• The Amazon rainforest, and local people, stand to gain from ecotourism."Squirrel friend" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: Ravenelle (Ravenelle Zugzwang) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
  
  

Definition

• Ecotourism is defined as tourism that involves travel to areas of natural, or ecological interest. Most times there's a naturalist present to act as a guide and to educate ecotourists on the environment they're traveling through.
  
  

Employment

• One effect that ecotourism has is that it employs local people from the Amazon. Often these people act as guides to parties of ecotourists.
  
  

Cultural Understanding

• Ecotourists are encouraged to interact with and to understand the local culture of the Amazon people. Often there is an exchange of commerce, as well as of ideas, which can lead to outside ideas affecting the locals, and local ideas affecting the tourists.
  
  

Rainforest Preservation

• A greater effect on the Amazon in general is that as long as ecotourism is a thriving industry, it will reduce logging and the cutting down of the rain forest. Without the rain forest there, the ecotourism industry would die in the Amazon.
  
  

Support

• Ecotourism in the Amazon has also drawn more support for causes that effect the area. An understanding of the area and of the people leads to increased donations of funds, and the volunteering of time and effort, by those who want to assist with problems that affect the Amazon, and those who live there.