PENGANTAR EKOWISATA

Samerdanta Sinulingga, S.ST.Par, M.Par

Yang ingin mengutip tulisan ini dapat menuliskan pada daftar pustakanya

Sinulingga. Samerdanta. 2013. PENGANTAR EKOWISATA. Universitas sumatera utara.

(tulisan ini belum sempurna, tanggapan saya mengenai berbagai kutipan dibawah ini masih di urungkan karena ternyata di medan ini, sering mati lampu. Dengan pertimbangan baterai laptop yang kian

terkuras, maka saya mem-publish sementara tulisan ini)

1.1 Latar Belakang

Sejarah Munculnya Ekowisata

The term ecotourism emerged in the late 1980s as a direct result of theworld’s acknowledgment and reaction to sustainable practices and global ecological practices. In these instances, the natural-based element of holiday activities together with the increased awareness to minimise the ‘antagonistic’ impacts of tourism on the environment (which is the boundless consumption of environmental resources) contributed to the demand for ecotourism holidays. This demandwas also boosted by concrete evidence that consumers had shifted away from mass tourism towards experiences that were more individualistic and enriching. In addition, these experiences were claimed to be associated with a general search for the natural component during holidays (Kusler, 1991a, b; Hvenegaard, 1994; Dowling, 1996). Generally speaking, the grounds in which ecotourism operates are associated with the alternative forms of tourism or special interest travel, and the tourismproducts generated fromthese segments. Here, the concern which emerged was that although ecotourism generated a large volume of demand both from the consumers and the stakeholders, it became subject to claims that it was a new form ofmass tourism. Looking at the evidence of this claim, the literature on ecotourism is divided into two broad schools of thought (Jaakson, 1997; Diamantis, 1998a):

· firstly, the location case-studies raising issues concerning the impacts of ecotourism; and

· secondly the thematic studies illustrating issues regarding planning and development,where case studies are focused onthemethodological issues.

In both instances, therewere a few concrete studies evaluating thedefinitional perspective of ecotourism,which this paper aims to discuss. In examining these issues the discussion centres around two main themes: the definitional frameworks of ecotourism; and the natural-based, sustainable and educational components of ecotourism.

Tulisan diatas ini Berasal dari:

Dimitrios Diamantis. The Concept of Ecotourism: Evolution and Trends, Les Roches Management School, Tourism Research Centre, CH-3975, Bluche (

ftp://ftp.puce.edu.ec/Facultades/CienciasHumanas/Ecoturismo/ArticulosTurismo/Art%C3%ADculos%20cient%C3%ADficos/Ecoturismo%20y%20la%20Conservacion%20biodiversidad/The%20Concept%20of%20Ecotourism-Evolution%20and%20Trends.pdf. yang diunggah pada tanggal 18 oktober 2013 jam 19.46

The proposal for fusing conservation and tourism was first contrived by Budowski in 1976, and the term ‘ecotourism’ emerged shortly after in the late 1980’s (Orams 1995). The negative impacts of mass

tourism on the environment was just being realized, and in order to sustain their livelihood tourist companies were beginning to explore tourism management options and the concept of “eco-friendly” tourism (Jamal et al 2006). The idea was largely supported by the public, who expressed significant interest in experiencing pristine natural habitats that were continually protected from exploitation and degradation (Orams 1995). The sequential development can be seen below in Figure 1.

Figure 1: The chronological development of the concept of sustainable tourism and ecotourism. Adapted from Swarbrooke (1999).

Several major factors led to the rise of ecotourism. As seen in Figure 2, the desire to forge relationships between several major ideas and concepts resulted in the conception of ecotourism (Jamal et al 2006). Sustainable funding for conservation was primary motive for ecotourism, however ecotourism planners and researchers quickly realized the diversity and number of stakeholders affected by ecotourism (Jamal et al 2006). Thus, a more comprehensive definition of ecotourism was formed, the components of which can be seen in Figure 2 (Jamal et al 2006).

Figure 2: The major components influencing the rise of ecotourims (Jamal et al 2006)

The World Ecotourism Summit in 2002 narrowed ecotourism down to 8 postulates that are currently utilized today. Crabtree et al (2002) noted that outcome of the summit conference were the views that ecotourism should:

1. have a natural area focus that ensures visitors have the opportunity to personally and directly experience nature;

2. provide interpretation or educational services that give visitors the opportunity to experience nature in ways that lead to greater understanding, appreciation and enjoyment;

3. represent best practice in ecological sustainability practices;4. contribute to conservation of natural areas and cultural heritage;5. provide ongoing contributions to the local community;6. respect and be sensitive to the culture/s existing in the area;7. consistently meet consumer expectations; and8. be marketed and promoted honestly and accurately so that realistic expectations are formed.

The formation of these fundamentals was a significant advancement within ecotoursim, as it eventually produced the International Ecotourism Standard, a standardized definition of ecotourism that was distributed and recognized world wide (Crabtree et al 2002).

Tulisan diatas ini Bersumber dari http://blogs.ubc.ca/jaynespooner/2012/04/04/history/ yang diunggah pada tanggal 18 oktober 2013 jam 19.46

Ecotourism is often looked at as a modern phenomenon, something that happened when environmentally-aware people started getting enough money together in their lives to travel to those places they'd only read about. This is just not true. Ecotourism is as old as tourism itself.

In fact, ecotourism history is embedded in the literature of Western civilization: Caesar's travelogues from Britain and Gaul, Marco Polo's exploration, and Aristotle's stories of the strange people of Egypt are all precursors to modern ecotourism. These xamples did not have tourism as their main goal, but rather conquest, trade, and the pursuit of knowledge took center stage.

Still, how much difference is there between ecotourism and our earliest explorations, if you remove the more venial goals? Only when exploration itself became the motivation for travel was ecotourism born, but the similarities are still there: the exploration of a relatively-wild part of the world, with the goal to understand the flora, fauna, and other cultures found therein.

In Victorian England, the separation began, and an entire class of gentleman and lady explorers sprang up, mounted elephants, and started thundering through the savannahs and jungles of Africa and Asia, sending back missives and quaintly-worded novels to their friends and family at home.

The Adventurers' Clubs: Victorian Ecotourism

From elephant safari hunters to Tarzan to Charles Darwin, you can clearly see the roots of modern ecotourism in Victorian times. Male and female adventurers, invariably members of the idle rich, packed steamer trunks and purchased trendy (at the time) khaki suits perfect for sweating it out in the steamy Congo.

This, however, wasn't pure ecotourism as it exists today. Instead, the Victorians made numerous blunders we should learn from in our own movement toward a more sustainable appreciation of nature.

Start with preservation of species. The Victorians were notable hunters for trophies, and shooting elephants and water buffalo, lions and gorillas, were par for the course during your African safari. Even those who did not shoot were in the habit of purchasing beautifully-carved ivory trinkets, or elephant-foot umbrella stands. Their impact was twofold in the end: first, their stories and letters brought back the real world of Africa for others to put into books and art and, eventually, movies. But secondly,

and more sinister, their veritable rape of the wilds taught the impoverished cultures they moved through that the way to get the crazy Europeans' money was to destroy their own ecosystems.

And so it went.

Modern Ecotourism History

What is surprising: we haven't learned as much as you might imagine from the history of ecotourism. Modern ecotourism, beginning in the 1980s, has brought an unheard- of prosperity to countries like Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Nepal.

However, many of the same old mistakes are being made. Instead of minimizing impact, as a true ecotourist should, by rough camping or staying with host families, many are opting to stay in some of the large hotels that tend to spring up in these often ecologically-sensitive areas. Ecotourists hike through inaccessible areas - after driving there in poorly-maintained diesel Jeeps. Governments thriving on ecotourism dollars force programs on the indigenous population that they neither want nor need, in

order to bring more tourists in.

Looking back at ecotourism history, we should all strive to:

1. Have minimal, no, or positive impact on the ecosystems and people we visit.2. Provide environmentally-responsible employment to the people of these areas - sharing the

wealth without damaging the world.3. Eschew luxury in favor of wasting nothing and leaving behind no trash or mark that we were

there.4. Appreciate and enjoy the flora, fauna, and cultures of the areas we visit, and leave them exactly

the same for their own sake and for the sake of others who want to enjoy their beauty.

With goals such as these, ecotourism could be a means for preserving things that would otherwise be lost for centuries to come, giving to the future in ways that ecotourism's history has never done before.

Tulisan diatas ini bersumber dari:

http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/The-History-Of-Ecotourism/335753#.UmEgiTceFlM yang diunggah pada tanggal 18 oktober 2013 jam 19.46