To protect biodiversity, we need to create alternative economic opportunities for the people who depend on the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems. Biodiversity is the foundation of human well-being and prosperity. At the same time, human activities are its greatest threat. In particular, biodiversity hotspots like savannahs, forests and coral reefs are under pressure due to unsustainable tourism development and the livelihood needs of low income communities. In the past, local communities have been kept out of conservation areas and related economic opportunities, driving them deeper into poverty, and sometimes even into detrimental activities like poaching. Tourism offers concrete opportunities to include low-income communities into the value created by conservation efforts.