Author(s)

S.E. Alexander & J.L. Whitehouse

Abstract

As an idealized alternative to mass tourism, ecotourism seeks balance between economic benefits for resident hosts and protection of the natural resource base against environmental costs. Yet these ambiguous descriptors fail to consider what is to be sustained, at what levels, and for whom. Nor is the fundamental contradiction resolved between the demand for economic growth to ameliorate poverty-induced ecological destruction and environmental conservation that inhibits economic growth. If ecotourism is to induce sustainable development, it must be ecologically sound, culturally sensitive, and economically viable. Using data from two Belizean case studies, this paper challenges optimistic assessments concerning the impacts of ecotourism and points to the leakage o

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