Introduction

Tourism has increased by more than 100 per cent between 1990 and 2000 in the world's 'hotspots' regions richest in species and facing extreme threats according to a biodiversity report released by Conservation International (CI) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Tourism and Biodiversity : Mapping Tourism's Global Footprint is the most comprehensive study of its kind focusing on the impacts of tourism on biological diversity (Christ et al. , 2003). Biodiversity hotspots have seen tourism increase by over 100 per cent between 1990 and 2000. In particular, in certain areas the growth has been staggering. Over the past decade, tourism has increased by more than 2000 per cent in both Laos and Cambodia, nearly 500 per cent in South Africa, over 300 per cent in the countries of Brazil, Nicaragua and El Salvador, and 128 per cent in the Dominican Republic.

Tourism generates 11 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP), employs 200 million people and transports nearly 700 million international travellers per year a figure that is expected to double by 2020. It is considered one of the largest (if not the largest) industries on the planet. With nature and adventure travel one of the fastest-growing segments within the tourism industry, the Earth's most fragile, high-biodiversity areas are where most of that expansion will likely take place. While tourism has the potential to provide opportunities for conserving nature, tourism development, when conducted improperly, can be a...