With interest in traveling to Brazil at an all time high due to the Rio Olympics, it is pertinent now to look at some crucial eco-tourism facts before heading out. Around five hundred thousand travelers are expected to travel to Brazil during the extravaganza. The average visitor stay would be around nineteen days per person meaning that at present about 170,000 travelers are present in Rio de Janeiro. Overall global tourism is increasing at four percent a year with more than a billion international tourists in 2015. The tourism industry in New Zealand aims to expand from just above thirteen million US dollars in 2015 to three times that figure this year, thus generating substantial number of tourism jobs. New Zealanders themselves made more than two million foreign trips last year with thousands expected to travel to Rio for the Olympics. The UNWTO has a global code of conduct which travelers must adhere to in order to maintain sustainability and social responsibility. For ethical reasons, it is advisable to travel to smaller centres or communities. About five percent of global carbon di oxide release can be attributed to tourism with the greatest single sub-component being transport. For environmental reasons, it is better that individuals take fewer but longer trips. While the Olympics are a massive tourism windfall, they will only last for two weeks and the legacy value of the same is under question. So instead of such icon events, it is better to host hallmark events that bring value annually.

Source: http://www.listener.co.nz/lifestyle/travel/11-eco-tourism-facts-rio-olympics/