Sustainable tourism projected for Chile's Easter Island

Sustainable tourism projected for Chile's Easter Island :"The impact of heavy tourist traffic on Easter Island - 3,500 kilometers from the Chilean coastline - prompted the EuroChile Business Foundation to introduce a new sustainability program aimed at alleviating the growing pressure on the island’s fragile ecosystem, while at the same time benefiting the local community and businesses.

Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui, depends largely on the hoards of tourists who flock to visit its archaeological sites and monumental Polynesian statues each year. Figures from Chile’s National Tourism Service (Sernatur) show that tourism has increased dramatically over the past 20 years. In 1990, 4,961 tourists visited the island, while today the island receives an average of 60,000 visitors per year."

Photo of the Moais Ahu Nau Nau on Easter Island is displayed with the kind permission of Jeremy Woodhouse / Getty Images.