Sustainable long distance travelers feed global ecotourism $54bn opportunities

Migratory bird sanctuaries may soar as birds and birdwatchers land

UNWTO launched an eco-tourism plan that promotes bird conservation and livelihood development, enabling globe-trotting tourists to become protectors of the world’s ‘original long distance travellers’ and their habitats.

Wetlands  and nature reserves score high on the United Nations’ list of new hotspots that could boost eco-tourism. These locations, however, must meet one qualification: they should be key ‘stop-over destinations’ or flyways of migratory birds.

‘Destination Flyways’ was the theme of this year’s World Migratory Bird Day, which was held last week. The event is celebrated on the second weekend of May every year. It highlighted the importance of protecting migratory birds and their natural habitats and how tourism can play a huge role in this cause.

Eight key migratory flyways chosen by the UNWTO that will be developed as part of an eco-tourism initiative.

The eco-tourism plan seeks to provide a framework for the sustainable eco-tourism management of these migratory bird landing sites, the UNWTO said. If the project succeeds, several benefits will be attained, such as wildlife protection and conservaton, livelihood for local communities, and a truly nature retreat for tourists, they added.

Tourism has a major responsibility in advancing biodiversity protection. Every year, millions of tourists are wonder-struck by the world’s wild flora and fauna while travelling. Without such enriching experiences, tourism could not be the vehicle for sustainable growth, job creation and poverty alleviation that it is today

The industry has a huge potential to support the plight of millions of migratory birds by channelling these revenues into conservation and community development, the organisation stressed.

This initiative will also enhance the tourism industry’s role in sustainability – allowing sustainable tourism to become a viable economic alternative and thus, propagating the value of ecosystem services, it added.

Bradnee Chambers, executive secretary of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), said that bird-watching in itself is a multi-billion dollar industry, providing employment and income for surrounding communities.

In the United States alone, bird-watching has contributed about US$36 billion to the economy in 2009, while the entire wildlife-watching industry generated about US$54.9 billion in 2011.

"Many people want to experience nature when they travel and there are millions of people around the world who are particularly interested in observing birds in their natural surroundings," noted Chambers.

Locations include the Seocheon Tidal Flat and Geum River in South Korea, Chongming Dongtan Nature Reserve in China, Chilika Lake in India and Korgalzhn State Nature Reserve in Kazakhstan, Germany’s Schleswig-Holstein National Park, Egypt’s Ras Mohamed National Park, Senegal’s Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary and Tanzania’s Lake Natron. All of these natural parks are located along the routes of the migratory birds.

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