Ecotourism Industry Research Articles

Exploring the Potential of ECO Tourism in Junnar Tehsil for protection of Heritage and Biodiversity

This research paper is an attempt to analyze and explore the potential of Ecotourism in Junnar Tehsil in Pune District, Maharashtra. Eco tourism is one of the most expeditious growing area of tourism which is magnetizing the tourist all over the world. It involves visiting the places which are proximate to the nature without much perturbing flora and fauna of that region. Its main purpose is to develop awareness about the ecological conservation so that there may be economic development along with the conservation of the environment. It helps the Sustainable development of rural India and gives the opportunity to tourist to get aware with ecotourism in rural areas. Junnar Tehsil in Pune District have many tourist destinations, but still this area is not yet explored as developed tourist destination. The present research paper focuses to draw attention to the potential of ecotourism and exploration of heritages places, conservation of biodiversity and making ecotourism industry as a perspective tool for economic development in Junnar Tehsil.

The Woody Plant Species Diversity, Composition and Dominance of Mahungu Green Belt Forest Reserve (MGBFR) in Dodoma City, Central Tanzania

Plant species diversity, composition and dominance are important entities in understanding vegetation types. The wood plant species include; trees, shrubs, and woody climbers (lianas/vines). The study was conducted at Mahungu Green Belt Forest Reserve (MGBFR) in 2015 to investigate the woody plant species diversity, composition, and dominance. Systematic random sampling was applied whereby a total of 36 plots of 2500 m2 were set in the seven (7) transects at an interval of 400 m. Woody plant species were identified for their botanical nomenclature, determined for their abundance. GPS was applied to locate plots, aligning transects and recording coordinates for plot site and map production. 100 m tape was used to set the plots. H' and ID were applied for species diversity and dominance. A total of 129 wood plant species were identified belonging to 38 families and 89 genera. The H' ranged from 0.1831 ± 0.0021, with an overall total of 4.271 while ID ranged from 0.004657 ± 0.000015 with a total of 0.02079 an implication of high wood plant diversity, as the higher the H', and the lower the ID the higher the diversity. MGBFR consists of high woody plant species diversity. Further study should be done to assess all plant forms of MGBFR, education provision to community, establishment of ecotourism industry to sustain the forest reserve.

МОДЕЛІ УПРАВЛІННЯ ЕКОЛОГІЧНИМ ТУРИЗМОМ В УКРАЇНІ

The article presents the main results of the study of models of environmental tourism management in Ukraine. The object of study is the process of managing ecotourism. The subject of the research is the improvement of theoretical bases of ecological tourism management in Ukraine. The purpose of the study is to find ways of solving the main problems of ecological tourism in Ukraine. Research methods - analysis and synthesis method, graphical method, deduction and induction, generalization and systematization. As a result of the research the main tendencies of development of tourist industry of Ukraine are considered. Investigated flows of domestic and foreign tourists for 2010-2018, analyzed the number of tourists served by natural persons-entrepreneurs and legal entities, analyzed the quantitative status of eco-estates in Ukraine, identified the main problems of environmental tourism in Ukraine, proposed ways to improve the situation, as well as management actions that can improve the state of ecotourism in Ukraine at the state level. Trends in the development of eco-tourism in recent years have been identified. The prerequisites for the increase in the number of foreign tourists to Ukraine were identified, it is possible that these tourists will be motivated to visit Ukraine because of its favorable climatic resources. The analysis of tourist arrivals by region gave an opportunity to identify the main areas that are promising for the development of eco-tourism, namely Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Odessa, Dnipropetrovsk, Kiev, Kharkiv, Lviv and Poltava regions. It is proposed to improve the management of the eco-tourism industry through the activities of the Union for Rural green tourism development in Ukraine. This study examines the major tourism management models used in world practice, proposes to take on the experience of the European model for Ukraine. The results of this study can be taken into account when developing a state strategy for the development of the Ukrainian tourism industry. KEYWORDS: STATE OF THE TOURIST INDUSTRY, ECOLOGICAL TOURISM, TOURISM IN UKRAINE, TOURISM PROSPECTS, TOURIST FLOW.

Conclusions: Do we eat them or watch them, or both? Challenges for conservation of sharks in Mexico and the NEP.

Mexico is a country that makes heavy use of the shark populations that inhabit the southern portion of the Northeast Pacific Ocean (NEP). Shark meat has become an essential food source in this country, while shark fins are used to supply traditional Asian markets. In addition to consumptive utilization, charismatic shark species support an ecotourism industry that has gained significance in several tourist resorts across the country. In this concluding chapter, we recap the contents of chapters included in volumes 83 and 85 in the Advances in Marine Biology series. The chapters in these volumes address biodiversity, conservation genetics, trophic ecology, migratory movements, fisheries, and shark ecotourism, allowing us to understand the state of knowledge relevant to human: shark interactions in the Mexican Pacific. We discuss the challenges for the sustainable use and conservation of sharks in the southern NEP and highlight the need for a more holistic management approach that includes economic and social factors. To meet these challenges, we recommend updating the Mexican National Plan of Action for Sharks published in, 2004, such that it may continue serving as a roadmap for the conservation and management of sharks in the southern NEP during the years to come.

Is the Sri Lankan ecotourism industry threatened by climate change? A case study of Rekawa coastal wetland using contingent visitation approach

AbstractThis study investigates intended visitation behavior of tourists toward Rekawa wetland under anticipated climate change (CC) scenarios. An interview-based contingent visitation survey was conducted with 365 foreign and domestic tourists to estimate the effects of CC on future visitation. Based on two IPCC scenarios using two direct and three indirect climatic factors, we composed a CC environmental index. The results show a decline in number of trips equal to 43 per cent and 53 per cent under scenarios 1 and 2 respectively, but the difference is not significant. Foreign and domestic tourists differ significantly with regard to socio-demographic characteristics and beliefs about CC effects at Rekawa. Controlling for such differences, we demonstrate that foreign tourists are less likely than domestic tourists to reduce future visitation to Rekawa due to CC impacts. Still, the future of ecotourism at Rekawa wetland is at risk if adaptation measures are not taken to meet CC impacts.

Incorporating visitors’ preferences into the policy framework of a Rainforest Discovery Centre

Purpose This study aims to incorporate visitors’ preferences for sustainable development into the policy framework of Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC), Sabah, Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach A stated preference technique known as choice experiment (CE) method is used in this study. Four management attributes, namely, information provision (IP), protection level (PL), guided tour (GT) and entrance fee (FEE), were identified as the most relevant aspects of the RDC in Sabah. Two econometrics models which are conditional logit and random parameter logit were estimated to achieve the purpose of the study. Findings This study finds that visitors support the proposed development of RDC. The alteration of protection level (i.e. improvement of “PL” attribute) is the most concerning matter among visitors. Since the random parameter logit model revealed that PL is specified as random, the individual heterogeneity exists for PL. Practical implications The current issues in ecotourism were studied and integrated into the methodology. A unique and comprehensive policy structure was developed, and enables to respond with any contemporary issues linked to protected areas (PA) without neglecting the natural and cultural endowments. Originality/value This study presents an in-depth understanding of visitors’ preferences in the ecotourism industry and used CE as a mechanism tool to explore visitors’ preferences. This study incorporates the conceptualisation of visitors’ preferences and sustainable tourism development into the PA framework structure.

Atlantic Goliath Grouper of Florida: To Fish or Not to Fish

The Atlantic Goliath Grouper Epinephelus itajara, a large indigenous tropical reef fish, approached local extinction in U. S. waters by the 1980s as a result of intense fishing pressure. In 1990, federal and state laws intervened to protect this species. The resulting fishery closure, over the intervening years, allowed limited, slow population recovery in Florida waters while populations outside of the United States remained vulnerable (IUCN 2019). The closure led to the blossoming of a dive ecotourism industry catering to local and international divers seeking opportunities to see and photograph these enormous fish. This fundamentally changes the paradigm for Goliath Grouper from a fishery resource to a non‐extractive resource with a commercial value vastly greater than that gained through fishing. While federal and state agencies attempted to re‐establish the fishery, all three stock assessments were rejected. Here, we discuss Goliath Grouper's biology, the controversy surrounding its protection, and the drawbacks of re‐establishing a fishery including: loss of nursery habitat, increasingly destructive episodic events like red tide and cold snaps, and the effects of mercury contamination on survival. Add to this the human health risk of consuming mercury‐contaminated fishes, and the argument supporting re‐opening the fishery evaporates.

Ecological restoration under rural restructuring: A case study of Yan’an in China’s loess plateau

The contemporary ecological projects paid more attention to the coordination between ecological restoration and rural development. China have launched the world’s largest Grain for Green Program and made significant achievements in this respect in south-west and north-west regions. This paper uses Yan’an as its case study location to bring the detailed spatiotemporal process of vegetation restoration to light and interpret the role of socioeconomic restructuring in rural areas as a mechanism for driving forward ecological restoration. The results showed that vegetation restoration in Yan’an has emerged as a continuous process and holistic pattern with 91.6% area NDVI index increasing from 2000 to 2015, but returned slope cropland directly account for only 15.68% of NDVI growth. The NDVI growth is closely related to change of rural resident population, proportion of agricultural output and regional urbanization level which signifying rural restructuring. Rural economic restructuring, social community reshaping and rural space readjustment have reduced the dependence of these areas on resources and environment, improved the man-land relationship, and spurred sustained, stable and holistic ecological restoration. In addition to supporting eco-compensation and ecotourism industries, more active and comprehensive measures should be adopted to promote rural restructuring and make ecological restoration more stable and sustainable.

Factors That Influence the tourists' or Potential Tourists' Intention to Visit and the Contribution to the Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy for Eco-Tourism

This article shared the Kuala Kubu Bharu-Fraser's Hill areas and activities of the eco-tourism corporate social responsibility strategy in Malaysia. It describes the factors that influence the tourists' or potential tourists' intention to visit as well as focuses on the enjoyment element as an adaptation and extension to the Theory of Reasonable Action and Stimulus Research Model. The empirical results from the quantitative analysis suggest that enjoyment, attitude as well as social norm are significant factors that contribute to influence the tourists' or potential tourists' intention to visit. With the growth of the eco-tourism industry globally, there is a greater call for corporate social responsibility strategy by organizations. Thus, this article discusses the potential of eco-tourism for corporate social responsibility green business. It is vital to emphasize the customer expectation and the business corporate social responsibility for the sustainability development of the eco-tourism locality.

Race and Employment Practices in Northeast Brazil’s Ecotourism Industry: An Analysis of Cultural Capital, Symbolic Capital, and Symbolic Power

The ethnographic study of tourism in Latin America and the Caribbean offers the opportunity to examine the ways that racial ideologies perpetuate social inequality, debunking the myth of racial democracy in countries such as Brazil. In the case of Brogodó, in Bahia, Brazil, structural inequality and racial ideology limit the equal participation of Brazilians of African descent in the local ecotourism industry. This article draws on evidence from ethnographic research to investigate the relationship of structural inequality, racial ideology, and cultural and symbolic capital. In the ecotourism industry, employer discourses emphasizing the limits of local community members’ cultural capital conceal their preference for employees exhibiting both the habitus and phenotypic traits associated with whiteness, reflecting broader social and economic practices that discriminate against African-descendent Brazilians. The ability to naturalize habitus and disguise racial ideology behind discussions of education and qualifications reflects employers’ and members of the dominant classes’ symbolic power.

Marine ecotourism in the Gulf of California and the Baja California Peninsula: Research trends and information gaps

Achieving equitable and sustainable ecotourism requires a wide range of multidisciplinary and cross-scale information, particularly given the growing scale of ecotourism operations and continuing governance and climate challenges. Ecosystems in Mexico’s Gulf of California and Baja California Peninsula support a thriving ecotourism industry that has quickly expanded over the last few decades, potentially outpacing research into current performance and future sustainable development opportunities. We develop and apply a formal literature review approach to characterize academic marine ecotourism literature, highlight key insights and identify research strengths and gaps, and thus analyse almost 50 publications for the region from 1994 to 2014. There has been a significant increase in the number of various types of publications; most (68%) focus on ecological themes, 25% on economics, and 7% on social aspects of human wellbeing. There are also trends towards research on specific species (e.g. mammals, fish and sharks) and in specific areas. A common theme in publication conclusions is the need for collaboration from all stakeholder groups. We discuss these findings, and address potential limitations of our method, with a view to informing sound policies to ensure that ecotourism can provide equitable benefits to local communities while incentivizing sustainable practices and nature conservation.

Contingent valuation of dolphin watching activities in South China: The difference between local and non-local participants

Ecotourism has seen both demand and attention increase globally and locally. Dolphin watching tours, as a type of nature-based activity, have become popular in Tai O of Hong Kong. However, little attention has been paid to the quality and pricing of the tour operators in relation to the expectations of visitors. This study seeks to understand the willingness to pay (WTP) of local and non-local visitors and the relationship between WTP and environmentally responsible behavioural intentions (ERBI) and satisfaction. The key findings include a positive correlation between WTP and ERBI for local visitors and a positive correlation between WTP and satisfaction for non-local visitors. These differences between local and non-local visitors are the result of the affective connection of local visitors to the environment, as such connection is not found among non-local visitors. These findings provide important clues to help improve pricing strategies and service quality towards achieving a sustainable ecotourism industry in Hong Kong, and they offer implications for ecotourism elsewhere.

Climate co-benefits of alternate strategies for tourist transportation: The case of Murree Hills in Pakistan.

This study explores the climate impacts of on-road tourist transportation with alternate mitigation strategies. To this end, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for 2016 and emissions under four "what-if" scenarios were estimated for a popular tourist site in Pakistan, i.e., Murree Hills, using the international vehicle emissions model. Alternate scenarios included occupancy optimization, bus transit system, and Euro II and Euro IV implementation. The emissions were further decomposed using the log mean Divisia index method to study the drivers of global warming potential (GWP) mitigation. As per the results, the total 20-year GWP for 2016 was equal to 51,262 tons CO2 equivalent, and maximum reduction was achieved under the bus transit system scenario having a 20-year GWP of 25,736 tons CO2 equivalent, i.e., 49.8% reduction. Relative to the base year, GWP reductions were also quite significant for Euro IV (46.8%), Euro II (45.8%), and occupancy optimization (32.3%) scenarios. For the base year, CO2 held a share of 87.3% in total emissions; however, its share in the 20-year GWP was 39.7% indicating its reduced impact on total GWP as compared to N2O, CO, NOx, VOC, and CH4. Based on the decomposition results for alternate scenarios, GWP mitigation was mainly driven by CO, CH4, NOx, VOCs, and partially by CO2, while N2O negatively affected GWP mitigation. These results provide several policy-level instruments for developing countries to design a transition to an eco-friendly tourist transport management system. The policy implications from this study can be used to promote an eco-tourism industry.

Human-Rhino Conflict: Local People’s Adaptation to Impacts of Rhino

The greater one-horned rhinoceros, a protected species, significant to growing eco-tourism industry and conservation efforts in Nepal poses a number of challenges to the local people residing in the vicinity of the Chitwan National Park (CNP). The article is based on a study of local people’s perceptions on impacts of rhino and various coping and adaptation measures being adopted by them. The study also aims to explore ways to enhance adaptation by securing local people’s participation in rhino conservation. Review of secondary literature, surveys, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), and Likert scale analysis were carried out for the purpose of the study. Five per cent of the households (50) in Bachauli Village Development Committee that hosts Bagmara Buffer Zone Community Forest User Group of the CNP were randomly selected. The study found that despite 80 per cent of the respondents incurred damage in some form from rhinos, 40 per cent of them exhibited a positive perception towards rhino conservation. Among several coping and adaptive measures to damages, a combination of electric/solar fencing and trench is found to be most effective. Applied research through collaborations between social scientists and ecologists can help to address the gaps in the understanding of different elements of human-wildlife conflict.

Resources development and tourism environmental carrying capacity of ecotourism industry in Pingdingshan City, China

BackgroundPingdingshan City has unique and rich ecotourism landscape. To realize the sustainable development of ecotourism industry in Pingdingshan and simultaneously achieve economic development and environmental protection in the development of ecotourism resources, literature analysis and field investigation methods were used to deeply explore the advantages and problems of Pingdingshan in the process of resources development in this study. Then, the indicator system of environmental carrying capacity of Pingdingshan was established and environmental carrying capacity was calculated to understand the local tourism environmental carrying capacity.ResultsThe development of ecotourism resources in Pingdingshan has advantages of natural conditions, convenient transportation, and sound infrastructure, but there were also problems, such as insufficient resources protection and unscientific management system. After calculation, it was found that the environmental carrying capacity of ecotourism in Pingdingshan was overloaded.ConclusionThis study reveals the development of the tourism industry in Pingdingshan and provides a basis for the future development of Pingdingshan tourism resources, which is beneficial to the sustainable development of the local ecotourism industry.

Tagang System Development: The Impacts and Perception of Local Communities in Terbat Mawang Village, Sarawak, Malaysia

Growing in popularity of tourism industry in Sarawak creates opportunities for economic development. This industry has been recognized as one of the sectors that contribute to the economic growth in the state. The number of tourists willing to visit the unexplored nature and different cultures has sparked and increased the development for the ecotourism industry. This study focuses on the impacts and perception of local communities on Tagang system development in Terbat Mawang Village, Sarawak. The respondents' feedback was analysed using factor analysis and reliability test. The study showed that three subscales components were identified including economic impact, conservation and protection, and ecotourism benefits in the analysis. In short, the socioeconomic and environmental implications captured an excellent opportunity for economic development in the ecotourism industry.

Gender, Race and Ecotourism Assemblages in Rural Creole Belize

Race and gender intertwine with ecotourism in Belize's northern rural Creole villages, communities that are home to protected areas renowned for birds and other wildlife. Racialising and gendering assemblages found here emerge out of Belize's long history of forest‐based slavery economies. From the early days of sport fishing and jaguar hunting in the 1950s through to contemporary bird‐and wildlife‐watching, tourism has joined these socio‐natural formations. Intersectional feminist political ecology and assemblage theory provide an analytical frame that reveals how ecotourism serves to re‐entrench gendered and racialised inequality, yet in cases where the ecotourism industry is small‐scale and locally owned, possibilities for challenging those hierarchies also arise.

Alpine Masculinity: A Gendered Figuration of Capital in the Patagonian Andes

This article investigates the Patagonian ecotourism industry and the spatial production of gender privilege. The analysis attends to how the spatial practices of park rangers, tourism guides and climbers create a gendered space of capital accumulation that devalues and marginalises othered subjects – such as women and non‐alpine men – within specific domains of nature. Developing the concept of a figuration of capital, this article argues that the ecotourism industry has facilitated the rise of an alpine masculine subject based upon key bodily values: robust physicality, a conservationist ethic and heroic narration about engaging wilderness.

SUCCESS INDICATOR’S FOR SABAH ECOTOURISM SITES

Sabah, one of the thirteen Malaysian states, is located in the northern part of Malaysian Borneo. It is a melting pot of many different cultures and traditions, being home to about 2.9 million people with more than 30 ethnic groups. It is also known as one of the twelve mega-diversity sites in the world with its rich living heritage, ethnic makes it ideal for the ecotourism industry. Sabah enjoys a steady flow of eco tourists from domestic and international markets with a gradual increase in the number of visitor arrival each year. Sabah‟s ecotourism is categorized by its natural attraction, wildlife, and wilderness habitats. This paper sets out to interpret and develop the indicators for success ecotourism sites in Sabah and measures its‟ development stage. The long-term viability of tourism can be assured only when the limitations and favorable opportunities of the overall environment for tourism development are understood and ways to measure changes induced by tourism are identified and applied. This thesis applied qualitative methods which can help researchers to understand how and why such behaviors take place. The data were then analyzed to get the results, which are success indicators of ecotourism sites based on the perception of stakeholders. There are two set of the indicators are proposed. The indicators are quite consistent with those others drawn from the literature review. The analysis also shows that there are issues that need to be addressed with regards to these indicators. These indicators are output-based; therefore there is a need to establish the measurement or the parameters of these indicators to make it more quantifiable and more meaningful. Another aspect that the thesis identified is that the success level of each ecotourism site. Different development level of the ecotourism sites will use different strategic in their management. In the end of the thesis, the level of sites development will linked to the Butler‟s Model in determine the success level of the ecotourism sites. This will contribute to tourism literature by enhancing the knowledge of ecotourism, and to the ecotourism industry by providing a means of ecotourism success.

Water quality for guest health at remote Amazon ecotourism lodges

Remote rainforest lodges are a growing part of the ecotourism industry. They can provide benefits through employment, environmental protection, and opportunities for scientific research. Lodges are vulnerable to income interruptions which put these benefits at risk. Authors identified water-related health crises as a potential interruption. Four lodges in lowland rainforest of southeastern Peru were visited to assess water quality, hygiene practices, and the relationship between water quality and guest experience. Thermotolerant coliforms (fecal bacteria including E. coli) were measured in drinking, tap, and river water. All treated drinking water contained coliform bacteria. River bacteria indicated possible unsafe swimming conditions. Through interviews with lodge staff, guests and regional stakeholders, a concerning picture developed. National law banned chlorine bleach, management relied upon the TripAdvisor website which did not accurately represent illness rates, and an international accreditation scheme discouraged chemical water treatment. Culture, law, and practice interact to affect bacterial contamination.