Development Of Nature-based Tourism Research Articles

Issues and Opportunities in Planning and Managing Nature‐based Tourism in the Central Coast Region of Western Australia

AbstractResearch reported here identified planning and management issues relating to integrated development of nature‐based tourism in the Central Coast Region of Western Australia. Stakeholder views were gauged through a workshop involving 45 people and a series of interviews. The workshop was also designed to stimulate interest in the establishment of a regionally, integrated tourism group to address any issues identified. Participants included members of the tourism industry, the community, and representatives of government and non‐government organisations. Seven individuals participated in interviews, including the chief executive officers of the local authorities and regional development commissions.The results indicate that the regional tourism industry is fragmented and uncoordinated, which is hindering regional development. Implementation of regional tourism planning is virtually non‐existent in the Central Coast, due to the lack of a regional tourism policy. Management of tourism resources is restricted by limited coordination between industry and government, and especially by inadequate resource provision to local authorities and land management agencies.An outcome of the workshop was the formation of a regionally integrated tourism group, the Turquoise Coast Sustainable Development Steering Committee, to implement recommendations arising from the workshop. However, the group has met with limited successes to date, owing to a range of political and sectoral issues beyond the scope of tourism planning. The research highlights difficulties in implementing collaborative tourism planning initiatives at the regional scale.

Ecological Rationalization and Performative Resistance in Natural Area Destinations

A discursive analysis of natural area destinations is presented in this article, where it is argued that the management and use of natural areas for (eco) tourism is influenced by economic and institutional practices that contribute to rationalizing ‘Nature’ and the visitor experience. A brief look at some historical influences on nature-based tourism development in (post)-modernity sets the context for illustrating paradoxical discourses (e.g. neo-liberalism, ecological modernization and globalization) that structure and instrumentalize human relationships with the natural world. Viewing these natural areas as performance spaces helps to show how the multiplicity of discourses plays out and how nature and tourists are performatively engaged in these spaces. A conceptual analysis of performativity in relation to touristic spaces is presented and its potential to enable resistance to the rationalizations outlined in the article is examined. The possibility of a performative tourist ethic is discussed, based on a notion of reflexive praxis. Implications for (eco-) tourism research and practice are offered.

A Case for Supply-led Nature-based Tourism Within the Marine and Coastal Temperate Systems of South-Eastern Australia

The region of south-eastern Australia has significant potential for the development of sustainable nature-based tourism. In particular, the three sites of Refuge Cove at Wilsons Promontory, the Kent group of islands in Bass Strait, and the Port Davey region of south-west Tasmania provide good examples of where tourism product may be developed, as they each possess high conservation value, environmental and aesthetic appeal, as well as potential for niche market tourism activities. In order to clarify the issues surrounding this proposition, the concepts of sustainable tourism and ecotourism are discussed. Additionally, a review is made of the issues which may compromise sustainable tourism generally. A key role in this process is that of the ecologist in providing environmental information for managers and planners who utilise this in the formulation of a management framework within which the tourism operator may develop product. Optimisation of sustainable outcomes is perhaps more likely to occur for supply-led tourism development where environmental monitoring, training and interpretation provide for adaptive management and prevention of impact.

Beluga hunters in a mixed economy: managing the impacts of nature-based tourism in the Canadian western Arctic

AbstractThe Inuvialuit Region of the Canadian western Arctic continues to support a variety of land-based activities as part of the regional mixed economy. Tourism development, one of the newer elements of the mixed economy, has potential to conflict with beluga whale hunting, one of the traditional activities. The paper asks the question: can local employment be created through nature-based tourism development in Inuvik, Aklavik, and Tuktoyaktuk in the Inuvialuit Region in ways that support the local mixed economy and minimize conflict with the traditional sector? Results of interviews with Inuvialuit elders and tour operators indicate that both parties regard tourism as a desirable employment option and a creator of economic benefits, with relatively few economic drawbacks and relatively little environmental concern. The problem, however, is that tourism also brings with it social impacts and cultural drawbacks that are, in the Inuvialuit view, mostly related to (a) intrusiveness of tourists, especially in relation to the beluga hunt; (b) representation of the aboriginal hunt in a negative light; and (c) commodification of culture. On the balance, nature-based tourism development has the capability to support the local mixed economy, subject to resolving the conflict between beluga whaling activities and tourists. Fundamentally, however, the conflict is between Inuvialuit lifestyles and values versus the values and expectations of tourists.

Nature-based tourism on communal land: The Mavhulani experience

South Africa is experiencing a boom in nature-based tourism in which underdeveloped and previously marginalised homeland areas are not sharing. The aim of this article is to determine some of the crucial constraints which inhibit tourism in these areas, by exploring various tourism development issues based on insights gained from research undertaken at Mavhulani bush camp, a seemingly successful nature-based tourism development project. This venture is run on communal trust land in the former Venda homeland area.

Tactical Tourism

This article examines the strategic development of nature-based tourism as a means by which to generate sustainable economies in the rainforests of Ecuador and Belize as an alternative to more socially and ecologically destructive extractive industry and export agri-culture. These efforts to generate economic exchange value from relatively intact ecosystems are the primary strategies of rainforest communities threatened by other schemes for converting “jungle wasteland” into a source of national capital accumulation. The success of rainforest communities’ efforts at preserving their ecosystems while establishing a viable local and regional economy is largely dependent on the relative short-run economic potential of less sustainable alternatives, the relative position of nature tourism in specific national economies, and the capacity of these communities to mobilize the support of politically powerful private capital investors and the state. In delineating the relationship between the transnational economy, the orientation of national states, and the aspirations of local communities, the strategic use of nature tourism development as a bulwark against unsustainable economic alternatives is far more likely to meet with success in Belize than in Ecuador.

Causes and Consequences of Mangrove Deforestation in the Volta Estuary, Ghana: Some Recommendations for Ecosystem Rehabilitation

The damming of the Volta River has resulted in reduced flooding and an increase in mangrove cutting, due to the virtual collapse of agriculture and fishing in the estuary. Another ecological consequence of the reduced level of flooding has been reduced dispersal of seedlings of the principal mangrove Rhizophora racemosa. Therefore, after cutting of this species, recolonisation is either by conspecifics growing at very high densities or by one of a number of weed species. Environmental data collected in the vicinity of the mangroves and each of the weed species have enabled suggestions to be made as to whether R. racemosa or Avicennia africana would be the more suitable mangrove to replant. Recommendations have also been made to introduce the palm Nypa fruticans to the area, together with the development of nature-based tourism, both of which would provide alternative means of income generation, thereby reducing the need to cut remaining mangroves.

Profiling the Nature-Based Tourist: A Multinomial Logit Approach

Nature-based tourism, also known as ecotourism and green tourism, is a rapidly expanding area in the U.S. tourism travel sector. States with a well-established urban-based tourism industry, such as Louisiana, may have expansion opportuni ties through development of complementary nature-based tourism. This study used a multinomial logit analysis and a primary data sample of 1,579 individuals to evaluate deci sions to participate in Louisiana tourism (including nature- based tourism). This research presents an economic frame work for simultaneously evaluating multiple travel choices and empirically identifies factors, including psychographic, that appear to influence Louisiana tourists' decision to par ticipate in nature-based tourism. Empirical results support the hypotheses that upper-income ecotourists do not select Louisiana as a green tourism destination, while family size and proximity to Louisiana positively influence the decision to participate in Louisiana ecotourism. As hypothesized, en vironmental attitudes also influence tourism decisions.

Western environmental values and nature-based tourism in Kenya

Kenya is one of the leading tourist destinations in Africa. Most of the country's tourism is based on nature attractions. About 10% of the country has been set aside for wildlife conservation and the promotion of nature-based tourism. This study gives a historical evaluation of western environmental values and how these values influence wildlife conservation and the development of nature-based tourism in Kenya. Also, a comparative analysis is conducted between western environmental values and rural peasants' environmental perceptions.

Evaluating Nature-based Tourism Using the New Environmental Paradigm

AbstractNature-based tourism (NBT), alternatively known as ecotourism, is a rapidly expanding area in the tourism travel sector. States such as Louisiana with a well established urban-based tourism industry may have expansion opportunities through development of complementary nature-based tourism. This study analyzes the decision to participate in nature-based tourism and identifies factors, including attitudinal, that influence the decision to participate in NBT among Louisiana tourists.