Jean Dagré, CEO | Agence Dagré , France | jean.dagre@dagre.fr

1992: the International Compagny of Ecotourism defined ecotourism « as a form of responsible for natural environment travel which contributes to the environmental protection and to the well-being of the local populations ».

We notice a deep interest for ecotourism from travelers. It is a question of a real realisation of the hard impact of tourism on the natural environment, that passes in particular by the degradation of the flora, the historic monuments... The protection and the consideration of the environment and culture represents the theme of green tourism. Ecotourists have objectives such as to protect the heritage, to fight against poverty by participating in the local economy, to reduce waste, etc.

To minimise their impact on the environment, ecotourists travel differently. For example, there are also inns, camping areas, gîtes, hotels or vacation centers which are certified with an eco-label (quality label which certifies that a product or a service has reduced consequences on the environment).

More than tourism, ecotourism possesses an educational part and has the objective to make travellers more aware of the consequences of tourism on nature. It is an opportunity for 'players'  in the tourism industry to propose to consumers to "return to their roots", to disconnect (cut themselves off from the Internet, go away from civilisation etc.).

Unfortunately, green tourism is sometimes a pretext for players of the tourism industry for commercial and marketing offers.

Ecotourism is a growing request, it is a long-term trend and not a temporary fashion. People live increasingly in towns and want to go on holiday in the country. France establishes itself gradually as a green and lasting destination. We sometimes think wrongly that the activity of eco tourism is based on distant destinations… Moreover, people prefer to leave for a few days to a close destination rather than to depart for a month to a distant country.

From now on, the choice of transport is an important element of green tourism. To limit the impact of their travel on the environment, eco tourists favor the less polluting transports, like trains. They avoid generally taking a plane, which has a hard negative impact on the environment.

Would it be possible that the development of ecotourism is a reaction of backwards movement from digital influence?

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