A deeper question is whether ecotourism is really desirable in some areas. A few ecotourists in a fragile environment but would impact hundreds of it into a “resort” that exists, and can pave the way for mass tourism. Similarly, critics of ecotourism, as the Red Tercermundista fear that if the vacationers are back ecotourists, then hordes of travelers invade peoples and protected areas rather than stay on existing tourist center. A development that would increase the undesirable impact of tourism rather than alleviate the current problems. Recognizing the impact of ecotourism, both good and bad, the United Nations has declared 2002 the International Year of Ecotourism, giving those concerned the opportunity to review the impact of ecotourism on the environment and communities. On the way to the culminating event, the World Ecotourism Summit, there has been a series of preparatory meetings in the world to discuss tourism within the context of conservation, communities and marketing. The goals of the Summit, to be held in Quebec, Canada from 19 to 22 May, include obtaining a better understanding of the impact of ecotourism, improve their approach, management, marketing and regulation, and ensure the equitable distribution of benefits among everyone involved.

These are ambitious goals, especially since ecotourism involves a large area from interested local community groups and indigenous people, to global corporations, national governments and development agencies. However, since what is involved is more environmental degradation and damage to local communities, it is obvious to carry out an ambitious plan.
Despite criticism from the WWF, the conservation organization believes that responsible ecotourism if you have the potential to support conservation and communities. But the organization warns that ecotourism is not a cure-all. Any time you can be an alternative to harmful economic activities such as logging and mining, there will be few cases where ecotourism alone may provide sufficient income to support conservation and people. The organization believes that ecotourism should be part of a broader development strategy and its growth carefully monitored.

The WWF also warns that the existence of a wilderness area does not automatically mean an ecotourism initiative will succeed. Success requires, among other things, good access, training, comfortable lodging, visible wildlife, appropriate marketing, impact monitoring and proper regulation. Many ecotourism initiatives by small communities were released only to fail because you do not take into consideration the above factors.
WWF believes that a passenger must maintain or improve the biological and cultural diversity, use resources sustainably and reduce consumption and waste. She is also working to develop such responsible tourism practices in several different levels. One of them is to support community ecotourism enterprises where they have control over the development of ecotourism and are equitable sharing of benefits.

Another is to support certification programs for ecotourism tour operators. For example, the LINKS program, which was a joint initiative of WWF, the State of Alaska and the Association of Tourism and Recreation wild Alaska, is now an official project of the Arctic Council and aims to certify tourism businesses that operate arctic socially and environmentally responsible, and assist in the market for such businesses to passengers.
A major impact of tourism, but often overlooked, is the emission of CO2 from air travel, which contributes significantly to global warming and climate change.

Accepting that few people would actually travel to reduce the impact on the environment, WWF is promoting a new business tool to assess the impact on the environment, or “ecological footprint” of a vacation. Vacation Footprint tool calculates the environmental impact that can have a vacation either by examining the individual components, such as flights, waste and consumption of food and then suggests “scenarios” to reduce that impact. In a similar area, WWF is working with the eco-tourism operator in the UK, Discovery Initiatives, which pays fees to a climate care plan that invests in alternative technologies and renewable energy products designed to counter the impact of air travel.

Although certification, better regulation and involve the local community appropriately to go far to ensure that ecotourism is responsible, ultimately, its future will depend on passengers to take it into account. The future is promising. In a recent survey in the United Kingdom, for example, 85% of respondents said they would prefer that your holiday does not affect the environment. The ecotourism sector growth during the past two decades also suggests that there is widespread interest in not damaging the environment while on vacation. There is hope that the results of the World Ecotourism Summit, along with the work of organizations dedicated to responsible ecotourism, will help raise awareness of problems involving ecotourism, and ensuring that ecotourists not inadvertently destroy the landscapes they visit .