Whale Watching, a tool for education and conservation of marine environments in El Salvador through tourism

Abstract

In less than a century tourism has become a major player in the global economy, it is estimated that in 1950 there were 25 million international travelers, by 2019 that number has skyrocketed to 1.4 billion. The massification of the industry has led many academics to study its negative impacts, however, many efforts have also been taken to use the activity as a tool that can bring economic opportunities for the communities. Increasingly, natural and cultural heritage is seen as the basis to build a differentiated touristic offer, this has led the path for ecotourism to become one of the preferred forms of responsible tourism, as well as one of the most diverse. Within marine environments, whale watching has quickly become one of the most successful and fast-growing segments. In this paper, we briefly examine the potential of this activity as important conservation and educational tool, not only focused on cetaceans but the marine ecosystems as a whole. Likewise, we address its potential as a generator of economic opportunities for the coastal communities of El Salvador.