Abstract
Ecotourism has a high potential impact on remote communities, by improving economic opportunity and natural resources conservation, and is increasingly accepted as an alternative livelihood for rural people. This study examines ecotourism development from the perspective of participation and economic impact for the Bousra people in Cambodia. A total of 237 households were selected as the sample size. Data collection was carried out with face-to-face interviews and analyzed using logistic regression and ordinary least square methods. Results revealed that local households depend mostly on agriculture (i.e., crop plantation and farming) and utilize ecotourism as a secondary source of income. Most households acknowledged ecotourism had a positive impact on environmental, social, and economic perspectives, while some signaled negative backlash due to depleted natural resources and impact on local culture. Household participation in ecotourism was not significantly affected from assistance issued by government or non-governmental organizations. However, causal relationships were found based on household demographic factors, attitude to environmental conservation, and village life. It was shown that the percentage of people involvement in ecotourism is high, but their income percentage is low due to education, skill, and capacity to expand. As a low-impact alternative to standard commercial tourism, community-based ecotourism has potential in becoming a transformative form of economics for local communities.
Highlights
Ecotourism is responsible travel to a natural area that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of local people, and integrates interpretation and education [1]
Ecotourism is specified as community-based ecotourism (CBE) and identified with rural, sustainable tourism focused on rural livelihood
For those households participating in ecotourism, further subcategorization was denoted for residents who only participated in ecotourism and for those who participated both in ecotourism and conventional tourism
Summary
Ecotourism is responsible travel to a natural area that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of local people, and integrates interpretation and education [1]. Ecotourism is specified as community-based ecotourism (CBE) and identified with rural, sustainable tourism focused on rural livelihood. The Ministry of Planning has put together three scoping principles which form the basis for ecotourism in the country: (1) sustainability and environmental development go hand-in-hand, (2) promote its nature-based and rich cultural and historical heritage, and (3) boost tourism arrivals, expenditure, and diversity of tourist destinations via international marketing and infrastructure development [5]. It is predicted that by 2020, ecotourism could attract one million international and five million tourists [9,10] Some ecotourism programs, such as the Chambok CBET program, have won public recognition, including in 2013 for socially responsible tourism [11] for engaging with local people to protect forests and improve local livelihood [12]. The impacts of ecotourism seem ambiguous and need further investigation
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