In the 1950s and 1960s I began traveling all around Mexico, getting to know and admiring its many natural and cultural heritage features. Among the arguments that I used to dissuade the building of marinas in the Celestun estuary area was the presence of an ever growing number of tourists, especially from the United States. Ecotourism implies a scientific, esthetic or philosophical approach, although the 'ecotourist' is not required to be a professional scientist, artist or philosopher. The main point is that the person who practices ecotourism has the opportunity of immersing him or herself in nature in a way that most people cannot enjoy in their routine, urban existences. This person will eventually acquire a consciousness and knowledge of the natural environment, together with its cultural aspects, that will convert him into somebody keenly involved in conservation issues.
Many countries have different definitions for the term.
Ecotourism has to adapt to different environmental, socioeconomic and cultural circumstances. Ecotourism in Australia is a very different occurrence from, let's say, ecotourism in Ecuador. However, I think that this multiplicity of definitions is causing much confusion in many instances, so I believe that it would be worthwhile to adopt a single definition that encompasses the whole phenomenon and implications of ecotourism. Another serious problem is that, in many cases, the notion of ecotourism is confused with the broader concept of sustainable tourism or with certain types of adventure tourism that have nothing to do with ecotourism. This causes much difficulty in proper communication when discussing these different concepts.