How to develop eco-tourism

What kind of ecotourism should China develop?

First of all, eco-tourism is on the way.

(A) the original concept of ecotourism

1983, Mexican scholar H. Ceballos- Lascurain creatively put forward the term "ecotourism" for the first time, and it was officially confirmed as an academic term at the World Environment Congress held in Mexico in 1986, and then it was widely discussed and popularized around the world. Eco-tourism is a tour of relatively undisturbed or polluted natural areas, especially for learning, praising and appreciating the scenery, wildlife and existing cultural expressions (present and past) of these places.

(B) the development stage of domestic ecotourism

1. From concept introduction to understanding

After the reform and opening up, China's economy developed rapidly, and eco-tourism came into being in the process of balancing protection and development. The term "eco-tourism" was formally introduced into China in the early 1990s. In the following 20 years, eco-tourism has attracted extensive attention of China scholars. During this period, various forms of eco-tourism seminars or forums were held. It is generally believed that 1993 "The First East Asian National Parks and Protected Areas Conference" held in Beijing adopted the document "Outline of Action Plan for East Asian Protected Areas", which marked the first time that the concept of ecotourism was confirmed in the form of a document in China. Domestic scholars Wang (1993, 1995), Lu (1996), Guo Laixi (1997) and Zhang Guangrui (1999) all put forward their own understandings and concepts of ecotourism. On the basis of introducing, understanding and absorbing foreign related concepts, China is also actively exploring the connotation and essence of ecotourism, and objectively forming and accumulating a set of concept systems closely related to ecotourism.

2. From conceptual understanding to practical activities

Eco-tourism is the best means to achieve multiple goals such as nature protection, tourism development and regional revitalization. From concept introduction to understanding, on this basis, eco-tourism in China has also developed rationally recently. Among them, the national policy is particularly prominent in regulating and promoting the development of ecotourism.

In 2009, the National Outline of Ecotourism Development (2008-2015) was formulated; Determine 2009 as "Eco-tourism Year".

20 10 year determination standard-national eco-tourism area demonstration construction and operation standard (GB/T26362-20 10).

20 1 1 "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" puts forward: comprehensively promote eco-tourism.

The 13th Five-Year Plan of 20 16 puts forward: support the development of eco-tourism; And released the National Ecotourism Development Plan (20 16-20 15).

3. Problems in the development of ecotourism

(1) concept generalization

The basis of eco-tourism is the harmonious ecosystem between man and nature, and the key lies in the harmonious life between man and nature. In China, some scholars, tourism practitioners and tourists do not fully understand the essence of ecotourism. The concept of ecotourism is vague; There are all kinds of chaos in the eco-tourism market, and all kinds of scenic spots and destinations are labeled as "eco-tourism scenic spots" at will; And many "pseudo-ecological" tourism products on the market.

(2) Commercialization

The connotation of eco-tourism requires that it should meet the public welfare of the whole people. However, at present, the development of eco-tourism takes the old road of mass tourism, relying on the "ticket economy", paying attention to the economic income of scenic spots, and its commercialization is serious.

(3) Low standardization.

At present, there is no complete eco-tourism standard system in China. The content and effect of environmental education should be restricted and measured by a strict standard system. Environmental education is a responsible form of tourism to ensure that ecotourism becomes a respect for nature. However, at present, the standardization of environmental education in China is low, which leads to the lack of educational elements and low experience of ecotourism.

Second, is there any real ecotourism in China?

The author believes that eco-tourism should conform to three principles: first, ecological protection is the premise, second, environmental education is the responsibility, and finally, community participation is the guarantee.

(1) ecological protection

Ecological protection should be carried out for the whole land area. China has formed a relatively complete system of protected areas, including nature reserves, scenic spots, forest parks, wetland parks, geological parks, water conservancy scenic spots, special marine reserves and desert park. The number and area of various protected areas have reached a certain scale, accounting for about 18% of the national territory, exceeding the world average of 13%. As ecotourism destinations, these nature reserves at all levels provide high-quality ecotourism resources and provide basic conditions for the development of ecotourism. At present, there are many ecotourism destinations in China, but the quality still needs to be improved. In the future, our ecological reserves should shift from quantity to quality.

(2) Environmental education

Although small-scale environmental education activities have been spontaneously organized by the people, due to the limitations of objective conditions and other aspects, the awareness of environmental education still needs to be improved, the environmental interpretation system still needs to be improved, the form of environmental education still tends to be single, and the content of environmental education still needs to be excavated. The development of environmental education needs a process. China's environmental education is rich in resources and space, and more and more attention has been paid to it. We can learn from the advanced development experience at home and abroad and explore the theoretical system and practical mode of environmental education. At present, China is also trying to do environmental education, such as the museum system established in Xianju, Zhejiang Province, which mainly includes three aspects: "About" environmental education-understanding the environment of Xianju National Park and its relationship with people, and understanding related natural and humanistic knowledge and skills; "Through" environmental education-purposeful exploration and investigation to help the public gain personal experience and gain some insights; Environmental education-take a positive attitude towards the value of nature and take positive actions. Natural schools in China, the establishment of theme trails and the online experience platform of national parks are all good development directions.

(3) Community participation

In terms of community participation, nature reserves have had some painful lessons. Before the nature reserve was established, local residents had been living and working there. After the establishment of the nature reserve, the land was divided into prisons, far away from each other, resulting in a decline in the living standards of local people. Developing eco-tourism in many underdeveloped areas will inevitably have an impact on the residents in this area or its vicinity. Generally speaking, the living standard of residents living in these areas is often very low, and there is no effective means to obtain economic income, so developing eco-tourism can just solve this kind of problem. The goal of community participation is to achieve sustainable livelihood, that is, to improve the local livelihood level through community participation in the development of eco-tourism. There are various ways of community participation, so it is necessary to evaluate the local livelihood capital, including natural capital, human capital, social capital, material capital and financial capital, and finally choose the appropriate way of community participation.