Ecotourism

Around the globe, eco-tourism is quickly becoming one of the most popular forms of vacationing.

In an era of heightened environmental consciousness and accessibility to exotic locales, countries are busily promoting their natural resources as lures for tourists. The trick with ecotourism is to preserve the natural resources while also promoting them and accommodating volumes of tourists.

Businesses are creating camps and eco-lodges, and natural resource managers are designing trails and tours. Most of the popular eco-travel destinations have fragile eco-systems, however, so it is important to maintain a careful balance between preservation and promotion -- "sustainable development" -- in order to ensure the long-term health of both the eco-systems and the tourism economies.