Ecotourism Potential

Ecotourism is the fruit of the age concerned with managing the environmental fallout

from economic development. In one sense, ecotourism is an attempt to pursue the twin

goals of economic growth and natural conservation by tying both goals together. As part of

the service sector, tourism is by no means peripheral to the world economy. According to

the International Ecotourism Society (TIES), the travel and tourism sector involves over

230 million jobs and 10% of global gross domestic product (GDP). In 2006, travel and

tourism (which amounts to consumption, investment, government expenditure and

exports) would amount to 6.5 trillion US dollars. In 150 countries, tourism is in the top five

export earners and in 60 countries tourism is the number one export (TIES, 2008b: 1).

Furthermore, since the 1950s, the tourism industry has grown dramatically from 20

million in 1950 to over 800 million in 2005 (TIES, 2008b: 1). Tourism is also a vital source

of revenue for developing countries. According to the World Bank, tourism is a vital export

industry for 83% of developing countries, a source of financial surplus and "appears to be

one of the few economic sectors able to guide a number of developing countries to higher

levels of prosperity and for some to leave behind their least-developed country status"

(World Bank Group, cited in TIES, 2008b: 1).

The strength of the tourism sector suggests great economic potential for Northeast

Asian economies. This paper considers ecotourism in the context of Mongolia and Japan.

This paper outlines a brief discussion of ecotourism