Economy Percolating Effect of Ecotourism: Application of Triple Bottom Line (TBL) Theory

Importance of Ecotourism

Ecotourism is primarily concerned with natural resource-based tourism, which has low environmental impact, is accountable for fostering cultural and environmental respect and awareness, is accountable for enhancing positive experiences for both hosts and visitors, is accountable for empowering locals, and is responsible for generating revenue. Ecotourism is significant and valuable for both the environment and people, and it supports economic stability. it contributes to lowering carbon footprint (Diamantis, 2010). The benefit of ecotourism is that it provides a platform for promoting conservation efforts, raising public awareness about them, and enhancing the economic wellbeing of the local communities through sustainable development, which fosters economic growth. Locals are encouraged to get involved in environmental protection and conservation through ecotourism. By directly benefiting the service providers, it generates employment opportunities and prevents revenue leakage for the local population. Ecotourism fosters the relationship between the development of ecotourism and the local community's capacity for development and environmental protection. Ecotourism and its practises encourage and promote the conservation of natural and cultural heritage while maintaining environmental integrity through low-impact activities and the use of local resources 12 (Chan et al., 2021). The adverse effects are that ecotourism depletes local communities' natural resources. Mismanagement of ecotourism destinations causes more harm than any slight benefit. Tourist traffic disturbs the wildlife and leaves trash in its wake (Lee & Moscardo, 2008). The challenges are that the ecotourism practices involve social responsibility for the environment. There have been numerous reports of natural habitats being destroyed as a result of tourists' use of luxurious facilities and various services while visiting ecotourism sites. Ecotourism has frequently been chastised for interfering with the culture and value system of local communities. Tourists receive monotonous services that provide little information about the environment and local culture. There is no regard for fundamental elements of tourism such as water, climate, sand, and sun. It is simply because they are unaware of the benefits of ecotourism to local communities.