What is Ecotourism?

Ecotourism is a new style of tourism which aims to excavate, utilize and sustain the local charm such as nature, history and culture. It is also expected to lead to regional improvement.
Ecotourism in Tottori Prefecture aims to...

■Deepen Bond with the whole area

■Help locals to realize good point of local area and promote its vitality to improve

■Activate regional economy by the promotion of the tourism

About Ecotourism in Tottori

Chief Coordinator
Takao Ishimura

'Ecotourism' is one kind of trips to dig down charm of the land, history and culture, and to know the reason why it is beautiful and why food is delicious. We aim to make Tottori Prefecture memorable and taken good care of from both a tourist and a local for a long time.

Understanding brings up attachment and respect of the land. For example, beech forest of Mt. Daisen has been regarded as a god. Climbing the mountain used to be severely prohibited. As a result, Mt. Daisen boasts the largest beech forest in western Japan, and it maintains clean water. When one finds out his/her life is closely connected to nature, the love to the area is born to himself/herself.

I make upbringing of the guide and programs interesting happily, and the maintenance of tourist attractions is necessary for an ecotourism. I know the land to live in it and love it, and the thought of the people who say to value it is indispensable. However, the local good point is hard to notice. Triggered by an international meeting of this autumn, I think that a local person comes to be concerned positively.
The promotion of the sightseeing leads to local activation. For example, various industry cooperates centering on "Daisen" and develop, and people get well and are glad if valued - such good chain is born to nature of the area including Oyama.

～Traveling Like a Local～　The Governor of Tottori Prefecture Talks About Ecotourism

Governor of Tottori Prefecture
Shinji Hirai

Traveling Like a Local
～The community improvement which proposes a new way of life ～
Looking back the original purpose of 'travel', I suppose it suggests escaping the everyday's hustle and bustle, and taking back the natural flow of time.
Now it's no more making quick visits to many places. It's 'traveling like a local' as if you actually lived there. The travel stimulating and preferable to natural human instinct correspond to the thought of ecotourism…(continued)
Source: ECOツーリズム, Issue 58, Published by Japanese Ecotourism Society (PDF888KB)

エコツーリズム国際大会2013in鳥取

International Ecotourism Conference 2013 in Tottori