This paper has argued that to endorse ecotourism is to advocate
change. However, the changes which are desired are controversial,
vary between actors, and necessitate the search for trade-offs and
compromises. Assessments of the impacts of ecotourism are not
immune from the difficulties associated with measuring impacts in
general, as well as those pertaining to tourism in particular. Much
research on the impacts of tourism is not cumulative because of the
adoption of an inappropriate research paradigm and an inadequate
attention to the contexts in which impacts occur. A broad perspective involving economic, environmental, and social indicators is
required, and for most purposes, disaggregated information is much
more useful than single, summary measures which purport to indicate carrying capacity or whether benefits exceed costs.