The Moral Authority of Ecotourism: A Critique

The paper argues that in debates on the role of tourism in bringing about development in the developing world, ecotourism has acquired a certain moral authority. It is often compared favourably to other categories of tourism, most notably mass tourism, based on its ability to combine conservation and development, categories that are often considered to exist in an antagonistic relationship. The paper seeks to challenge this moral authority. Others have attempted to do this, typically arguing that ecotourism can lead to mass tourism and consequently the same destructive tendencies, or that it is simply conscience salving for the western middle class. However the argument put forward here is a different one – that ecotourism as a tool for integrated conservation and development, widely advocated within conservation non-governmental organisations (NGOs), ties communities’ development prospects to a pre-existing relationship with their immediate natural environment. Basing development upon this relationship may offer some benefits to local communities, but at the same time the championing of such eco-development precludes a discussion of thoroughgoing economic development, development that would transform this relationship. The paper concludes that the championing of ecotourism reflects low horizons for development and that its moral credentials are highly questionable.