Rural tourism strengthens the local economy but may not be eco-friendly

Following several reports on rural and eco-tourism posted on the WEEPortal, following is a new article on the subject published in Al-Mustaqbal newspaper, which presents divergent views on the impact of rural tourism, namely in Ehden where tourism in the nature has become widespread albeit sometimes not very eco-friendly.
Concerning this matter, the owner of a tourist agency in Ehden, Chafic Ghazal, noted that his company, which organises various activities such as; ATV driving, hiking and camping, is attempting, as much as possible, to adhere to environmental criteria adding that people are slowly becoming more environmentally as a result of awareness raising and guidance activities. For his part, the environmental activist, Butros Moawwad, challenged a number of unsound practices which are wrongly referred to as eco-friendly, stressing that the fundamental regulations of natural reserves are not being respected.  In support to his argument, Moawwad added that eco-tourism is not compatible with the usage of 4-wheel-drive vehicles in natural reserves. On the other side the report presented the more favorable views of local shops’ owners, among whom that of a bakery owner, Lamya Yaakoub, and of a restaurant owner, Jean Lahhoud, who both concluded that this type of tourism has a positive impact on local economy, stressing that the region's economy largely improved since the start of eco-tourism.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 7 October 2014