We are finally on island time, as we have been staying on Ambergris Caye. The ocean, sand, and sun are all very different from the rainy jungle. Obviously, tourism is a heavy presence here, which led our discussion on the dangers of ecotourism.

James Carrier and Donald Macleod led our discussion through their article “Bursting The Bubble: The Socio-Cultural Context of Ecotourism”.

Over the past couple of days, we have snorkeled on the Belize Barrier Reef and visited Caye Caulker. We did so in the context of ecotourism and the danger of its bubble. Ecotourism, due to its positive image, is being used for commercial use and results in a fluid definition. Thus, an appropriation of its label is causing ignorance of tourists during their vacations.  This ignorance leads to an ecotourist bubble that must be “burst” through communication.

During snorkeling, we tried to be as low impact as possible and discussed the implications of our snorkeling. On our visit to Caye Caulker, we searched for signs of environmental campaigns or ecotourism in general. Overall, we have been studying the best way to be an ecotourist, while dispelling the ignorance it may cause.

Hopefully, we can change the ignorance of tourism to be less dangerously impactful to the environment.

Until next time!