Environmental Tourism - Nature Tourism - Ecotourism

Contents

• About Ecotourism
• Economic Value of Nature Tourism - Ecotourism
• Examples of Sites that Combine Nature and Marketing  
• Information Resources on Nature Tourism - Ecotourism
• Related MRSC Pages
  • Agricultural Tourism

About Nature Tourism - Ecotourism

Environmental tourism, ecotourism, or nature tourism provides an opportunity to visit undisturbed natural areas, scenic vistas, and observe plants and wildlife.  Washington state offers many opportunities for local governments to share their natural environments with visitors.  While maximizing the economic, environmental and social benefits from ecotourism, the local environment must be protected.  This page provides links to information on how to create and promote a nature tourism destination.  See also WDFW's  The Watchable Wildlife Industry.

• What is Ecotourism?  - United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)
• A Community Guide to Nature Tourism - Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Ecotourism: The Future, Parks & Recreation, September 1997 MRSC Library Loan
• Resource Based Tourism: An Emerging Trend in Tourism Experiences, Parks & Recreation, September 1997 MRSC Library Loan
• Ecotourism Must Become Responsible Tourism - World Wildlife Federation Newsroom, May 2002
• UN International Year (2000) of Ecotourism 

Economic Value of Nature Tourism - Ecotourism

A U.S. Fish and Wildlife-sponsored study, Adding-It-Up reported that direct expenditures on wildlife viewing in Washington for 2001 were over $979 million. The total economic contribution from wildlife watching in Washington was $1.78 billion. (See WDFW Watchable Wildlife) An American Farmland Trust Study, Economic Impacts of Agriculture in Skagit Valley Washington (Word Doc via Skagit WSU) 2003,  estimated that wildlife viewing in Skagit County provides a direct and indirect economic impact of $43.2 million annually.  

• Economic Impacts of Recreation and Tourism - Michigan State University
  • Economic Impacts of Visitors to Olympic National Park, 2000 ( 99 KB), Executive Summary, Stynes, Daniel J., Dennis B. Propst and Ya-Yen Sun, Michigan State University, 2000
• Economic Impacts of Visitors to Mount Rainier National Park ( 501 KB), Executive Summary Sun, Ya-Yen, Daniel J. Stynes, and Dennis B. Propst, Michigan State University, 2001
• Sustainable Tourism in Natural Areas Market Study, Fermata Inc (Austin, TX) Prepared for Commission for Environmental Cooperation, Montreal, Quebec
• The Watchable Wildlife Industry - Washington Fish and Wildlife

Examples of Sites that Combine Nature and Marketing 

• Scenic
  • Chuckanut Drive - Chuckanut Drive Merchants Association
  • Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area - US Forest Service
  • Gateway to Mount Rainier - Enumclaw Chamber of Commerce 
  • Olympia Peninsula - Port Townsend Communications
  • Scenic Byway- Mt. Baker Highway - Bellingham Whatcom County Convention and Visitors Bureau
  • Waterfalls - Skamania County Chamber of Commerce
• Trails
  • Cape Flattery Trail - Forks Chamber of Commerce
  • King County Regional Trails
  • Skamania County Recreation: Hiking - Skamania County Chamber of Commerce
  • Snohomish River Estuary - Snohomish Parks and Recreation
  • Snohomish River Water Trail
  • Thurston County Parks & Recreation Trail Corridor System
• Wilderness
  • Discover Forks "The Rest of the Olympic Peninsula" - Forks Chamber of Commerce
    • Five Day Trip on West Side of Olympic Peninsula
  • Skamania County (Columbia River Gorge) -  Skamania Chamber of Commerce
• Wildlife
  • Birding on the Long Beach Peninsula - Long  Beach Peninsula Visitor's Bureau
  • Klickitat County Bird Watching
  • About San Juan County Wildlife - San Juan Chamber of Commerce
  • Leadbetter State Park and Refuge - Long Beach Peninsula Visitor's Bureau
  • Upper Skagit Bald Eagle Festival
  • Whatcom County
    • Birdwatching in Whatcom County ( 68 KB) - Whatcom County Convention and Visitors Bureau
    • Whatcom County Birding Locations - North Cascades Audubon
• Other
  • Experience Washington - Washington State Tourism Division (Lists Wildlife, Outdoor Activities)

Information Resources on Nature Tourism - Ecotourism 

• Agricultural Tourism Project - Small Farm Center, UC Davis
  • Agritourism and Nature Tourism in California (publication information), - a workbook to help farmers and ranchers determine their tourism potential and walk through the steps of creating a tourism enterprise
• The Business of Nature Tourism: Resources - Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Cultural, Heritage, and Environmental Tourism, ICMA MIS Report 28:4 (April 1996) MRSC Library Loan
• Ecotourism - United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)
• Economic Impacts of Protecting Rivers, Trails and Greenway Corridors: A Resource Book, Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance, National Park Service, 1995. See Ch. 5 on Tourism.
• Ecotourism - Conservation International
• Ecotourism and Sustainable Development, Martha Honey, Island Press, 1999  MRSC Library Loan
• Five-Step Process to Create a Community Nature Tourism Site - Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife
• International Ecotourism Society (TIES) - Promotes responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people
• Nature Tourism - Texas Nature Tourism Information Center, Texas A&M University Extension
• Nature Tourism: Managing for the Environment, edited by Tensie Whelan, Island Press, 1991 MRSC Library Loan
• Northwest Interpretive Association - Dedicated to increasing public appreciation of the rich cultural history and spectacular natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest; assist in providing  high quality educational materials to the visiting public
• Taking the Hype Our of Ecotourism, Trends Park Practice Program, 31:2 (1994) MRSC Library Loan
• Washington State Tourism's Industry Site - Community, Trade, and Economic Development