Friday, August 26, 2011

Eco-tourism Equals Responsible Travel

By Carl Drotsky


When you are an eco-tourist you undertake to leave your tourist destinations unscathed. This kind of tourist aims at having no or minimal impact on the environment. This will be done by admiring the fauna and flora, taking pictures of it and leaving only footprints behind. The synonym for an eco-tourist is a responsible tourist. When you support eco-tourism you undertake to be accountable for the environment. When visiting a natural destination it is essential that a tourist respects the rules and regulations of the government. It is also important to stay out of areas that are protected in order to preserve plant life.

When Tomas Cook undertook the first excursion in London, he surely did not even think of a term such as eco-tourism. In fact, it is nothing but tourism which involves visiting natural areas without having an ecological effect on the place, its inhabitants or wildlife. On the other hand, eco-tourism requires much more.

Many countries and governments have employed programs to ensure the implementation of eco-tourism. Not only is the local culture of a region respected, but an environmental awareness is also established among tourists who are increasingly interested in visiting unique places. Tourism plays an important role in a country, yet it also brings challenges about. Eco-tourism will promote tourism practices that will benefit the environment, society and country. South Africa, for instance, is one of the richest countries when it comes to scenic beauty and wildlife. It offers its tourists the opportunity to observe animals in their natural environment - and it must be said that it is definitely not the same experience when you see a lion behind bars in a zoo.

There are several regions in South Africa that are open to eco-tourism. One region is the Limpopo. Anyone who is familiar with Rudyard Kipling will remember the Limpopo River as the place where the elephant got his trunk. Not only is the Limpopo river the place where the elephant got his trunk, it's also the province that is the furthest north in South Africa. Any further north and you end up in Zimbabwe, Botswana, or Mozambique. The Limpopo is one of the best places to go for this kind of tourism. Not only is it a beautiful region, it is also packed with history. While the history is great, it's not the main focus of eco-tourists. The main attraction is the wildlife.

A tourist can visit many nature reserves in South Africa, but it is the Kruger National Park that attracts the most tourists. Covering an area of 20 000 square kilometres, this reserve is the largest in South Africa and is so popular because it offers the opportunity to see big mammals like the lion, cheetah and hyena. Old time favourites like the elephant, giraffe and monkey linger among the trees and at waterholes. The park is divided into four regions and each region is known for its specific fauna and flora. That is why the big cats can be found in the central regions of the Kruger National Park and it is obvious that they will not be there if there isn't food. There is a sufficient supply of "cat delicacies" like the impala, zebra, giraffe and wildebeest to feed the more than 60 prides of lion and the healthy population of leopards and cheetahs. The tourist has an option of many rest camps to choose from when visiting the Kruger National Park.

The importance of eco-tourism is rated important in many regions of the world. It minimizes the effect of large amounts of people traveling to places which will ensure that many generations will be able to appreciate the landscapes that make a country unique. There are many countries to choose from when someone is interested in ecological tourist trips. The tourist should definitely not miss out on a place like South Africa.




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