Bolivia is not the most well-known tourist destination in South America, but that may be slowly changing as tourists discover its incredible ecotourism potential. In fact, one of Bolivia’ richest resources is its biodiversity.

Currently, Bolivia’s natural parks encompass 15.6% of the country, according to the BBC. Just one of those parks, Madidi National Park, is said to contain 11% of the world’s plant and animal species.

Ecotourism is also providing new economic opportunities for native Bolivian tribes.  For example, as this article in the Latin American Herald Tribune notes, the Tacana tribe runs a hostel for visitors along a river near Madidi National Park.

So, ecotourism not only helps the environment, it also helps local people. In the Latin American Herald Tribune article,  Nicolas Janco, an agent with a Bolivian tourist agency located near Madidi, says ,“Tourism is an engine that is helping us greatly to improve our quality of life. Especially for the Tacana.”

Of course, to take an ecotourism trip to Bolivia, you will need a Bolivian visa. Here’s what it takes to get a Bolivian tourism visa:

• 1 completed application form.
• A valid US passport
• 1 passport photo
• Your hotel confirmation, if you are staying in a hotel.
• A letter of invitation
• A copy of a roundtrip airline ticket.  However, if you are planning on touring South America by bus or by car instead of flying in, you can submit a statement saying when and where you plan to enter and exit the exit the country.
• A recent bank or credit card statement showing that you have enough cash or credit to cover the cost of your trip.
• An international yellow fever vaccination certificate.

The easiest way to get a Bolivian visa is to use a private visa expediting service like RushMyTravelVisa.com. You’ll work with a professional visa specialist who will research your situation and provide you with a handy checklist showing everything you need to submit your application.  This speeds up and simplifies the visa application process, as well as reducing the chance of mistakes that could delay your visa-and your trip!.

Apply for your Bolivian visa today!

Tags: Bolivia, Bolivian visa, ecotourism

This entry was posted on Friday, October 2nd, 2009 at 6:52 pm and is filed under Visa Processing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.