Ecological tourism: Problems and prospects

Ecotourism theory and practice is a new interdisciplinary field of knowledge, therefore, it is natural that despite the fact that «the profusion of experiences has generated a variety of means of theorizing, analyzing and marketing ecotourism» there are practically no comprehensive studies of this phenomenon. The article analyses the concept of ecotourism, i.e. the understanding of tourism as both a social phenomenon and a social institution, the place and role of ecotourism in the structure of tourism and in the social structure of modern society. The methodology of the research consists in the application of analytical, structural-functional and dialectical approaches to the study of ecotourism industry, which combines the ecological paradigm in the development of society with the social paradigm. Since ecotourism is a new phenomenon in the world culture of relations in the system of society/nature/human, and ecotourism industry is in the process of intensive development, therefore it is of interest to theoretically comprehend the concept of ecotourism. The main approach in the study of ecotourism problems is the dialecticsociological method, which allowed us to analyze the concept of ecotourism, the prospects of ecotourism development, and its impact on social structures. On the basis of sociological analysis of theoretical sources, it is concluded that most studies consider ecotourism as one of the factors that contributes to a radical revision of the ways of relations between man and nature that have developed in the course of the development of market-oriented industry and agriculture. Most of the analysed works describe to a greater extent the ideal model of ecotourism, i.e. the desired, rather than the actual results.