Ecotourism advocates environmental sustainability and focuses on providing an opportunity for personal growth of the local community. It takes into perspective the economy, culture and environment to make sure that rural tourism operates within the local community’s capacity. Rural tourism must not affect the existing local businesses or displace them, and it must always be authentic by maintaining the local practices. The primary objective of ecotourism is to protect the natural environment of the rural areas and stop the negative impact of human development.

The rural areas have valuable assets, such as farms, waterways, air quality, tranquillity, wildlife, forests and mountains. Rural tourism benefits the local people through activities, such as sightseeing, farm visits, farm shops, mountain biking, bird watching, fishing, camping, arts and craft. Tourism is an important source of income and industry for many countries. It can be a vital economic player as it can have an effect on both the source and host countries. Rural tourism may be defined as the movement of people from their normal place of residence to rural areas for a minimum period of twenty-four hours to the maximum of six months for the sole purpose of leisure and pleasure. Rural tourism refers to all tourism activities in a rural area. Rural tourism is where people travel to the rural areas to participate and be involved in the local community’ life.

The popularity of rural tourism in recent times has not only made it a profitable business prospect but also a popular vacation trend. This has opened the doors for these local communities to have a sustainable economy by investing in rural tourism. Ecotourism can provide some answers to the protection and conservation of places that entertain rural tourism. Ecotourism is a type of tourism which is intended to have minimal impact when visiting some the world’s most pristine, fragile and undisturbed natural places. It involves raising funds for the local area, giving political empowerment to the local people and educating the travellers about these places. It encourages the tourists to be socially responsible and shows them how humans have an effect on these places so as to make them appreciate nature and the natural habitat.

Reference: http://therisingnepal.org.np/news/803