MyTourAgency.doc

MyTourAgency thismorning,iwouldliketoarguefortrueecologicaltourism,or,ecotourism.tome,atrueecotourisatourthatallowsustoexpressourpassionfornatureandforourculturalheritage. ilovetraveling.oneofmymostmemorabletripswasclimbingthegreatwall.there,icherishedseeingpeopleofallracesandagesgatheredonthisancientedifice.icherishedseeingthesepeoplesmilingateachother,makingwayforeachother,andremindingeachothertowatchtheirsteps. whileilovetraveling,imalsosadtoseethedamagetourismhasdonetonatureandtoourhistoricalrelics.manytouragenciesliketolabeltheirbusiness“ecotours”buttheyhavecutdowntreesandfilledupriversinordertobuildroads,hotelsandcablecarssoastoattracttourists.andontheirtours,somepeoplepickflowers,catchbirdsandthrowawayfoodthatmightpoisonanimals. thisisnotecotourismatall.trueecotourisminvolvesresponsibility.whileweenjoythebeautyofnature,weshouldalsohelpprotectit.hereletmeshareanexperience. once,ijoinedothersasyoungvolunteersinanouting.theexcursiontookustothepeakofamountainwherewegotabeautifulviewofthecity.wewere,however,notordinarytourists.aswewereclimbing,wewerealsopickingupthetrashleftonthegroundbyotherclimbers.finally,wecarried,inlargebags,allthetrashdownthemountain. theexcursionwasexhausting,butibelieve,afterthisexperience,notasingleoneofuswilleverlitteranytouristspot.moreover,whenwewerecleaningupthemountainslope,wecaughteyesofmanyothers.someofthemmightseeusasfoolish,butmoreofthem,ibelieve,willtakenoteoftheneedtoprotecttheenvironment. myexperiencewasoneofanecotourist.wetook,butwealsogave. however,ontheideaofecotourism,therearemanymisunderstandings.ioncetelephonedseveraltravelagenciestoinquireaboutecotours.andhereishowitwent: “hello” “hi,iminterestedintheecotouryouveadvertised.” “oh,yeah,ecotour.” “imwonderingifweshoulddoanythingspecialasecotourists.” “imsorry?oh,nothingjustenjoythescenery.” everyconversationendedupwith“enjoyingthescenery.”noonementioned“protectingthewildlife,”“respectinglocalcustoms,”or“preparingabagforgarbage.”noneofthemmadeanymentionoftheobligationandresponsibilityonthepartoftourists. likeotherstudents,histravelagency,iwoulddothreethings: first,iwouldliketohaveastaffofpeoplewholovenatureastheylovetheirmothersandcanpassontothecustomersthesamekindoflove. second,iwouldliketoletthecustomersappreciatethebeautyofnatureinthosenaturalreservations,safariparksandwildforests,andshowthemhowtheycancontributeinreturnfortheair,waterandnourishmentthatnatureprovides. lastbutnotleast,idencouragethecustomerstoworkasvolunteersasioncedid.theywouldliveclosetonaturebycleaningupthenaturalresortsandplantingtreesasmementosoftheirvisit. istillrememberwheniwasstandingonthetopofthegreatwall,icouldseeinsomedistancemanybaremountainswithnotrees,nothinggreen.itismydreamthatonedayiwouldorganizetoursforareasthataresufferingfromerosionanddeforestation,andwewouldplanttreesthere.ecotourismshouldbeanexperienceoflearningandofferingitshouldnotbejustseeingthefamoussitesandposingforphotos.ontheflagofmyagency,iwouldliketoprintthismotto: t