Ecotourism In South Africa
More than half the population in South Africa lives below the international established poverty line. However, tourism in South Africa is now starting to have its image turned around and prove to be a profitable situation for people in some areas of the nation. Ecotourism is the idea of bringing tourism into a country without affecting a nation's natural economy by promoting and supporting its biodiversity. Instead of foreign parties entering an African nation to hunt big game, the idea of a "photographic" safari is promoted to attract a more "eco-friendly" clientele. This, amongst other examples, allows a nation to bring in tourism without diminishing its ecological and natural resources while at the same time presenting a more pleasant image to the rest of the world. Ecotourism can help conserve biodiversity and alleviate poverty in South Africa through the creation of local jobs. This is most likely to occur with proper management and planning, both local and regional.
Ecotourism has the potential to alleviate poverty in South Africa by bringing money into the economy and creating jobs. The difference between ecotourism and sustainable tourism is that in ecotourism, the cultural heritages of the specific area are respected and conserved. Also, in ecotourism the local people living in and around the destination are included in the planning, implementing and maintaining of the ecotourist park (Guiterrez, 2006). Through ecotourism, the local people living in poverty are able to have a say in how they would like to develop the park that is going to protect the land they live in. It has potential to help alleviate the poverty of the people living in the areas the parks are built.
Read more about Ecotourism In South Africa: Current Situation, Economic Benefits, Biodiversity and South Africa, Importance of Biodiversity, Threats To Biodiversity
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