery was gaining strength.

The importance of tourism for national economies is unquestionable: it is one of the largest economic sectors in the world, and one of the fastest growing. The United Nations has taken tourism as a base activity to put the 2030 Agenda into practice, since tourism can help, directly or indirectly, to achieve most of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), defined in the Agenda. Given its importance, tourism must be managed sustainably, as it is a strategic area that can foster economic growth and development at all levels and bring income through job creation to communities. Its incidence in communities can be linked: (i) to the national objectives of poverty reduction; (ii) with the creation of enterprises and small businesses; (iii) with the improvement of infrastructure; (iv) with the preservation of natural and cultural assets; and (v) with the empowerment of less favored groups, particularly Indigenous communities, women, and youth.

The Concept of Tourism as a Sustainable Sector

Tourism activity is recognized as an agent of change, and its rapid expansion in recent years has led to the need to reduce its negative impacts on destinations, by highlighting the need to address the broader issues related to economic policy and sustainable business management of tourism. In this sense, Vessuri (2013) explains that the cultural phenomenon of societies that protect special areas from visitors has been common for centuries. In fact, in many cases, it was the increasing influx of travelers to special places that prompted the designation and protection of certain places.

In contrast, tourism impedes positive development when its unintended impacts are not controlled. Also it can have direct negative consequences for destinations. For example, if fragile forests are blighted by overuse, the appeal for ecotourism and nature tourism disappears. If the landscapes, the fauna and flora, the clean beaches, the welcoming communities, and the picturesque ports disappear, tourists will not be attracted, and the tourist industry may evaporate. Manning and Dougherty (2013) point out that in small communities tourism can be an important catalyst for change that affects local cultures. Especially in sensitive environments, tourism can maintain and improve conditions if properly managed or, on the contrary, be the engine of degradation. The concept of sustainable tourism originated in reaction to the visible damage which excessive and insensitive tourism had caused in destinations in the past (UNWTO, 1993b) and has evolved as successful responses have been crafted. The origin of the concept of sustainable tourism was a reaction to the negative effects from tourism experienced in some impacted destinations in the latter part of the 20th century. In this book, several of the success stories from the Americas are documented to show the spread of this concept in this part of the world.

The long-term viability of the tourism system and its components logically depends on the way we manage and integrate each part. If better comprehensive planning, administration, and orderly cooperation between the stakeholders are promoted, this would increase the capacity to use resources efficiently, and would lead to the achievement of common objectives throughout the system. This, in turn, can help optimize the benefits that the tourism activity brings to all those involved. Tourism, as a system, is complex and fragile due to its many components. The sector has been studied by many disciplines with different perspectives—sociology, economics, environment, technology, culture, politics, legal, among others. This reinforces the need for integration and a multidisciplinary approach. Sustainability, taken at a systemic level, makes a cooperative and holistic approach essential by all.

Sustainability is an adjective that modifies the concept of tourism. The word implies a process or activity that can be sustained, often applied to the broad spectrum of tourism functions, aspects, and components. In this sense, if a tourism activity is sustainable, it means that it can continue for an indefinite period of time without encountering fixed limits or degradation. Ideally, an activity and the values on which it depends should be sustained in the long term: this is implicit in the use of the term sustainable tourism.

Tourism exists within a larger universe of other sectors and demands on the overall system at many scales. The success of the tourism sector (including its main sustainability measures) takes place in the broader context of the social, economic, and environmental conditions of the destination, region, or sector. These tend to be changing, with unpredictable relationships with the factors on which the sustainability of tourism depends. Externalities, often outside the destination can generate challenges that impact tourism and affect the ability of companies, the community, governments, and tourists to achieve their objectives. ‘Unsustainable tourism’ manages to occur when these external factors and the wishes and values of the tourist community and destinations come into conflict.

For tourism activity to be sustainable, it has to operate within the economic, ecological, and cultural limits of growth, and of acceptable change. and needs to recognize the limits and sensitivities of natural systems, the community, the wider destination, and other stakeholders in order to achieve long-term legitimacy and sustainability. Several initiatives have been developed at global and regional level, as well as international attempts to provide means that promote the sustainability of tourism activity. Among them are: (i) the Charter of Lanzarote; (ii) the UNWTO Regulations; (iii) the Code of Ethics for Tourism of the UNWTO; (iv) the UNWTO Indicator Guide; and (v) various initiatives to support certification at the destination and company level. The World Council for Sustainable Tourism has developed internationally accepted criteria and indicators on sustainable destinations and businesses. These have been the basis for certification by other bodies.

Destination managers are also influenced by the specific laws and regulations of each country to maintain and protect tourism activity and its social and economic benefits. Some common examples are: (i) the Blue Flag; (ii) Green Globe; and (iii) the Ecuadorian tourism certification system, which is booming at a sub-global level, the Smart Voyager. These three tourism sustainability initiatives are widely accepted in the Americas. Municipal regulations that encourage tourism sustainability are also common as part of local planning (e.g. Connecticut Green Lodging, Delaware Green Lodging, and the Rhode Island Hospitality Association), often with the direct involvement of the tourism industry. When these systems are used at the destination level, they can help destination managers understand what they need to sustain, how to approach it, and what institutional support is in place to help them. Many of these are described in greater detail in Chapter 4, this volume. In places such as Tulum Mexico, many efforts are made to allow tourists to enjoy precious archaeological sites and fragile ecosystems as part of their visit (Fig. 1.4). Sustaining destinations like Tulum is essential to the future of tourism itself.

A photo of people on a beach. The beach has rocky outcrops, palm trees and plants and a stone structure on a cliff.

Fig. 1.4. Tulum Mexico. Many attractions, from sea and sand to historic cultures and native vegetation, attract tourists to this destination.

In the remainder of this book, a number of approaches to the successful implementation of sustainable tourism, and its adoption or implementation, in the Americas are addressed. In recent years, the need for tourism to be part of sustainable solutions at all scales has been increasingly recognized. More recently, work on the United Nations SDGs has included tourism as a specific component in achieving global sustainability. Some have suggested that tourism is part of achieving virtually all 17 SDGs (UNDP, n.d.), including those related to general human well-being, both as a potential support and as a competitor in the access and use of resources. Specifically, tourism has been cited by the United Nations as a critical element for achieving three of the SDGs. A particular action plan with associated action and success measures is part of the section on sustainable production and consumption (see SDG 12, available at: http://tourism4sdgs.org/ (accessed 3 March 2023)). It is also specifically included in the achievement of SDG 8 (Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all) and SDG 14 (Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and natural resources). The UNWTO has identified tourism as a component in achieving most of the other goals, although it is not explicitly recognized as part of the action agenda. Tourism is increasingly receiving the attention it requires as part of the overall development planning process, both as a cause of change, and as a potential recipient of positive or negative impacts from other activities and sectors. It is important to note that all of the nations of the Americas are parties to the United Nations SDGs and are able to design programs in support of these goals.

Sustainability has emerged as the most promising approach, both in theory and in practice, to ensure that tourism remains a positive part of overall development. The concept of sustainable tourism is especially important at the destination level, where most of the integration of criteria, values, and approaches can be made practical and visible. Several promising approaches and the means to monitor them are elaborated in the following chapters of this book, including a series of successful examples of sustainable tourism in practice, in destinations in the Americas.

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A photo of people walking down a wide, cobblestoned street. Historical buildings flank the street. Cars are parked on the side of the street.

2 Tourism as a Tool Supporting Sustainable Development for the Americas

Luis E. Márquez¹, Edward W. Manning²* and María L. Izaguirre¹

¹Technical University of Manabí, Manabí, Ecuador; ²Tourisk Inc., Ottawa, Canada and consultant on sustainable tourism to UNWTO, UNEP, and UNIDO

*Corresponding author: [e-mail]

©CAB International 2023. Sustainable Tourism in the Americas (eds E.W. Manning and L.E. Márquez)

DOI: 10.1079/9781800623217.0002

Abstract

This chapter explores the origin of the idea of sustainability as applied to tourism, the links of tourism to broader international goals, and the introduction of the concept and application to regions and tourism sites of the Americas. It documents the origin of the role of the Americas in making more sustainable forms of tourism an important goal in the hemisphere and worldwide.

Background on Sustainable Tourism

Current approaches to sustainable tourism planning and management can be traced back to the origins of the idea of sustainability in the 1960s. As the concept of integrated planning and management emerged in the 1960s and 1970s with the goal of reducing the negative impacts of development, communities that depended on visitation and tourism soon realized that they also faced activities that could threaten their assets and livelihoods. Works by authors such as Rachel Carson (Silent Spring; Carson, 1962), Garrett Hardin (‘The tragedy of the commons’; Hardin, 1968), Kenneth Boulding (‘The Economics of the Coming Spaceship Earth’; Boulding, 1966) and Donella Meadows (The Limits to Growth; Meadows et al., 1972), warned about the interaction of the human biosphere and damage to ecological systems. The Stockholm Conference of 1972 drew international attention to this issue (UN, 1973). At the same time, damage was noted on the beaches of Spain and the Black Sea, due to intense tourism development with poorly integrated planning. Based on the statutes of the International Union of Tourism Organizations, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) became operational on November 1 1974. One of the first problems faced by the UNWTO was the deterioration of some tourist sites, although the formal committees dealing with the environment and then sustainable tourism did not do so immediately, actions on sustainable management would not arrive until more than a decade later.

The Global Conservation Strategy (IUCN, 1980) was another pillar towards better conservation of environments, specifically those affected by human use. Through the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) report, many nations identified better ways to manage and conserve the world’s natural environment. A few years later, equally influential was the Brundtland Commission report (UN, 1987b), which helped to document more clearly the range of functions on which the environment depends for the economy and society. There was little specific reference to the tourism sector in this document, although human activities in fragile environments were a central focus of the strategy.

The use of the term sustainable development was generalized through the World Commission on Environment and Development or the Brundtland Commission (UN, 1987a). Many countries participated in this report, but, as with previous initiatives, hardly any explicit reference was made to tourism as a sector, either as a contributor or as a sector affected by the environment and the economy. Table 2.1 summarizes the background on sustainable tourism.

Sustainable Tourism

The first discussions on the concept of sustainability, specifically related to the tourism sector, emerged in the late 1980s, with the participation of authors such as Epler Wood (2017) and Butler (1980), also with the statements of some reports of international organizations (IUCN, 1980; UN, 1987b). In the early 1990s the UNWTO, through its environment committee, had started working to promote tourism sustainability. The UNWTO established a committee focused on tourism and the environment, which was a catalyst for initiatives related to tourism planning, the use of indicators and the creation of tourism satellite accounts. By the mid-1990s, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), UNWTO, and the Earth Council had published Agenda 21 for the travel and tourism industry, seeking to promote environmentally sustainable development within tourism. Somewhat earlier, the idea of ecotourism emerged and, in 1983, Hector Ceballos-Lascuráin is widely attributed for having coined the term ‘ecotourism’. For the first time, he used the term ‘ecotourism’ to describe this phenomenon having used the term ‘ecological tourism’ since the early 1970s Ceballos-Lascuráin (1998). This definition is: ‘Ecotourism is environmentally responsible travel and visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas, in order to enjoy, study