Plenary Lecture
Ecotourism: Sustaining the Environment and the Economy
Professor Rich Snow
Applied Aviation Sciences
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
USA
E-mail: snow4fc@erau.edu
Abstract: Because the various parts of an ecosystem are interrelated, the activities of one part affect the others. Thus, the survival of each part depends on the survival of the other parts. In the same way, business firms and other social institutions are a part of the larger ecosystem. The survival of these institutions depends on the survival of the biosphere. One area of business especially influenced by the environment is tourism. Tourism is the largest industry on the planet, directly and indirectly accounting for approximately ten percent of the global gross domestic product. One in every ten workers worldwide is employed in the tourist industry, which includes transportation, accommodation, recreation, cultural, and travel service activities. The fastest growing segment of the tourist industry is travel to natural or cultural areas, also known as ecotourism. For ecotourism to be successful, it must be properly planned assuming the basic principle of existing for the good of all parties involved. Each element of the environment must be carefully surveyed, analyzed, and elucidated, and those in management positions should be concerned with sustainable development, implying that conservation of both cultural and natural resources is of primary importance. However, there must also be some form of commensurate economic benefit to the local community. This research suggests that with proper planning, ecotourism can be an ecologically and culturally sustainable industry capable of generating revenue without degrading the environment or the local society's traditional way of life. In short, ecotourism can represent an ecologically, culturally, and economically sustainable industry of benefit to the whole biosphere.
Brief Biography of the Speaker: Dr. Richard Snow earned his B.S. in Geography (summa cum laude) and his M.S. in Geoscience from Western Kentucky University prior to taking his Ph.D. in Physical Geography from Indiana State University in 1999. Rich is a Professor of Meteorology and teaches courses in Meteorology, Climatology, and GIS in the Department of Applied Aviation Sciences at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.