Sustainable Tourism Law

92 SUSTAINABLE TOURISM LAW Eco Tourism Ecotourism is probably the form of tourism closer to the idea of Sustainable Tourism 137 . The International Ecotourism Society defines Ecotourism as “ responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education ” 138 . A Conference on Ecotourism was held in Quebec in the year 2002 (called World EcotourismSummit) in the framework of theUNInternational Year of Ecotourism, and approved a document, known as the Québec Declaration on Ecotourism 139 . XII. THE ROLE OF THE LAW Tourism Sustainability Law In the array of materials, researches and articles on Sustainability and Sustainable Tourism, very few contributions are dedicated to Tourism Law and Tourism Sustainability Law. And even when an author writes about these topics, the references are mainly to Tourism and Sustainability, with few or no references to juridical problems 140 . 137 Marta HONEY, Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise?, 2 Ed., Island Press, 2008; Honey, page 7, write that Ecotourism should be viewed as distinct from other categories: “Nature tourism involves travel to unspoiled places to experience and enjoy nature. It usually involves moderate and safe forms of exercise such as hiking, biking, sailing, and camping. Wildlife tourism involves travel to observe animals, birds, and fish in their native habitats. Adventure tourism is nature tourism with a kick: it requires physical skill and endurance (rope climbing, deep-sea diving, bicycling, or kayaking) and involves a degree of risk taking. often in little-charted terrain. Whereas nature, wildlife, and adventure tourism are defined solely by the recreational activities of the tourist, ecotourism is defined as well by a set of principles that include its benefits to both conservation and people in the host country”. “Ecotourism includes minimization of environmental and cultural consequences, contributions to conservation and community projects in developing countries, and environmental education and political consciousness-raising, such as the establishment of codes of conduct for travelers as well as a wide variety of certification programs for components of the travel industry”. See also Tim GALE – Jennifer HILL, Ecotourism and Environmental Sustainability: Principles and Practice , (eBook) Farnham, England: Routledge, 2009. 138 http://www.ecotourism.org/. 139 Available at https://www.gdrc.org/uem/eco-tour/quebec-declaration.pdf. The document “Recognize that ecotourism embraces the principles of sustainable tourism, concerning the economic, social and environmental impacts of tourism. It also embraces the following specific principles which distinguish it from the wider concept of sustainable tourism: Contributes actively to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage, – Includes local and indigenous communities in its planning, development and operation, and contributing to their well-being, · Interprets the natural and cultural heritage of the destination to visitors, · Lends itself better to independent travellers, as well as to organized tours for small size groups”. 140 exception, and therefore deserve to be mentioned: AA. VV., Sustainable Tourism and Law , Michaël Faure, Ni Ketut Supasti Dharmawan I Made Budi Arsika, Editors, Eleven Int. Publishing, ISBN 978-94-6094-860-2 (E-book) 2014; Navamin CHATARAYAMONTRI, Sustainable Tourism and the Law: Coping with Climate Change , Thesis, Pace University School of Law, 2009, (S.J.D. dissertation), available at http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/ lawdissertations/6/.