Ecotourism and Its Importance on the Tourism Market

• Main Author: Marian Ionel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ovidius University Press 2019-01-01
• Series: Ovidius University Annals: Economic Sciences Series
• Subjects: tourism; ecotourism; protected areas
• Online Access: http://stec.univ-ovidius.ro/html/anale/RO/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Section%20III/17.pdf

Ecotourism is the main form of sustainable tourism and takes into account the natural environment, the cultural and social environment as well as the economic impact on the local communities. These features make ecotourism an attractive form for tourists who want to travel in the areas that constitute the appropriate environment for practicing ecotourism. The actions of conservation of the natural environment have generated this form of tourism that is addressed to a small segment of tourists, namely the segment of ecotourists. Therefore, protected areas play a decisive role in the practice of ecotourism. In turn, ecotourism generates a minimal negative impact on the natural and cultural environment, contributing to the well-being of local communities. In Romania, the existence of relatively unaltered natural resources, the preservation, revitalization and capitalization of cultural resources, as well as the support of local communities in these areas, had the effect of developing ecotourism materialized in increasing the number of ecotourists.