According to the Oxford English Dictionary, ecotour was first recorded in 1973 and ecotourism, "probably after ecotour", in 1982.
ecotour, n. ... A tour of or visit to an area of ecological interest, usually with an educational element; (in later use also) a similar tour or visit designed to have as little detrimental effect on the ecology as possible or undertaken with the specific aim of helping conservation efforts. ecotourism, n. ... Tourism to areas of ecological interest (typically exotic and often threatened natural environments), esp. to support conservation efforts and observe wildlife; spec. access to an endangered environment controlled so as to have the least possible adverse effect.Some sources suggest the terms were used nearly a decade earlier. Claus-Dieter (Nick) Hetzer, an academic and adventurer from Forum International in Berkeley, CA, coined ecotourism in 1965, according to the Contra Costa Times, and ran the first ecotours in the Yucatán during the early 1970s.The definition of ecotourism adopted by Ecotourism Australia is: "Ecotourism is ecologically sustainable tourism with a primary focus on experiencing natural areas that fosters environmental and cultural understanding, appreciation and conservation. "The Global Ecotourism Network (GEN) defines ecotourism as "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and creates knowledge and understanding through interpretation and education of all involved (visitors, staff and the visited)". Ecotourism is often misinterpreted as any form of tourism that involves nature (see jungle tourism).
While some ecotourism projects, including some found in the United States, can support such claims, many projects have failed to address some of the fundamental issues that nations face in the first place. Consequently, ecotourism may not generate the very benefits it is intended to provide to these regions and their people, and in some cases leaving economies in a state worse than before.The following case studies illustrate the rising complexity of ecotourism and its impacts, both positive and negative, on the environment and economies of various regions in the world. Ecotourism in Costa Rica
Ecotourism in Jordan
Ecotourism in South Africa
Ecotourism in the United States

See also
References
Further reading
Burger, Joanna (2000). "Landscapes, tourism, and conservation". Science of the Total Environment. 249 (1–3): 39–49. Bibcode:2000ScTEn.249...39B. doi:10.1016/s0048-9697(99)00509-4. PMID 10813445. Ceballos-Lascurain, H. 1996. Tourism, Ecotourism, and Protected Areas. Larkin, T. and K. N. Kähler. 2011. "Ecotourism." Encyclopedia of Environmental Issues. Rev. ed. Pasadena: Salem Press. Vol. 2, pp. 421–424. ISBN 978-1-58765-737-5
IUCN. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature. 301 pp. Ceballos-Lascurain, H. 1998. Ecoturismo. Naturaleza y Desarrollo Sostenible. Duffy, Rosaleen (2000). "Shadow players: Ecotourism development, corruption and state politics in Belize". Third World Quarterly. 21 (3): 549–565. doi:10.1080/713701038. S2CID 153634543. Gutzwiller, Kevin J.; Anderson, Stanley H. (1999). "Spatial Extent of Human-Intrusion Effects on Subalpine Bird Distributions". The Condor. 101 (2): 378–389. doi:10.2307/1370001. JSTOR 1370001. Orams, Mark B.; Nowaczek, Agnes M.K. (2010). "Ecotourism: Principles and Practices". Annals of Tourism Research. 37: 270–271. doi:10.1016/j.annals.2009.10.007. Orams, Mark B. (2000). "Tourists getting close to whales, is it what whale-watching is all about?". Tourism Management.