Use Your Eco-Tourism Dollars To Help Animals

Photo by Monstera: https://www.pexels.com/photo/anonymous-person-with-magnifying-glass-over-world-map-of-coins-7412089/

One way you can help animals if you live in the city and don’t think you can rescue a pet is to do eco-tourism. You can use your tourism dollars to help animals facing extinction and the loss of their habitat. Just by traveling to certain areas and going to National parks of certain countries, you are supporting the idea that conservation can pay off for the humans there, and they can work harder to protect the animals. You can also go on ect-tourism vacations.

Read about my Ecotourism trip to Costa Rica here.

Photo by Tommaso Pecchioli https://unsplash.com/photos/person-standing-beside-the-luggage-bags-03nt4WmL1Kk

I’m sure we’ve all heard about the devastation of over tourism in certain areas. Too many tourists can put a strain on the environment and cause damage with the dramatically increased human presence, and the strain on water, waste, and other infrastructure. The locals might begin to clear the area of trees to make more room for tourists. Too many people can ruin a fragile ecosystem.  

The local people might feel that they need to change things about themselves to make them more attractive to tourists.  There might be pressure to make the area more familiar and comfortable to tourists, which then begins to erode the authenticity of the native culture. The community economy can become dependent on tourists and neglect other kinds of economic development.

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Costa Rica is a country that really gets eco-tourism. There are plenty of national parks, wildlife reserves and protected lands that you can visit. Costa Rica is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet and they are intent to keep it that way. They have banned hunting in the country and you can see many animals up close.  You’ll find rainforests, cloud forests, beaches, volcanoes, and mountains in Costa Rica. You can walk above the trees on suspended walkways in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve. There are eco-hotels that you can stay in that help to reduce the carbon imprint of your vacation.

You can read about my eco-tourism trip to Costa Rica here.

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The land of fire and ice has glaciers, volcanoes, waterfalls, and natural hot springs.  You can watch for wales and puffins. There is a network of farms that offer accommodations to the traveler. You cann stay on a working farm and get to know the people who run it while supplementing their income for them. Iceland is well known for it’s sustainable energy. There are natural wonders in Iceland that you won't see anywhere else.

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The Galapagos Islands and the country of Bhutan are among the places that charge tourists a conservation fee when they visit. Bhutan is a carbon negative country. The island of Palau has an initiative calle Ol’au Palau where tourists can earn rewards for sustainable and conservation activities. Slovenia has over half of it’s land as protected areas.

You can find ecotourism opportunities in just about any country you can think of. Always investigate claims of eco-tourism to be sure that what you are doing is actually adhering to the principles of eco-tourism and not “greenwashing” traditional tourists activities that are actually not sustainable or involved in conservation that benefits the surrounding area. Be especially careful of swimming with dolphins activities and safaris.