Galapagos Islands are one of the most conserved tourism destinations globally. The government enforces a number of protective measures that limit the amount of people visiting the islands, limits access to land and puts caps on the overall number of tourists allowed to visit the island chain; which has fostered increased demand for expedition-style travel in Galapagos. Expedition type travel to Galapagos requires planning ahead to allow travelers time to work through all the process requirements.
Why Expedition-Type Travel is Ideal for the Galápagos
Travelers who visit the Galapagos Islands have no ability to make spontaneous changes to their planned itinerary when arriving at their destination due to government regulation of travel to the islands; therefore, planners create a pre-planned itinerary that complies with the regulatory requirements before the traveler arrives. Creating a pre-planned itinerary is the perfect scenario to develop a customized experience through the utilization of expedition-style travel. The expedition-style travel format also allows travelers to view wildlife in its native environment and enables travelers to gain knowledge of the unique ecosystem existing in the Galapagos.
Many of the people visiting the Galapagos will hire Galápagos travel specialists to organize and manage their vacation to the Galapagos. Specialists help their clients to obtain required permits and licenses prior to their departure; work with licensed and educated naturalist guides; and handle every detail of their client’s vacation so that the client will comply with the rules and regulations of the Galapagos National Park Directorate. Travelers hiring specialists minimize the risk of traveling to remote areas like the Galapagos and allow travelers to experience vacations that meet or exceed their expectations.
Regulations as a Key Driver for Planning
The Galápagos National Park Directorate establishes the overarching structure for tourism within the Galápagos; it also dictates the rules and regulations to allow or prevent visitors from accessing and utilizing the parks natural resources. A detailed explanation of how regulated visitor management and controlled itineraries protect sensitive habitats is provided by Galapagos à la Carte under the Sustainable tourism management in the Galápagos, which outlines how tourism planning and conservation goals are aligned in the archipelago. Consequently, tourism products that focus upon creating an educational experience, through structured travel, while limiting visitor access to the destination’s natural resources will provide the greatest levels of protection for the destination, as well as for the visitors.
Impact on the Travel Industry
The Galapagos Islands is a model for other destinations looking at how they will develop their new tourist products with clear regulations in place during the development of the product, the Galapagos demonstrates the need for regulatory oversight in developing tourism products responsibly. The Galapagos has created a model of expedition-style travel which is a type of travel that is carefully designed to minimize pressure on vulnerable ecosystems through the large number of visitors coming to the Galapagos Islands, and in doing so, it demonstrates the ability to create high quality experiences for tourists, achieve long term conservation objectives, and manage a destination sustainably.
Photo Credit: Steve Allen / Shutterstock.com
