Ecotourism is now considered to be the fastest-growing segment of the hospitality industry. These earnings can be partially explained by the type of tourists that ecotourism attracts. Ecotourists are generally well educated and are willing to stay longer in an area and pay more for environmentally friendly services. Tourism agencies are taking advantage of this. If, before you started reading this, I asked you what ecotourism is, I doubt many of you could have come up with a good answer, and that's the problem with ecotourism.
Promotion is next to nothing in the United States.
In Costa Rica, by contrast, there are tour agencies on every corner devoted to displaying the natural side of Costa Rica. Yet, American agencies want profit. They want to send their clients to those big resorts and theme parks, and that's what many clients want. Nevertheless, many travelers would be interested in seeing a rainforest or a mangrove swamp if they were given the option.