Exploring the Significance of Stakeholder Management in Ecotourism Implementation

Abstract

Objective - Ecotourism is one of the fastest-growing sectors of tourism. It is considered to be an alternative to mass tourism. The negative impacts, such as loss of biodiversity and loss of natural resources is confronted with the help of ecotourism. For the past years, stakeholders are considered to be vital for ecotourism implementation. Successful implementation of the ecotourism is not possible without the understanding, involvement and management of the stakeholders. Stakeholder management is vital for the successful ecotourism implementation in the destination, but it is not as simple as it sounds. Even though many types of research have been made on the issue of achieving ecotourism sustainability in tourism destination but there is still a lack of a robust and proper model that can assist in the management of stakeholders which can help to unify stakeholders to achieve sustainable ecotourism in the destination. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore the importance of identifying stakeholder management significance that can enhance stakeholder interests to unify them towards achieving sustainable ecotourism in the destination. Methodology/Technique – Content analysis was done, and the study concludes that in order to manage stakeholders, their engagement has to be well planned by understanding their interests and level of influence. Twenty-one articles were selected and analyzed from Scopus and Web of Science databases. Finding – The management of the stakeholders varies accordingly to the destination due to which it has to be carefully planned so that sustainable ecotourism can be implemented in the destination. Stakeholders understanding will provide a win-win situation for the destination and make the ecotourism implementation process smoother. Moreover, the study also fills in the theoretical gap of the analysis of the studies, which is a part of a significant contribution towards ecotourism implementation in a destination. Type of Paper: Review JEL Classification: D63, G12, G14. Keywords: Stakeholder Management, Engagement, Ecotourism, Sustainable Ecotourism Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Salman, A; Jaafar, M; Mohammad, D. (2020). Endeavours: Exploring the significance of stakeholder management in ecotourism implementation, GATR Global J. Bus. Soc. Sci. Review, 8(4): 236 – 245. https://doi.org/10.35609/gjbssr.2020.8.4(5)