Addressing the Ecotourism Controversy: The Positive Impacts of Traveling to Wild Places

“At the end of the day, travel is an impactful activity,” says Indagare’s director of Impact, Colin Heinrich. As a carbon-neutral company committed to leaving a destination better than our community found it, how do we reconcile traveling to those undeniably wild destinations that principle says should be left alone, like the mountains of Rwanda or the ice sheets of Antarctica?

In an interview on his experience traveling to Antarctica, Colin laid out two compelling cases where tourism to untouched areas have actually contributed to the destination’s conservation. Plus, Gabi Gentil from Wilderness, an Indagare partner in Africa, shares information on a conservation project in Namibia that is largely driven by tourism.

The Problem: Due to hunting, loss of habitat and disease, the mountain gorilla faced extinction at the end of the 20th century.

Tourism’s Positive Impact: “The primary driver of tourism in Rwanda is gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park. Because tourism has turned into such an important economic driver for Rwanda, the people that live in areas around the gorilla’s habitat have become gorilla defenders themselves. There is economic incentive to stop poachers. The Rwandan government is actually expanding the boundaries of the national park, and the people that lived in those areas relocated because they knew their livelihoods would benefit.” Read more about the expansion and its numerous benefits to both the gorillas and the local community here.

The Ultimate Win: “Because of this shift in local priorities due to tourism and the habitat expansion, the gorillas are the one of few great ape species with an increasing population.”

Looking Forward: “Nearly every other species of great ape is currently in decline. But the gorillas turned into such a mythic tourist opportunity that a whole system has developed around them in order to help protect them, and we can only hope that something like that is going to rise up around chimps, orangutans and more.”

The Problem: “Krill fishing is a massive driver of whale population decline. Around Antarctica, there are areas with massive amounts of krill that turn into humpback whale breeding grounds during the summer, but there has been an influx of fishing boats in those areas to trawl for krill, largely for the production of fish oil pills that many people have taken at some point in their life without realizing what goes into sourcing it.” –Colin Heinrich

Tourism’s Positive Impact: IAATO, the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, is in constant communication when it comes to monitoring illegal fishing vessels in the waters around Antarctica—and as such, the tourist ships serve as an extra pair of eyes when it comes to identifying and reporting unauthorized vessels as well as fishing debris.

The Ultimate Win: IAATO not only has a direct line to report illegal fishing, but its ships help serve as a deterrent for illegal fishing in areas where tourist vessels are more common.

Looking Forward: “The Antarctic Treaty will expire in a couple decades, and there are so many international interests in Antarctica, especially because of the fishing opportunity. Creating this demand for Antarctica to be protected is a hugely important issue, and bringing people to Antarctica and teaching them about those issues is a big way to get people involved.” –Colin Heinrich

The Problem: Throughout the 1970s and early 80s, drought and aggressive poaching reduced the black rhino population in the Kunene Region of Namibia to under 50.

Tourism’s Positive Impact: In 1982, the Save the Rhino Trust was formed to protect the endangered black rhino from poaching in the Kunene Region of Namibia. The crux of its strategy was to turn locals into wardens of the wildlife by offering a financial incentive, in large part through jobs at the trust. “Without tourism, these projects would not serve enough of a purpose to get local communities to buy in,” says Gabi Gentil from Wilderness, a partner of the trust. “Save the Rhino Trust’s mission is not only to protect black rhino, but to ensure a sustainable future for local communities. Unless the local communities see tangible economic benefit from the rhinos, they will not do their part to protect them. So, without tourism, there are no jobs for locals, no conservation economy and little to no motivation to protect rhinos by local communities.”

The Ultimate Win: Since the formation of Save the Rhino Trust, the black rhino population in the Kunene Region has grown, making it the last wild population of any rhino species. In 2023, the trust celebrated three years of no poaching. As a result of the increased wildlife monitoring by the trust, other animal species including desert lions and elephants have received additional protection from poachers and habitat loss.

Looking Forward: As a result of their success, the trust was able to expand its monitoring to Nyae Nyae Conservancy in 2022, and it will hopefully be able to continue expanding across the country. Additionally, Wilderness is re-opening Desert Rhino Camp in July 2024 where guests will have the chance to not only learn more about the conservation and the part local communities are playing, but take part in monitoring the black rhino.

There are always going to be emissions from travel, especially flying, and there is always going to be pollution just by people being in an untouched area. But the more responsible and informed the traveler, the greater the positive impact. While some destination may suffer more from tourism than others, there are also destinations where the conservation of the nature and wildlife is driven by eco-tourism, and without the tourists, the ecosystems will suffer.