Tourism has emerged as one of the world's largest industries, contributing significantly to economies in the regions where Conservation International (CI) works. From 1993 to 2003 alone, tourism to 23 countries harboring biodiversity hotspots grew by 100 percent.

Unless it is planned and implemented carefully, however, tourism in some areas can be a threat to biodiversity. Responsible tourism – or ecotourism – in hotspots and high-biodiversity wilderness areas can be both a sustainable economic alternative and a successful conservation strategy. Ecotourism creates jobs in food service, accommodation, transportation, and other industries. Because it relies on healthy ecosystems, ecotourism provides a powerful incentive to protect the environment. People who earn their living from ecotourism are more likely to protect local natural resources and support conservation efforts.

CI partners with local communities, organizations, and governments to design such ecotourism initiatives. In Bolivia, CI supported the indigenous community of San José de Uchupiamonas in its efforts to develop an ecolodge in Madidi National Park. It was the first community-owned ecotourism business in the country, and now more than 70 families receive direct economic benefits from the lodge. Similarly, CI worked with the Ghana Wildlife Service to build a canopy walkway and visitor’s center in Kakum National Park, and is helping to construct state-of-the-art ecotourism facilities in the Central Suriname Nature Reserve.

In areas of significant poverty, CI also has helped integrate ecotourism with other aspects of development. In Guatemala, for example, CI supported the communities of San Andrés and Bio-Itzá in the Maya Biosphere Reserve to establish Spanish language schools that incorporated ecotourism education.

EXPEDITION: In 2003, CI correspondents visited the Gudigwa Camp, an ecotourism lodge in Botswana.  Follow along with their dispatches and see photos from the trip!

CI also works directly with business leaders to engage industry in conservation. With key partners in the cruise line industry, CI created the Ocean Conservation and Tourism Alliance to set forth recommendations and standards for reducing the environmental footprint of cruise ships and safeguarding key marine regions.

Through regional programs and with partners in various sectors, CI translates the economic benefits of ecotourism into powerful industry incentives and forges links between the promotion of human welfare and the protection of biodiversity. For those who manage these initiatives, conserving biodiversity is now a matter of both environmental stewardship and economic livelihood.

Visit CI's Ecotourism website for more information