Ecotourism is often presented as a panacea capable of reconciling economic development, environmental protection and the well-being of communities around protected areas. However, the reality on the ground is quite different, as the complex and transcalary nature of ecotourism is too often overlooked when implementing interventions in this field. This communication wishes to contribute to the reflection on the development of ecotourism in protected areas seen as a process of territorialization and examined through the prism of the notions of access and exclusion. The state of knowledge in this field, the urgency of economic and social conditions that characterize several communities in countries of the South, as well as the excessive enthusiasm for ecotourism militate in favor of a renewed look at these issues.