Sustainable Tourism Development on Water Front Tourism and Hospitality Practices at the Tourist Destination Site: The Case of Bahirdar City, Ethiopia

Mulugeta Damite

doi:10.7176/jths/55-02

Abstract

Waterfront tourism development is now becoming one of the fashion practices which are held at the water front areas. Bahirdar is one of the best places to ensure of waterfront development. The main objective of the study is to assess the negative impacts of waterfront activities for sustainable tourism development, to assess the tourist attractions around the water front, to indicate solutions through identifying the key stakeholders. Descriptive research design was employed. The research approach was qualitative. Findings revealed that Lack of awareness about the ecotourism concepts, negative impacts of tourism on the waterfront bodies, lack of sufficient GIS application professionals, lack of the long term plan developed for the waterfront area, environmental impact assessment is not developed, lack of developing environmental auditing. The study also identified key responsible actors to take measurable action on different issues of the water front tourism practices. Keywords: Bahirdar, waterfront tourism, sustainable tourism development, Lake Tana. DOI: 10.7176/JTHS/55-02 Publication date: March 31 st 2021

Highlights

Water is needed in all aspects of life
Waterfront tourism development is becoming one of the fashion practices which are held at the water front areas
The main objective of the study is to assess the negative impacts of waterfront activities for sustainable tourism development, to assess the tourist attractions around the water front, to indicate solutions through identifying the key stakeholders

Summary

Introduction

Water is needed in all aspects of life. Water obtained from rivers, lakes, springs and wells has been used for drinking, washing, agriculture, and manufacturing. Most of the Earth’s liquid fresh water is found, not in lakes and rivers, but is stored underground in aquifers. Tourism plays a significant role in the redevelopment of urban waterfronts. (Nguyen, 2010) Stated, there is no doubt that recreation and tourism can be used as catalysts for waterfront redevelopment. The four ancient civilizations originated at riversides, because of the convenient water supply for drinking and irrigation, transport, and many other benefits. Around a third to half of the world's population lives near coastal areas. People prefer to live near streams, rivers, lakes or other water resources (Satyanaryana and Behailu, 2015)

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