Abstract
Tourism services are beginning to offer an increasing array of new niche product including ecotourism in protected nature reserves that contain many rare and protected animal and plant species. Consequently, even ecotourism, which is generally considered as being environmentally friendly, may threaten the maintenance of natural biodiversity. In order to avoid possible risks it is necessary to examine the existing and prospective environmental impact caused by tourism and to analyse relevant policy, with the goal to develop an effective tourism model in which protection of the environment has priority over economic interests. It is important to integrate such a policy into this model, which will serve to reduce social and economic pressures on biodiversity and will promote responsible actions in support of environmentally friendly technologies and approaches. The selected area for this study was the Lake Engure catchment area, which includes a diverse range of ecosystems and developed tourism facilities. The results of this investigation revealed comparatively little tourism activity, which is mostly seasonal and with low environmental impact. The area is attractive for its biodiversity and culture heritage. Further improvement of the tourism infrastructure and information flow will most certainly increase the number of visitors, thus making it necessary to develop sustainable management of tourism resources.