All forms of tourism have impacts on the natural environment. The impacts of ecotourism tend to be concentrated in areas of highest conservation value, hence the need to manage and minimize these. The book considers impacts of particular activities, such as hiking and camping, off-road vehicles, and recreational boats, and impacts specific to certain ecosystems e.g. marine environments, polar coasts, mountain environments. It incorporates reviews of better-studied impacts; and case studies of recent research and less well-known issues.
Impacts positive and negative: links between ecotourism and environment; The cost of getting there: impacts of travel to ecotourism destinations; Impacts of hiking and camping on soils and vegetation; Environmental impacts of motorised off-highway vehicles; Impacts of recreational power boating on freshwater ecosystems; Impacts of ecotourism on terrestrial wildlife; Environmentally sustainable trail management; Managing impacts of camping