Eco Inspector

Eco Inspector: ecotourism, greenwashing and the Rwanda gorilla case study

This free game is part of our Cambridge iGCSE Travel & Tourism (0471) course for exams in EXAM YEARS 2027-2029.

What is ecotourism?

The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) 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". Learn this definition word for word for the Cambridge IGCSE Travel and Tourism (0471) course.

A quick way to check any trip is the three-part test. It is ecotourism only if the answer to all three is yes:

• Does it take place in a natural environment?
• Does it actively conserve the environment, not just avoid damage?
• Does it educate visitors and benefit local communities?

Watch out for two look-alikes. Nature-based tourism happens in nature but may not fund conservation or teach anything, like a ski resort or a jet-ski reef safari. Sustainable tourism is broader: any tourism managed to reduce harm, even a green city hotel or a carbon-neutral conference. Ecotourism is one type of sustainable tourism, but not all sustainable tourism is ecotourism. In Trail 1 of the game you sort nine real-style trips, from gorilla trekking in Rwanda to a Galápagos small-boat cruise, against the clock.

The six features of ecotourism

Genuine ecotourism has six features:

• Natural setting: relatively undisturbed areas such as forests, reefs, wetlands and mountains.
• Low impact: small groups, renewable energy and no single-use plastic.
• Education: interpretation, which means explaining nature and culture to visitors, often through trained local guides.
• Conservation funding: money flows directly into protecting nature, for example by paying rangers.
• Local benefits: local people are employed, involved and paid. When money flows out to foreign owners instead, this is called leakage.
• Cultural respect: local traditions and the rights of indigenous people are respected, not turned into a fake show.

In Trail 2, Greenwash Detective, you inspect three "eco" lodges, find the evidence for each feature, then certify, downgrade or reject them. Greenwashing means falsely claiming to be eco-friendly to attract customers. Certification schemes such as EarthCheck, Green Globe and the Rainforest Alliance help tourists spot the difference. The best lodge in the game is based on Posada Amazonas in Peru, an example of community-based ecotourism (CBE), where local people own and run the business.

Case study: gorilla tourism in Rwanda

Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda is home to rare mountain gorillas. In the 1980s fewer than 250 were left in the wild. Today there are over 1,000, helped by strict ecotourism rules:

• Each gorilla family can be visited by only 8 people a day, for one hour, from 7 metres away. Ill visitors may not trek, because gorillas can catch human colds and flu.
• A permit costs $1,500, which pays for rangers and anti-poaching patrols.
• At least 10% of park revenue goes to nearby communities for schools, clinics and water, so protecting gorillas is worth more to local people than poaching.

In Trail 3, Gorilla Guardians, you set the number of visitors, the permit price and the share of revenue for communities, then run the park for 10 years. You need the gorillas to grow by 15% while raising money for conservation and local people. It shows why carrying capacity, the most visitors an area can take without damage, matters so much.

Criticisms of ecotourism and exam tips

Ecotourism is not perfect. Be ready to evaluate it using these criticisms:

• Greenwashing: businesses using the "eco" label without meeting the standards.
• Wildlife disturbance and disease: even small groups can stress animals.
• Carbon footprint: long-haul flights can cancel out some of the environmental benefits.
• Leakage: profits leaving the local area.
• Exclusivity: high prices mean only wealthy tourists can go.
• Over-reliance: when COVID-19 stopped tourism in 2020, communities that depended on ecotourism lost their income.

For a 6-mark "evaluate" question, define ecotourism, give successes with named evidence, give limitations, then finish with a supported conclusion. The game ends with an exam cheat sheet, a Galápagos Islands case study and a model answer on Rwanda.