生态旅游是生态学向纵深层次推进而拓展的新领域，亦旅游活动多样化、高级化而萌生的新兴旅游体系。作者认为生态旅游具有六大特征：（1）旅游活动以大自然为舞台；（2）旅游内涵孕育着科学文化高雅品质；（3）旅游活动以生态学思想作为思想依据；（4）旅游活动载体具有多样化特色；（5）旅游者高强度参与性的活动；（6）生态旅游是增强人类环境意识的高品质旅游。因此，生态旅游是万年基业的可持续发展的旅游，它不但要满足当代人的旅游需求，也要为子孙后代保留足够的旅游空间、良性环境与景物，使之永续利用。因而，界定生态旅游是可持续旅游的基石。作者对生态旅游景物的生成机理，提出内生型（原生型）地域生态旅游系统（AntogenicGeo-ecotoursystem）和外生型（延生型）地域生态旅游系统（AlogenicGeo-ecotoursystem）两大类型新概念。本文阐述了生态旅游资源潜力，论述了《中国21世纪议程》与生态旅游的内在联系，提出了实施中国生态旅游发展方略。

Ecotourism is a new field in which the ecotourism develops and extends in depth. It is also the new tourist system produced by the diversified and advanced tourist activities. The author regards the ecotourism possesses six characteristics: (1) The traveling activities take nature as their stage; (2) Contents of tourism germinates the elegant quality of science and culture; (3)The traveling activities use ecological ideology as thinking base; (4) The carrying body of travelling activities possess the natures of diversity; (5)The tourists highly participate the activities; (6)Ecotourism is the high quality travelling to enhance the human environmental consciousness. Thus, ecotourism is the tourism of sustainable development which is to last for generations. It must not only meet the demand of tourism for contemporary people, but also retain the enough travelling space, good environment and sceneries for next generation in order to be used forever. So, drawing lines for ecotourism is the base for sustainable tourism. The author puts forward two types of new concepts of Antogenic Geo ecotoursystem and Allogenic Geo ecotoursystem for the productive mechanism of ecotourist sceneries. The paper discusses the potentiality of ecotourist resources. It expounds the inherent relationship between China Agenda of 21th Century and ecotourism, and suggests to put into effect the general plan of Chinese ecotourism development.