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ECOTOURISM

WHAT IT IS

    Being it a new activity, there isn’t yet a consensus about the definition of ecotourism.
    For Brazil’s Ecotourism’s Center, ecoturism “is the practice of sporting, educational or leisure’s tourism, in natural areas, that uses of the natural and cultural patrimony as a support way, incentives its conservation, promotes the formation of environmental conscious and guarantees the comfort of the involved populations”.
    As said by “Embratur” in the Rules for an Ecotourism’s National Politics, ecotourism “is a continuation of touristic activity, that uses of the natural and cultural patrimony as a support way, incentives its conservation and looks for the formation of an environmental conscious through the environment’s interpretation, promoting the populations’ comfort”.
    We also can define ecotourism as “the tourism’s ramification that uses natural resources as a support way, permitting the reutilization by the user”.
    The name ecotourism is really new, having been created officially in 1985, but just in 1987 was created the National Technical Commission, formed by “Ibama” and “Embratur”, ordering the activities in this work.
    As there still are important regions of natural areas in Brazil and it is the country of bigger diversity in the world, its ecotouristic potential is too big, that has brought the development of this activity, with the movement of millions “reais”.
    The ecotourism, in spite of being a line that attracts a specific segment of tourists, is also connected to the traditional touristic potential, because a lot of “conventional tourists” sometimes become ecotourists in their trips, using offered programs in this section.
    Knowing that the conventional tourism can get millions people in the world annually, ecotourism can get some millions too, not saying the proper ecotourists.

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