Skip to main content
ecotourist

ecotourist

1 4.0
A person who travels to natural places to enjoy wildlife and help protect nature
  • noun
  • /ˈiːkoʊˌtʊrɪst/
translation icon : ecoturista
  • The ecotourist participated in a beach clean-up to help protect the local environment.

Examples

  • Future short-term visitors to the reserve—ecotourists and local Belizeans of various ages—also benefit as a result of the course.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Tourists who want to vote with their pocketbooks for sustainable practices can consult networks that certify ecotourist operators.

    Academic text (2006)
  • Costa Rica offers the ecotourist diverse rain forests, abundant biodiversity, and breathtaking scenery.

    Academic text (1993)
  • First, growing numbers of private landowners now cater to ecotourists on their own land, perceiving an economic incentive to maintain their forest cover rather than convert it to agricultural uses.

    Academic text (2002)
  • I wasn't so much interested in the whales, however, as I was in their watchers—the ecotourists.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Many ecotourists enjoy hiking through national parks to appreciate the natural beauty around them.

  • Costa Rica is known for its rich wildlife, attracting thousands of ecotourists every year.

Surface Forms

ecotourist singular
ecotourists plural

Morphology

ecotourist = tourist (transparent) = eco + tourist

The prefix 'eco-' means relating to ecology/environment and combines with 'tourist' to mean a tourist focused on ecological/nature travel; the meaning is directly derivable.

Etymology

Ecotourist joins eco-, from the Greek oikos meaning 'house' and now used for 'environment', and tourist, from tour meaning 'trip'. So an ecotourist is a traveler who visits natural places to enjoy nature and help protect the environment.