Finding the Truth behind the Phrase ‘Eco Tourist’

Four decades ago there were places in Europe that had no roads to them and little or no knowledge of the activities of other cultures in the rest of Europe. They were self-sustaining communities that had followed traditional methods of farming or fishing for centuries and from our perspective they were ‘Eco friendly cultures’. They, of course, didn’t see themselves like that, not least of all because the concept was either new or non-existent, but just as a group or community of people getting on with life. Since those days many of these places have seen massive and destructive changes to that way of life. The influx of the ‘tourist’ has had a profound and permanent effect on lifestyles and choices available to those that are born and brought up there.

The modern catch phrase for being sensitive to a culture and its resources is ‘Eco tourism’ or ‘Green travel’ but how do we define these phrases in the face of many places and companies high jacking these terms for marketing purposes rather than to reduce tourist impact. There are so many locations around the world that add these tags onto the description of holiday packages and location descriptions, hoping that it will be enough to persuade the average ‘eco aware’ traveller that to come their location will actually be less damaging than going to their rivals.

Don’t miss-understand me many places exist that do good work and quite often their efforts can and are having a regenerative impact on their surroundings. It is the need for a discerning attitude mixed with a healthy amount of scepticism that is missing when we, the consumer, make our holiday choices. Engage the brain and read the small print, ask questions and accept nothing without, at the very least, some basic evidence for any claims that are made. We can all be good tourists and go to exotic places if we would take enough care to trust our own judgement, and good sense, and not the glossy brochures we are offered by the hundred when we visit the travel agents.