The Eco-Conscious Traveler Tourism is generically defined as traveling for pleasure or culture, where as ecotourism is defined as the practice of touring natural habitats in a manner meant to minimize ecological impact. Though these definitions are varied, the idea behind this website is that you can incorporate the 'pleasure and culture' aspect of general tourism into ecotourism and have a wonderful tourist experience while taking care of the planet. Traveling creates opportunities to learn about and be affected by other cultures, and also to leave an impression of who you are and where you come from with those you meet along the way. Being aware of the environmental issues you are most likely to come across will help you send the right impression to your travel acquaintances or hosts, as well as help you keep your environmental impact low. This site is meant to give guidance, tips, explanations, and hope to those travelers who are aware of the impact they create and wish to reduce the negative components of their tourist experience. The Global Footprint Plan This website is the product of the research I did for a grant I received from the Office of International Programs at Ithaca College called the Global Footprint Grant. This grant is given to selected students who wish to explore an area of sustainability in their host country while they are abroad and share their experience and acquired knowledge with their home community. Upon receiving the Global Footprint Grant, I set out to research and explore Australia in hopes of finding eco-friendly methods of travel, excursions, and opportunities that I could then present to future students and tourists who approach traveling with the same goals of minimum impact/maximum experience. Abroad in Australia Taking the idea of culture, pleasure, and ecotourism, I worked on finding ways to incorporate and combine these concepts into experiences as I spent my semester abroad in Australia. Through my own personal experiences of ecotourism in Australia, I have learned so much about how easy and important it is to make our travel sustainable, especially as the tourism industry continues to grow. This website contains some travel ideas, tips, and destinations for ecotourism in Australia, and I hope it can be used as a guide for tourists in Australia and as an example for all tourists who seek the balance of ecotourism and enjoyable experiences. If anything, I hope that readers can take away from this website the understanding that it is possible to enjoy yourself and thoroughly experience a culture when touring while still maintaining a low level of impact.  |