:: Environmental Program: The Last Noah's Ark ::

ECOTOURISM

OBSERVING TOURISM

    Introduction
    As said by the Tourism World Organization, tourism moves more than US$ 3,5 trillion annually, as it is considered by a lot of research companies as one of the activities that most grows in the world, being calculated that more than 180 million people live directly or indirectly of it.
    Because it generates different interests, tourism is divided in different acting areas, emerging different modalities as:
- cultural tourism;
- religious tourism;
- sportive tourism;
- business tourism;
- kids tourism;
- third aged tourism;
- gastronomic tourism;
- country tourism; and
- ecological tourism or ecotourism.
    The ecotourism has been developing a lot in the last years, mainly in countries that still have natural areas as Brazil.
    Observing tourism
Ecotourism is subdivided in some modalities, but among them, the observing tourism must be detailed, for being one of the new emergent forms, that have most called the attention of naturalists and ecologists, because its practice involves a lot of important factors for ecological preservation and studies.
    The observing tourism is a segment of ecotourism, where the ecotourist goes to some natural area and observes its beauty, contemplating it, or specifically some of its elements, as birds, mammals, as the whales for example.
    This way of ecotourism practically was originated from de “photographic safari”, which was originated around the sixties and it still is common, notably in the African continent, where the mastofauna permits betters photographic registers. Otherwise, one of the mainly factors that provides the observing tourism development, no doubts, is the increasing of ecological conscious, with the consequent natural areas preservation, providing space and opportunities for this kind of activity.
    The ways that are more emerging are:
- Birding
- Whale Watching;
- Landscape Watching.
    All of them are interesting for leisure and entertainment.
    Birdwatching or birding
    Maybe it is the older and most shed, being developed a lot in the USA, UK, Japan, Spain and Germany, being calculated that there is about 80 million of birders around the world. It represents a big economical potential, if we consider that the practitioners are mostly from developed countries and consequently they have economical power for international trips.
    Whale watching
    It is growing a lot, including in Brazil, increasing each year the special trips for this kind of ecotourism, headed for the seacoast of Santa Catarina and Abrolhos- Bahia, where at the end of winter and beginning of spring groups of whales come for reproduction, giving an incredible spectacle and people who loves nature cannot lose it.
    Besides, in many places in the world whale watching is practiced, being calculated that there are more than 40 million whale watchers.
    Landscape watching
    The increasing of the world pollution and/ or the disappearing of natural areas of great scenic beauty make valious the last reminiscent with these characteristics, because each time it is getting more difficult to find places of great beauties for observing.
    So, that is the reason for being common people interested in visiting beautiful natural places as waterfalls, valleys, rivers and some other places, just for admiring them, because the sensation of beauty, and the rarity of the scenery or natural scene are attractive factors, and at the same time make the place valuable, because tourists look for them, generating direct or indirect income fonts.
    So, with the increasing of degradation and the conscious, environmental sensibility , this new way of tourism is appearing, the landscape tourism.
    Advantages of the observing tourism
    The observing tourism has a lot of advantages as:
- it is an activity that if well organized, produces almost no environmental impact;
- it has educative character;
- it can be practiced by people of any age;
- it brings income for the natural regions that have small possibilities of developing the traditional economical activities;
- it employs country people, bringing opportunities for personal development, also creating new professional activities as specialized biologists, tour guides; and
- it collaborates with the principles of sustainable development that are in Agenda 21 etc.
    Conclusion
    Therefore, the emergent observing tourism must have the attention of the responsible for tourism in the countries, as also by press, enterprises, biologists, ecologists, naturalists etc., mainly in regions that are rich in natural areas as in most of the counties of the Brazilian coast, as example, because it represents a way of touristic development, socio-economical and ecological, too important for providing us the ecologically equilibrated environment.

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