The local, state, and federal government of tourist destinations are in charge. When looking to make the switch over to being sustainable and an ecotourist travel destination, it is up to the government to be putting rules and regulations in place to protect not only the environment, but also the locals that work and live in the area. 

“Empirical studies investigating ecotourism projects shows a positive link between community participation and benefits including better quality of life” (Hasan, Swain, George 2021). Locals of an area are the ones working the tours, shops, and restaurants. It is important for the locals to buy in on the plan to make the area more sustainable. For most areas it has gone one of two ways. 1. The locals are on board and are willing to work to protect, conserve, and restore what was lost due to tourism and 2. Tourism is how the locals make there money. There has been some push back by some because they are worried that they will not be able to provide for their families anymore if there is a shift in there employment. 

National Parks in the United States are one of the first examples of the federal government looking to play into the ecotourism role. The National Park System has implemented a lot to compensate for over tourism in the parks: shuttle systems, timed entries, park reservations and reservations/a lottery system for certain hikes and parks of certain parks. “Between 2010 and 2020, recreation visits to national park units have increased by 16.4%, representing an average increase of more than 5 million visits each year” (Bricker, Lackey, and Joyner 2022). By implementing these things, the park system is looking to support ecotourism by thinking about the environment in the area and trying to limit any more damage in the area created by visitors. 

Hawai'i is a big tourist destination that has seen a lot of push back from the natives to those who travel there. Mass tourism has taken over Hawai'i so much that the natives can no longer afford to own homes on their island(s), so the homeless population is increasing. Many resorts are coming in a buying out the land and homes that they currently have. Tourists are not buying or staying locally to help support the locals and the local economy. Therefore, the native people of Hawai'i are encouraging travelers to 1. Do not travel here until they can fully recover and can restore what was lost or 2. Do intense research before you travel so you know you are eating and staying locally and to make sure you trip is 100% sustainable. 

National Park Negatives: National Parks from the general public eye look to be a good a thing, large area of lands protected under federal law to stay natural and "untouched". However, the NPS has used this as a marketing tactic and have financially gained from this profiting off of the travelers, adding hotels, roads, and restaurants to areas that were once truly untouched. Also with the addition of national parks, many native and original families were displaced with out warning and had to restart and rebuild. With adding outdoor activities to be more in touch with the environment, the area can be subjected to more littering and water pollution with the more people trying to tap into the outdoor recreational activities. 

There are many places throughout the world that have been coined "ecotourism destinations": National Parks, Island of Southeast Asia, and many parts of Europe. When researching this topic several different case studies came up with these areas as the main case. However, to fully develop and get a worldly view from all parts of the world and all cultures, it is important to look everywhere. There was very little and almost no information on ecotourism in the Middle East. The Middle East is culturally rich and has a very diverse landscape. Many different governments within that region of the world are adding nature preserves and laws in place to become more known for their environmental preservation.