Definition as per Centre for Ecotourism
The term ecotourism was coined by Héctor Ceballos-Lascuràin in 1983, and was initially used to describe nature-based travel to relatively undisturbed areas with an emphasis on education. The concept has, however, developed to a scientifically based approach to the planning, management and development of sustainable tourism products and activities.

It is an enlightening, participatory travel experience to environments, both natural and cultural, that ensures the sustainable use, at an appropriate level, of environmental resources and, whilst producing viable economic opportunities for the tourism industry and host communities, makes the use of these resources through conservation beneficial to all tourism role players.

It is not a marketing ploy, nor is it scenic or nature-based travel
It is an approach that creates a variety of quality tourism products that are:

• environmentally/ ecologically sustainable
• economically viable
• socially and psychologically acceptable

The result of which reflects:

• an integrated and holistic approach to product development
• capacity building in host communities
• a sense and uniqueness of place
• commitment to the greening of the tourism industry

WHAT  IS  ECOTOURISM?
Ecotourism, ecotravel, ecolodges and just generally being "eco" have become popular tourism sales pitches.  What is true ecotourism? What defines an ecolodge or an ecological company?  How is the surrounding community involved?  And finally, is ecotourism such a great thing anyways?

In order to truly understand ecotourism and all of it's attendant pros and cons it is necessary to do some background research.  This page offers an introduction to the topic along with several links to more detailed information.  The basic definitions below have been adapted and clarified from commonly used travel industry lingo. [C.ELDOC.6009463]

The Greenwashing Of The Travel Industry

Many large industries are using greenwashing techniques to sell themselves these days and the tourism industry is no exception.  Knowing the difference between "real" ecotourism and marketing hype can often be confusing.  This article can help disperse the smoke screen and is based on excerpts from Martha Honey's excellent book "Ecotourism and Sustainable Development".  A highly recommended read for anyone interested in the controversial issues surrounding ecotourism.[C.ELDOC.6009437]

Eco-Tourism Or Eco-Terrorism?
With all the hype surrounding Eco-tourism it's refreshing to hear an alternative perspective that questions the validity of claims made on the behalf of ecotourism.  The author Anita Pleumarom argues that ecotourism can be just as damaging as other forms of more traditional tourism.

The trend towards eco-tourism holidays, presented as sustainable, nature-based and environmentally friendly, is now subject to considerable controversy. It is the tourism industry's fastest growing subsector, with an estimated world-wide annual growth of 10-15%. Governments as well as the tourism industry promote eco-tourism, with its claims of economic and social sensitivity. But there are well-founded concerns that it lacks adequate scientific foundations, and is not viable as a solution to the world's social and environmental problems. [C.ELDOC.6009430]

Do We Need the International Year of Ecotourism?
By Anita Pleumarom, Tourism Investigation and Monitoring Team

The first flush of ecotourism is running into trouble. Claims that we can protect nature, benefit local communities and also bring national revenues to the South are faced with a different reality on the ground. From Thailand to Belize, ecotourism has opened the doors to more forest destruction. Indigenous peoples in affected areas have been forced out of their traditional lands in some cases. Reports are also growing that such "tourists" are illegally collecting forest plants with potential medicinal value for the biotechnology industry.[C.ELDOC.6009427]

READ NATIONAL TOURISM POLICY 2002

Can ecotourism save tourism?A walk through the rainforest is not ecotourism unless that particular walk  somehow  benefits that environment and the people who live there. However, this concept is getting    lost with most players seeking to make profits from the buzzword. Lakshmi Salgame &  Venkatesh M R caution against the movement towards painting everything green for short term gains and suggest ways in which ecotourism can be used as a valuable tool for development that  sustains the environment[C.ELDOC.6005100]

Ecotourism - hope and reality    by Sue Wheat

For those of us who are lucky enough to afford them, holidays are one of the most important things in our lives. And as the choice of travel increases people are increasingly looking beyond the traditional sun, sea and sand for other experiences. Ecotourism - tourism that takes you to fragile and beautiful areas - is one of the tourism industry's fastest growing sectors.[C.ELDOC.6009429]

Tourists to Advocates: Making Ecotourism Work for People
T P SINGH & BRIAN FURZE
The idea of ecotourism being one of the ways in which a variety of ecological, economic and social ills can be resolved has been around for some time now.Unfortunately though, the desire to see quick and/or easy solutions to these problems all too often results in both the concept and the practice of ecotourism being used and abused.
The International Ecotourism Society defines ecotourism as responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local people. At first glance, this may seem a reasonably straightforward definition, but it isn't.
Should ecotourism merely conserve and sustain or actively improve?
How should we define well-being?
Consequently, while a lot of activities are called ecotourism, a closer examination of their impacts show that they are not what should be called ecotourism. [C.ELDOC.1071447]

Ecotourism: Scrambling for paradise
Do tourism and the environment always have to be mutually hostile? Not so, claim the promoters of the globally emerging concept of ecotourism. Socially responsible and ecologically sustainable tourism is possible, they argue. Rustam Vania catches up with those…
The idea, with all the trappings of an ecotourism venture, threatens to destroy the very environment it survives on.
In Latin America, anything and everything “eco” boomed after the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. It also reached farcical levels, as in Costa Rica with its “eco-rent-a-car”. Mexico boasts of “eco-taxis” and “eco parking lots” because of a few trees planted around the perimeter.  [C.ELDOC.1069669]

Criticisms of Ecotourism
The World Tourism Organization (WTO) says Ecotourism is the fastest growing sector of the Tourism Industry. Some believe this is good news and others are horrified at the potential environmental damage that Ecotourists and Operators may unwittingly cause.[C.ELDOC.6009423 ]

An 'oversold' Goa sets a new high in tourism
From DEVIKA SEQUEIRA
Tourist arrivals to Goa peaked at 2.02 million, recording a 25 per cent spurt. But the year-end 'Goa' hype saw the destination oversold and its infrastructure stretched to the limit.

...the enormous pressure of tourists at the end of the year told on the state's infrastructure. Residences in the North Goa tourist belt at Calangute and Candolim were plagued by power failures and bank ATMs in the locality could hardly function.
The outskirts of Panaji were hit by a water shortage. Highways and village roads were so clogged with traffic that a distance of 2 kms between Calangute and Baga which normally takes 10 minutes to cover, took over an hour to negotiate.

The facilitation and management of ecotourism in any country is a difficult one, not helped by the fact that the term has become a buzzword in national and international conservation and development circles. The task that we all have policy-makers, planners, tour operators, tourists and those concerned about the environment is to ensure ecotourism does more for the ecosystem, people and society than its history shows it might.[C.ELDOC.6007879]

Saving God’s Own Country
Bishwanath Ghosh in Thiruvananthapuram 

The Kovalam beach: What are the buildings doing there?
If you hear people raving about Kovalam, it is quite likely they’ve never been there but have only seen seductive pictures of its beaches or read enticing articles about it in tourism department brochures. For those who have been there know how disappointing the place can be. 
To begin with, there are hardly any beaches in Kovalam these days. The entire sea-front has been gobbled up by innumerable, ugly-looking hotels/lodges and restaurants.
Squeezed between them are various shops and shady Ayurvedic ‘clinics.’ Only small stretches of sand remain in the name of beaches.
During the high tide, even they disappear: water gushes in right up to the doorsteps of these hotels and eateries. In these black sands the foreigners sunbathe, under the ogling eyes of the locals. Pimps overrun the place, offering women (Indian and foreign) and drugs.[C.ELDOC.6007160]

It's simple ... No Nature, no tourism  A decade ago, the people who coined `God's own country' as the destination call for Kerala,   didn't quite realise what they had hit upon. Kerala had quietly staged a coup. Now, with the kind of attention tourism in this part of the country is getting,there is concern about the way policy
initiatives are being shaped.[C.ELDOC.1069594]

Globalisation and tourism: Deadly mix for indigenous peoples
By Raymond de Chavez
Indigenous peoples are paying a high price for tourism, says Raymond de Chavez. In their drive for profits, transnational corporations which dominate the international tourist industry have, with the complicity of governments (particularly those of the Third World), devastated the lives and lifestyles of indigenous peoples. The process of globalisation will only exacerbate their plight.[C.ELDOC .6009433]

Chink of Light in the Indian Forest
Haribabu, (1998), Tourism in Focus, Autumn Issue, No. 29)

Here has been a long-standing conflict between the natural inhabitants of India's Nagarahole National Park in Karnataka, the Adivasis, and the forest authorities. But in 1996 it became a national issue when the Karnataka State Government leased out 56.41 acres of forest land, along with infrastructure built by the Karnataka Forest Development Corporation, to Gateway Hotels and Gateway Resorts Limited, a division of the Taj Group of Hotels. This land and infrastructure was leased for 18 years to launch a Rs.40 crore hotel project inside the National Park. (1 Crore Rupees is approximately 145,000 Pound Sterling). [C.ELDOC.6009446]

Under consumer pressure
Yet many then walk out on to a pristine beach or golf course, unaware that entire communities have been displaced to accommodate the resort in which they stay.
While many hospitality chains have environmental policies in place, the industry is slow to adopt social responsibility. But big hotels can cause huge disruption in developing countries to local communities.[C.ELDOC.6009460]

Responsible Travel Can Be a Force for Good
Financial Times, UK, October 16, 2003
When the United Nations proclaimed 2002 as International Year of Eco-tourism, many non-governmental organisations, and campaign groups that monitor the impact of the tourist industry on the world, raised their eyebrows.

In 1996 a conflict between the inhabitants of Nagarahole National Park, the Adivasis, became a national issue in India. The Karnataka state government leased out land to a division of the Taj Group, a hotel chain that has won numerous environmental awards.

But the Adivasis won a court battle to halt the development, claiming the hotel would deny their rights of access to the forest.

Even if communities are not forced off their land, foreign visitors can prove a disruptive force for remote and fragile cultures, which may start to see traditions disappear and local cultural artifacts commercialised.[C.ELDOC.6009452]

Tribals up in arms against Kerala eco-tourism plan
Suresh Menon in Thrissur
Tribals in Kerala have said that they will oppose the government’s attempts to implement the state-sponsored eco-tourism project in the Wayanad wildlife sanctuary tooth and nail.Demanding that the proposed eco-tourism project should be dropped forthwith, the Adivasi Gothra Mahasabha (AGM) leader, C K Janu, said tribals would oppose all tourism projects coming up in the 77 square km Muthanga range of the sanctuary.[C.ELDOC.1071427]

Five Star Mega Tourism Project To Destroy The Largest Mangrove Forest Of The World By National Fishworkers Forum, India
July 2003
One of the largest mangrove forests in the world and a unique tiger habitat, the Sunderbans in West Bengal has been facing serious threats to its ecosystem due to a number of causes which, in near future, are going to be eclipsed by a sinister five star mega tourism project. [C.ELDOC.]

EQUATIONS is a non-profit organisation established for research, training and the promotion of holistic tourism.

http://www.bigvolcano.com.au/ercentre/ercpage.htm
A comprehensive guide to ecotourism practice, ecologically sustainable development
(ESD) and general tourism and travel best practice management sites world-wide