The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), founded in 1990, is the largest and oldest ecotourism organization in the world. TIES' defines ecotourism as the responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local people. Another definition: Ecotourism is an increasingly popular form of tourism in which tourists seek out wild and scenic areas such as rainforests or mountains for an active and educational trip. Another NGO defines ecotourism as low-impact tourism, based on appreciation of the environment and where a conscious effort is made to re-invest an adequate proportion of revenues in conservation of the resource upon which it is based. It is environm

Gerardo Budowski of The Ecotourism Society, "I have always emphasized the need to establish a symbiotic relationship between tourism and the conservation of nature. Such a need is greater than ever today with the rapid upsurge of tourism to fragile and remote natural areas around the world." Many scholars now agree that ecotourism should require a two-way link between itself and environmental conservation (Valentine 1993, Cater 1994). As our understanding increases of the close relationships between environmental conservation and communities, researchers are calling on ecotourism to incorporate economic development and sustainable development as a fundamental element of conservation. Redclift (1987) attempted to integrate economic development with ecological sustainability, and his work has served as conceptual basis for ecotourism. Dearden (1991) and Hunter and Green (1995) use the definition stated by the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987): "development that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." So ecotourism as a concept is strongly linked to not only meeting the numerous definitions of tourism in general, but also to meet ecological sustainability and environmental conservation requirements.

entally-sustainable tourism. A natural extension of this definition is ensuring benefits flows to the local people. Another more detail attempt to define ecotourism by (Fennell 2000) is by the way the action conforms to certain principles of ecotourism: (1) it occurs in a unique natural resource, (2) it attracts a unique clientele, (3) it is a responsible use of natural resources, (4) it provides for economic support for resource conservation, (5) it provides for economic advantages over other uses, and (6) it directs economic assistance to the local economy. Fennell defines ecotourism as humanity's most ecologically sound form of tourism. Ecoto

Some common words found in the essay are:
Chamber Commerce, Society TIES, Fermata Inc, Ecotourism Society, Texas Texans, , Berle1990 Rosenow1979, Drums Mohawk, Agencies NGOs, Environment Development, natural resources, concept ecotourism, environmental conservation, tourism ecotourism, nature tourism, forms tourism, defines ecotourism, outdoor recreation, resource base, economic development, wildlife fisheries management,
Approximate Word count = 1317
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)