1) The document discusses the author's experiences with ecotourism during a study abroad trip to Belize. Activities like hiking, horseback riding, and snorkeling taught the students about responsible travel and environmental ethics. 2) Key lessons included understanding Mayan history and ruins to respect local culture, minimizing impacts on wildlife habitats, and preserving fragile coral reef ecosystems. 3) The chocolate farm experience highlighted sustainable living through locally grown food and low waste practices, inspiring the author to educate others on these topics. Responsible travel requires applying lessons to create positive change.

1. Ecotourism: Responsible Traveling and Environmental Ethics
Aivana Hoang
A Bridge to Belize 2016
Dr. Darien Ripple
PHIL 497- Sustainability and Cultural Diversity

2. Traveling has grown to be more than just a means of getting away or leaving home to
explore the world. The term study abroad and experiential learning refers to traveling to another
country and getting a real world education. This means that you learn by absorbing information
given to you by tour guides and locals. This means learning through putting yourself into a
country and seeing, first hand, the problems that are happening instead of just reading about it in
a textbook. On June 2nd, 2016, 15 students flew to a little country, wedged in between Mexico
and Guatemala, called Belize. Students were able to experience responsible traveling during
various excursions including horseback riding, snorkeling, and hiking through chocolate farms
and ruins, to understand theories related to sustainability and cultural diversity, such as
ecotourism. After this trip, what we left with was the knowledge to conserve wildlife and educate
others on methods to do the same.
During our guided tour through Caracal Ruins, the concentration was understanding past
cultures in order to gain respect for the country of Belize. Starting our trip off with this tour was
really important because it helped us to understand that during our one hour or two hour car rides
through Belize, we were not just looking at mountains while traveling through vortexes that
magically moved the van up hills. We were looking at Mayan ruins that have yet to be excavated
due to the lack of finances. A part of ecotourism is interpretation and the National Ecotourism
Society describes that as “enriching personal experiences” and enhancing our appreciation for
the culture. After we took the tour through Caracal Ruins, students became more cautious about
the stones they touched or stepped on because symbols that have been inscribed into these stones
can easily deteriorate with every touch. What I took out of this experience was that history
repeats itself in different ways. The world today is beginning to collapse just as the Mayan
civilization did. Jared Diamond believed that the collapse was due to drought and deforestation

3. (Diamond). Today, we face rising sea levels and climate change because of the greenhouse
emissions from burning fossil fuels. The documentary, Chasing Ice by Jeff Orlowski and his
team, follows the story of James Balog and his journey through Antarctica. Balog provides
evidence of the impacts of climate change, on icebergs, through the various pictures he takes
over time. If we do not choose to learn from the Mayans, our cities could end up under
mountains and grass just like theirs.
During our trip horseback riding, the main concentration was preservation of the jungle.
According to the National Ecotourism Society, one principle of ecotourism is “minimize
physical, social, behavioral, and psychological impacts.” As we rode through the jungle, we
learned about the severity of poaching in Belize. We also learned about how harmful human
disturbance is. At the Mountain Equestrian Trail, Arran, one of the operators, explained to us the
harm caused to the mountain when trails are created for tourists. Having visible trails make it
easier for people to create negative impacts on the environment. This can include leaving trash
that they do not feel like carrying back, or accidently dropping articles of clothing. On the
horseback ride to the waterfall, we had lunch at, we had to ride through tiger fern. Tiger fern is a
good plant for jaguars to hide in. When people tear down these kinds of plants, it reduces the
space for animals to hide and makes it harder for them to hunt or run away from poachers. As
hard as it was to navigate our horses through the trees and woods, it was worth it because in the
end we knew that it was more beneficial have no physical impacts on the jungle then to create a
path.
On our two snorkeling excursions, the concentration was on preservation of the marine
life, especially the coral reef. Our motto was always “only take pictures and leave footprints.”
The first island we went on, Laughing Bird Caye was a lot larger than the second island, Silk

4. Caye. In theory, ecotourism is supposed to increase awareness on the fragility of the natural
world and promote conservation, but during this trip, I realized that ecotourism can have
negative effects on the environment and a part of traveling responsibly is understanding how to
avoid those effects. A part of snorkeling at the Silk Cayes involved swimming with nerf sharks.
In order to do so, the guides killed a lion fish and used it to attract the sharks. We learned about
how lion fish are an invasive species and threaten the lives of coral reefs. So, it was beneficial
that we got to see what a lion fish looked like and that we killed it to decrease their population.
The negative part about using lion fish to attract nerf sharks is that the sharks become
conditioned to think that when a motor boat comes around that means there could potentially be
food, in return, they stop trying to look for food on their own. As a responsible traveler, we
should learn to avoid activities that disturb or alter the food chain. Humans live in terrestrial
ecosystems and we survive differently than those of a marine ecosystem, however, both are
connected. When we create an imbalance in marine life, we are actually hurting ourselves as
well.
When walking around the chocolate farm, the concentration was sustainable living
through naturally grown foods. This experience left me with the most information that I can take
home and use in my daily life. Sonce Reese, one of the graduate students who was also studying
in Belize, was doing a project on waste management in Belize. This made me think about why
Americans produce so much more waste than Belizeans. One conclusion I made was that a lot of
our goods we purchase are pre-packaged, whether it be meats, drinks, or chip and snacks.
Naturally the constant unwrapping will produce more waste. Being at the Ixcacao Maya
Chocolate Farm and listening to Juan, the owner, talk about his fruits and plants made me aware
that it is possible to grow your own food.

5. The great thing about ecotourism is that it sparks your interest to create change. Even as a
business major I can link aspects such as entrepreneurship, marketing, and finance with
environmental sustainability. However, as described in Collapse by Jared Diamond, business
ethics have different agendas than that of environmental ethics, this is where moral issues happen
(Diamond). In order to be responsible there needs to be a way to satisfy America’s need for mass
production and the worlds need for conservation of the environment. Affordability is a large
factor in people’s decisions on what foods to buy. This is why many turn to fast food restaurants
and markets such as Walmart instead of farmers markets that sell organic foods. In Belize, the
students were educated on growing your own food and raising your own live stock in a free
range manner. As a finance major, a goal I have is to help people save money and one way is
educating them on creating savings accounts. Another way is educating people on how to grow
your own foods to limit spending money, and at the same time limiting creating waste from
buying packaged goods.
Ecotourism does not always equate to responsible traveling. Responsible traveling occurs
when you take what you learn and put it into action. I have learned a lesson from each
experience in Belize. I believe that I can use my experiences to help others understand the
importance of treating traveling as more than just a vacation away from home, but as a means of
understanding different cultures and the need for sustainable living.

6. References
Diamond, Jared M. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. New York:
Penguin, 2006. Print.
"Home." Chasing Ice. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 June 2016.
"Welcome." The International Ecotourism Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 June 2016.