Eco-Tourism and Community-Based Tourism: Focus on Sustainable Tourism Practices

Tourism is one of the biggest booming sectors of the entire world, yet tourism is also one of the biggest businesses with such huge possibilities. It is the merger of both are environment and culture. The footprint has given two strong movement, which are eco-tourism and community-based tourism (CBT), having similar consequences but in opposite ways. There are two of them, in an effort to preserve natural resources and environments for sustainable utilization, and the third one is to develop local society and culture.

Again, these values render ecotourism trendy — with the host communities and the travelers across the globe. In this blog, you will have clear cut ideas about what ecotourism and community-based tourism is, why we need it, what are the shortcomings of it, and how it helps in reducing the ill effects of traditional tourism impacts otherwise. Other than that, there are some actual practices leading the way as how such practices not only contribute to local communities around the travel and tourism destinations but also assist in the development of travel & tourism worldwide in a positive and sustainable way.

What Is Eco-Tourism?

Ecological tourism is also referred to as sustainable tourism, nature tourism for the sake of nature protection, and nature-based happiness in native society. It’s not always done outdoors, it’s more a matter of learning, saving, using with something akin to a touch of pedantic, restrained type of enjoyment.

Basic Principles of Ecological Tourism

• Environmental footprint brought down too little amounts,
• Increased Sensitivity Given to the issues of the Environment,
• Voluntary investment on carrying on with it entire and complete,
• Empowerment to indigenous society,
• Illustrating deference to local customs and way.

Ecotourism, for instance, is a uniform script across wildlife parks, forest preserves, marine reserves, and national reserves.  Some of the best-known activities are snorkeling within coral reefs, birding, wildlife viewing, nature hiking guided tours, and conservation work volunteer tours.

What Is Community-Based Tourism?

Community-based tourism (CBT) aims at the local people in the tourism sector. It is a better option compared to foreign investors who remit the tourist infrastructure or the big tour operators. CBT ensures that the local people own, control, and receive direct benefits from the tourism sector.

Basic Principles of Community-Based Tourism

• Control and community ownership
• Equitable distribution of income
• In a genuine sense, cultural exchange
• conservatory and cultural preservation
• Carried out capacity building and education

CBT can be found in various forms – food tour, homestay, handicraft workshop, heritage walk, and festivals. CBT is practiced more in indigenous or rural destinations where the local host community integrates the tourists into their homes and way of life.

The Intersection of Eco-Tourism and Community-Based Tourism

Although distinct, eco-tourism and community-based tourism overlap. Learning from each other’s accomplishment, they complement each other to form well-balanced concordant sustainable travel experience. A good example is a local indigenous people’s conservation lodge putting into practice the two philosophies. Nature could be opened to tourists and, concurrently, exploited to benefit the locals.

Overlap is best used for:

• Protection of biodiversity alongside human rights
• Environmental and economic sustainability
• Creation of real touring experiences

Benefits of Eco-Tourism and Community-Based Tourism

1. Environmental Protection in eco and community-based tourism

Eco-tourism promotes low environmental degradation. Eco-tourism promotes the tourists to travel through conservation land using environmental-friendly modes of transport, thereby creating a low amount of wastage, pollution, and destruction of the environment. Wildlife viewing is carried out without performing something that can disturb the environment. Reef walking and forest walking are also carried out without performing something that can disturb the environment. Eco-tourism is also balanced on conserving the environment most of the time. Funds spent upon arrival, Eco-lodge charges, and tour charges are re-invested so that nature is not so hard to preserve and thus an institution where money is returning to nature rather than ruining it.

In CBT, individuals are persuaded not to disrupt nature and make their livelihood out of it. Forests, wildlife, and water resources are being turned into economic gains rather than impediments. CBT thus thwarts deforestation, poaching of animals, and depletion of resources. When citizens are proud of their surroundings, they will be more answerable to their surroundings. Organic farming, clean energy, and green infrastructure are the future.

2. Economic Empowerment in eco and community-based tourism

Leakage deprives the economy of the country, particularly if others benefit somewhere else as hotelers or tour operators or any other person economically elsewhere. Area-based local area tourism enriches the town, locality, or village. Area-based local area tourism economically empowers people economically as income from food tour package sales, leading, homesteads, or handicrafts. It has non-extraction diversified economic gains, i.e., commercial horticulture or mining.

Second, ecotourism brings income into far-off areas with mass tourism. Low-impact, small-scale tourism is the best for rural and indigenous people. Conservation, health, and education are trickle-down benefactors. Poverty and disfranchisement by gender are then eliminated by the activity with long-term livelihoods, and disfranchised groups enjoy fate control.

3. Cultural Preservation in eco and community-based tourism

By dancing, eating, painting, or narrating to the tourists, they are selling tradition and culture. Community tourism is compelling the locals to cling to their rituals, customs, and language because it is the same tradition that they have clung to so proudly. Culture loss as a result of globalization is prevented by the community being commodities and exposing themselves to the invasion of the world.

Ecotourism also produces co-sharing moments of nature as culture. Human perception gives mountains, forests, or sacred streams only the feeling that they are given. They create niche spaces in tourists’ minds and generate preserving intangible heritage. Re-generation of tourism re-formulates questions and raises questions on the basis of respect in a manner wherefore tradition is transferred centuries long with honor and pride.

4. Education and Awareness

Ecotourism makes tourists conscious of the issues themselves. Do and learn from it as they hear what global warming does to coral reefs or deforestation is jeopardizing forests, and the tourists learn and get inspired. Perhaps it is another way for them to find it out than at school. Perhaps it could make tourists green heroes or take sustainability home.

Community tourism encourages cross-cultural understanding. They don’t just go there to do it and get on with it—it is lives that are touched by the daily, street food that is eaten, and stories told about the folks. Experiential learning makes one discard the stereotypes and develop understanding. The other worldview windows are thrown open to the tourists, and the communities realize that even they are being understood.

5. Less Over-Tourism

Mass tourism sends tourists in bulk to places and thus become infrastructurally pampered, conditional, and demanding. Sustainable tourism sends tourists to secondary lesser-known places, relieving pressure from places. It spreads the influence and does not allow old towns, and sensitive landscapes deteriorate and has budget impacts typical of second-tier destinations.

National tourism and ecotourism are inherently low volume. Quality, not quantity, shorter in number but longer in time, they remove some of the pressure from the environment and permit visitors to get to see more place. With a short notice, one only has to look a little farther ahead, so one can pass through a less patchy tourist landscape with advantages diffused and destinations that do have room to breathe.

Best Practices for Sustainable Tourism Development

1. Engage Communities Early

The model of sustainable tourism will not work unless the people locally are involved in the decision-making process. Needs are placed too late in the process when things are already planned. Involvement involves getting the residents on board with the selection of sites, with planning processes, with pricing, and with promotion activities. Involvement involves listening to what they need, listening to their concern, and working together in producing the experience of tourism that will attract their cultures.

It retains the local culture, feels local tourism, and gains hospitality, environmental, and business management skills. This makes them self-sufficient. This is a pride and ownership. This gives room for the local values to prevail, ensures cultural integrity to be upheld, and evolve with time.

2. Share revenue fairly

Irresponsible and unbalanced assignment of responsibility is a frequent fallacy in the tourism industry. Structures are in balance, revenues distributed equally—host communities, guides, artisans, locals. These can offer local employment proposals, equitable pricing, and community funds distributed through advantages to one and all, e.g., conservation, education and low-cost infrastructure with even profit-sharing possibilities.

And some of the CBTs order the co-ops or the banks of the community and disperses the money, the one percent of tourism and that is allocate to the needs, of the community like clean water, sunlight and scholarships. Well, if there is tourism and everyone profits together in exchange to live even better then it’s not so bigger war between tourism and those other things but public.

3. Use Certification Programs

The eco-certifications actually allow the tourists to distinguish between pseudo-authentic sustainability initiatives and greenwashing. The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), Earth Check, and Rainforest Alliance are a few such programs that are specialists in environment conservation, fair treatment of staffs, involvement of locals, etc. Other than this, the firms must follow such rules and get audited from time to time.

Also, tourism can be regionally or locally certified depending on regions. National tourist boards or charities usually organize these. Companies also benefit from certifications because they remind them precisely where to apologize. Educated, organized tourism makes tourists confident and knowledgeable about sustainability.

4. Focus on Low-Impact Infrastructure

Low-impact ecotourism infrastructure is what is need. And that in the contemporary era means solar energy, rainwater collection, compost toilets, natural building materials, etc. Off-grid facilities, treehouses and camps don’t have to be cold best if well designed … Paths and trails need to be well-design so that they’re plant-friendly and erosion-free.

Infrastructural development is also done to preserve culture in the guise of community tourism. Not in new buildings but in restoration of old structures and are part of traditional architecture which include homestays. It is local man and local material use with zero emissions and local economy reinvestment. Nature and culture is not violate and tourist development can be initiate without killing the golden goose.

5. Market With Integrity and Respect

Sustainable tourism is not a matter of keeping tourists out or attracting them, but how it has been market. It is market that is sensibly as though it exists. It’s not in the business of selling natives as “exotic” tours, and it doesn’t advertise what it can’t provide. It sells quality local-visitor contact.

It’s educating the visitors by the tour operator. They teach behavior, dress, and local etiquette. That way, nobody will be embarrass, and messages can be convey in a dignified manner. Sales require good photographs and proper descriptions and point to where money is being invest. Honesty, transparency, and good communications build trust between hosts and visitors.

Eco-Tourism and Community-Based Tourism Practices in Nepal

1. Barpak Village, Gorkha – Refreshing with Community and Eco-Tourism

The 2015 earthquake epicenter village of Barpak was reconstruct by community tourism. The local green material was use to construct traditional homes by the villagers and converted into Manaslu and Ganesh Himal trekkers’ homestays. Trekkers live with the Gurungs’ families, assist on the farms, and receive the mountain view from their rooms. Tourist revenue now trickles down to the village, which are now investing in medicine, roads, and schools.

2. Khopra Danda Community Trek – Trek with a Purpose

This is a non-touristy trek in the Annapurna region, which is locally own and operate. The trail is full of locals who own and run lodges. Money for school, sanitation facilities, and forest conservation directly finds its way into the trekkers’ pockets. No commercial trekking here; porters and local guides find employment, fruits bought are sold by local farmers, etc.
Good views of Dhaulagiri, Nilgiri, and Annapurna South and is less crowded.

3. Tansen, Palpa – Heritage Conservation and Ec0- Tourism

Tansen is a Nepali hill town in the west that is rediscovering Newari architecture and crafts through tourism. The tourists enjoy homestays, wood carving and traditional weaving courses, and guided tours of the heritage buildings. The restore buildings manage by the villagers with the help of NGOs and own co-ops tourism. The youth and the women were provide with employment and the cultural heritage of the town was preserve.

4. Rara Lake Homestays – Eco-Tourism Conservation

Eco-friendly new homestays in Nepal’s remote western Himalayan Rara Lake are conserving the countryside. Solar-powered houses, bio-gas stoves, and compost toilets are environment-friendly. Tree plantation and waste disposal using community materials bring cleanliness and comfort to Rara National Park. Tourists experience country life between Thakuri and Mugu villages.

5. Sirubari Village, Syangja – Nepal’s First Community Tourism Success

Sirubari is where community-based tourism in Nepal was first established. It has been running homestays, cultural festivals, local cuisine, and traditional accommodation since the 1990s in rural villages. The hosts share the hosting of the guests and the tourism revenue equally. Some provide school fee payment, clinic visits, water and sanitation initiatives. The model was so successful that it has been emulate by over 200 villages across the nation.

What You Can Do to Make Tourism Sustainable

You can do it. You can, as a tourist. Some of the simple things that can help you give back to eco-tourism and community-based tourism (CBT) are:

• Be local: Sleep at homestays and trek with local guides.
• Waste Less: Travel with less single-use plastic and packaging.
• Be culture-sensitive: Don’t cut into custom, don’t blockade people, and dress modestly.
• Responsible tourist: Click the photo, enjoy, but don’t kill and destroy nature.
• Relevance and interaction: Take nature or culture courses and know.
• Write honest review: Support small business by reviewing.
• Sustainable Tourism in the Future

Conclusion

COVID-19 shut international tourism out. That downtime left us out on a limb. The industry is once again at a juncture but with a hangover on top of it now: with people’s own tourism appeal in focus this time around, the option would be select: go back to mass tourism or stay wedded to its people first along its sustainable direction.. And to encourage genuine action. “Education, communication, storying, social media to make sustainable tourism common sense — and certainly not niche itself.”. If you planning to travel, Contact us today at Happy Mountain Nepal, Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok. 

FAQS

1. How is eco-tourism distinct from community-based tourism (CBT)?

Ecotourism turns into nature-based conservation through saving in order to keep. Community-based tourism (CBT) is distinguished by ownership, empowerment and integration. Both are promoting sustainability but differing in tourist product traits.

2. Why is eco-tourism important?

Eco-tourism keeps the diversification intact, diminishes the tourism ecological impact, and maximizes human beings’ awareness towards nature. Eco-tourism benefits locals but not at the risk of compromising the exploitation of natural resources.

3. How is community-based tourism improving lives?

CBT generates income to the locals in peak season through homestay with the assistance of catering services and handicrafts. It empowers the locals and gives them pride and also generates local development such as health service and education.

4. Are Community-based tourism and eco-tourism opposite to eachother?

Yes. Desired forms of tourism are really a combination of CBT and eco-tourism. Since self-explanatory reasons indicate, this type is utilized to the same degree though an excellent example may be a locally owned and operated nature lodge promoting culture preservation and conservation and earning revenue.

5.What are the risks/ challenges of eco-tourism?

Nature-based tourism activities such as Dive on coral reefs, birding, nature walk, conservation volunteer work, study tours in conservation areas such as national parks and marine reserves.

6. What is sustainable tourist behavior?

Stay in ecologically-friendly homestays or eco-lodges and stay with the people

Use local guides

Don’t use single-use plastics

Be decently dressed moderately and act in a manner which harmonizes with the locals

Help local handicrafts and local industry

7. What are eco-tourism and CBT issues?

No money, no infrastructure, no training for the industry, do not wish to be invaded by tourists, do not wish to green wash the business and what is not sustainable.

8. What are the advantages of sustainable tourism over common tourism?

It is what prevents the socioeconomic impact of tourism, as opposed to regular tourism that is more income versus the environment and culture and leakages.

9. Do I actually possess the eco-certification I am looking for?

Yes. Have a look at these certifications

Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC)

• EarthCheck
• Rainforest Alliance

They adopt environmental stewardship, ethical labor, and community practices.

10. How can I engage in sustainable tourism in Nepal?

• Consider trekking like Khopra Danda or Barpak
• Utilize homestays (Sirubari, Rara Lake, etc.)
• Join cultural or eco-volunteer projects
• Be part of community development projects
• Spread good word and positive word of mouth about your sustainable travel experience