Ecotourism and the Pacific Islands Environment : impacts, potential and implications for management, paper presented at the Seminar on the Sustainable Development of Ecotourism in the Pacific Islands, 17-18 October, 2001, Suva, Fiji / by Sam Sesega

Abstract

Ecotourism demonstrates the potential for direct economic gain inherent in the non-extractive use of the natural environment based on its aesthetic and educational value. It requires for the natural environment to be intact and relatively pristine in state. Properly managed, ecotourism and nature conservation will complement and reinforce each other. But there are challenges in translating the ideal of ecotourism into an economically and ecologically viable venture for operators and owners of local sites and resources.