Williams Powers, an ecotourist activist, wrote in his book, Whispering in the Giants Ear, “What we allow to exist, to flourish freely at its own pace, is superior to everything that our little hands create. Ecotourism is defined as "responsible travel to natural areas that preserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people". Economic Impact Ecotourism plays a vital role in a nation's economy. Many factors determine whether a country can be economically successful. Ecotourism has prospered and failed, depending on how it was managed. Once a country accepts money from its government to start ecotourism, it will be forever in debt. When governments face money, the government is in control. Governments often become impatient because profits do not appear immediately. The government will cut losses and will never be able to see the true potential of ecotourism. These countries will go into millions of debt without seeing a dollar of profit. This exact example occurred in the Philippines. The Philippine government has invested millions in ecotourism with high hopes and aspirations. After a few years, the locals found that there was constant improvement. The money was starting to arrive, but after half a decade still no profit, only improvements. The government became frustrated and cut its losses. The problem in the Philippines was a miscommunication between expectations for ecotourism. The Philippines had a verbal agreement with the locals, but there was nothing in writing. The government seized the opportunity and reduced losses. The Philippines made the initial mistake of lack of communication and lost faith in ecotourism. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the Philippines has sought to bring… half the paper… of another culture to meet the expectations of foreign visitors and their preconceptions about authenticity. This defeats the purpose of ecotourism. Ecotourism aims to help enrich tourists' lives with new traditions, not to contaminate the traditions of the host society. Unfortunately, this also happened in San Jose Succotz, a former Mayan village in western Belize. The main mestizo residents reconstructed their distant Mayan heritage, with the help of archaeologists, to profit from the famous Mayan ruins of Xunantunich. Among the Garifuna of Punta Gorda, Honduras, they feel their culture is being used as a tourist attraction for money, not to educate. The Garifuna culture has no desire to expand the culture, but to make a profit. The Garifuna's primary concern is not the visibility of their culture, but who profits from it.