Sustainable Ecotourism Development Research Articles

Classification and Influential Factors in the Perceived Tourism Impacts of Community Residents on Nature-based Destinations: China's Tiantangzhai Scenic Area

This paper investigates the use of natural areas, particularly regions in the very early stage of tourism development, specifically to determine how, by taking local residents’ perception of tourism into consideration from the initial stages of development, residents can then be divided into groups with different characteristics, allowing for a better grasp of influencing variables and contributing to the development of different strategies for the different groups. This could be conducive the development of sustainable ecotourism and could aid in avoiding some of the more negative impacts of tourism development. This study takes China's Tiantangzhai scenic area as an example, using the stratified sampling method and multinominal logistic regression model to classify groups of residents based on their perception of tourism, and identifies key factors

Study on Sustainable Development of Ecotourism in the Northern Piedmont in the Qinling Mountains

Tourism resources in the Northern Piedmont in the Qinling Mountains (NPQM) are quite abundant and play an important role in the development of the tourist industry in Shaanxi Province. Based on reviewing the status quo of ecotourism in the NPQM and existing issues, this paper puts forward countermeasures and recommendations for sustainable development of ecotourism in the NPQM. Firstly, a systemic tourism resources investigation should be conducted; secondly, a comprehensive assessment should be made on tourism resources; thirdly, suitable and reasonable principles of protective development should be established, considering to facilitate organic unification of ecological environmental protection and exploitation of tourism. All steps are helpful to realize scientific and sustainable development of ecological economy and tourism zone in the NPQM.

Assessment of ecosystem services of Lugu Lake watershed

Better understanding and evaluation of ecosystem services are important for applying the correct model of regional development planning. Using the physical assessment method (PAM) and the value assessment method (VAM), the ecosystem services in Lugu Lake watershed, including product supply, soil conservation, water conservation, CO2 absorption, O2 release, nutrient cycle, flood storage and ecotourism, were evaluated and analysed. The results show that the total economic value of these ecosystem services was 500.68 × 106 Yuan/a (at comparable prices in 2004); ecotourism was the major component of ecosystem services, accounting for 41.6%; the values of O2 release, flood storage, CO2 absorption and water conservation accounted for 28.1, 13.7, 7.7, and 5.5%, respectively; the value of product supply accounted for only 2.4% and, therefore, was not a major part of watershed ecosystem services. Sustainable development of ecotourism and long-term preservation of the functions of O2 release and flood storage need to be assured for realising ecosystem services of Lugu Lake watershed.

An assessment of the attitudes of the inhabitants of Northern Karpathos, Greece: towards a framework for ecotourism development in environmentally sensitive areas

This paper is a case study that sets out to explore the extent to which the local residents of the region of Northern Karpathos and Saria in the southeast corner of the Aegean have positive attitudes and perceptions towards ecotourism ventures for sustainable development. The area is included in the European Ecological Network Natura 2000 and was chosen for studying since it constitutes an ideal location for the promotion of soft and alternative forms of tourism. The investigation of the attitudes of the inhabitants of the Community of Olympos, in Northern Karpathos was carried out using as research tool a questionnaire that was drawn up specifically for the needs of the present work. The attempt to provide a systematic way of studying the inhabitants’ attitudes led to the proposition of a framework that contains the necessary conditions for sustainable ecotourism development. This is based on three fundamental factors, namely: (a) environmental conservation, (b) environmental education and (c) empowerment of local community. The main conclusion drawn was that the perceptions of the local people accord with the basic principles of ecotourism. Residents (a) showed a high degree of awareness and sensitivity regarding environmental conservation issues in the area, (b) recognised the need for environmental education concerning ecotourism activities and (c) had a favourable attitude towards the implementation of initiatives in the ecotourism field aimed at their empowerment and at promoting sustainable development in the area. The participants’ place of permanent residence and level of education appeared to influence significantly their perceptions of this alternative form of tourism.

Sustainable Ecotourism Development in Central America and the Caribbean: Review of Debates and Conceptual Reformulation

AbstractTourism is one of the world's largest economic sectors. Ecotourism is its fastest growing component (United Nations World Tourism Organization 2007), and a promising strategy for sustainable development. Rural Central America and the Caribbean are in need of sustainable development and contain promising ecotourism sites. Despite their empirical importance and potential, tourism and ecotourism as research topics present several difficulties. This article surveys recent tourism and ecotourism scholarship and pays special attention to other recent literature reviews that contribute to that scholarship. It offers a three‐dimensional view of sustainable ecotourism development based on ecological integrity, economic viability, and social justice. Our common conception of ecotourism needs to broaden. It is typically presented as one of many distinct alternatives to mass tourism such as cultural, historical, and agro‐tourism. It is more fruitful to view alternative tourisms as synergistic components of a sustainable tourism ensemble. The article explores consequences of neglecting any of the three sustainability dimensions. It concludes by summarizing the article's contributions to the practice and analysis of sustainable ecotourism development.

Promoting Sustainability Through Increased Community Involvement: The Shangri-La Ecotourism Demonstration Project

Tourism in Yunnan has a short history; however, many destinations in this region already exhibit substantial cultural and natural degradation. The increased awareness of these negative tourism impacts has led Yunnan's provincial government to sponsor the Shangri-La Ecotourism Demonstration Project (SLED); a project focused on promoting sustainable development of ecotourism in Shangri-La with involvement of the host community. This article describes the SLED project's limitations and accomplishments. The first stage of the project explored factors constraining local residents from becoming involved in the tourism industry and outlined strategies and policies necessary to overcome those constraints. The second stage addressed infrastructure improvements, training of villagers in basic hospitality skills, and the introduction of key tourism policies. A follow-up assessment revealed that the project interventions resulted in increased awareness for the need to preserve local culture and the natural environment. Moreover, the project interventions helped in some instances to bring villagers together to work collaboratively on tourism-related projects. Contrary to this, however, pressures from the tourism retail and lodging sectors and lack of support by the local government led to environmental and cultural degradation, unfair distribution of economic gains, and conflict between community segments.

Game farms as sustainable ecotourist attractions

The main goal of this research was to determine aspects that will contribute to the development of sustainable ecotourism on game farms. In order to achieve this, empirical research was done by means of a survey sample consisting of all the active members of the South African Game Farmers Organisation. There are a total of 1244 members, of whom 50 % (n = 622) were randomly sampled for the research. In the main findings of the research, aspects were identified that are developed according to the criterion for sustainable ecotourism. These aspects include natural/conservation/environmental considerations as well as cultural aspects, such as learning local languages. Aspects that are neglected include working closely with the local community to develop new products; developing partnerships and joint ventures in which the community has a significant stake; fostering the development of community-based tourism products by providing marketing and mentoring support; and considering using local entrepreneurs in the development of community initiatives.

Environmental management indicators for ecotourism in China's nature reserves: A case study in Tianmushan Nature Reserve

Ecotourism has been one of the main economic sources for many of China's nature reserves over the past 10 years. It is contended here that sustainable ecotourism development depends on successful environmental management. For ecotourism management, a set of warning indicators is especially important to indicate environmental change at tourism sites. In this research, management indicators for ecotourism in nature reserves were established based on the Pressure-State-Response model, and the procedure on how to establish indicators was illustrated in the case study area of Tianmushan Nature Reserve.

Local Initiatives to Localize Ecotourism: An Exploratory Study in Kerwa, Van Vihar National Park Catchments

Sustainable ecotourism management and planning requires the prudent support of local population of the destination area. The following study attempts to explore a few aspects of community based ecotourism of an essentially local area, in the close proximity of Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, India. A preliminary study was initiated in the Kerwa forest area, in an attempt to profile the local villagers in order to identify common concerns. Personal visits, formal and informal communication, and discussions were employed to gather primary information to test the feasibility of initiating any attempt towards the sustainable development of ecotourism. Secondary data on the aspects of demand and supply was largely verified and utilized to profile the visitors and the visited. The data thus collected was synthesized and analysed to arrive at conclusions and strategies in the required direction. From Tourism to Ecotourism Despite abating forces of economic recession, terrorism and political instability, tourism is reckoned as one of the most important civil industries in the world. Within the vast gamut of the phenomenon, ecotourism holds the biggest promise for the developing countries of the world (WTO 1984, 1991). Spurred by the Brundtland report, followed by the Rio summit and the recent Kyoto Protocol, environmental consciousness has taken precedence in all human endeavours. Eco-development became the catch phrase. It aimed at integrating cultural, social, and ecological goals with development (Sagasti and Colby 1993; Nelson 1994). Tourism, as an industry, responded in tandem.

Sustainable Development of Ecotourism in Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) and other Small Islands

Stefanos Fotiou is Head of Section, Poliscapes. In many islands, communities pre cies and Sustainable Development, The serve traditions and living cultures that are Goulandris Natural History Museum— also of great interest for sensitive and edu Greek Biotope/Wetland Centre, Greece. He cated visitors. The following points synthe has researched and published widely in sise the conclusions and dynamic ecotourism. discussions of this WTO Preparatory Con ference within the framework of the four Dimitrios Buhalis is Course Leader MSc in themes of the World Ecotourism Summit. eTourism and Director of the Centre for The issues raised reflect the best profes eTourism Research (CeTR) at the Universional practices from around the world and sity of Surrey. He has researched and pubalthough they cannot necessarily be copied lished widely in strategic management and by other destinations they provide clear the marketing of tourism. guidance for achieving sustainable develop ment and for enabling ecotourism initia Gabor Vereczi is Programme Coordinator tives to contribute to regional prosperity. of the Sustainable Development of Tourism Most issues assume a certain degree of Department of the World Tourism Organipublic-private sector partnership and cover sation. both micro and macro decision-making

Sustainable Development and Management of Ecotourism in the Americas: Preparatory Conference for the International Year of Ecotourism, 2002

Sustainable Development and Management of Ecotourism in the Americas: Preparatory Conference for the International Year of Ecotourism, 2002

Forest parks and sustainable development of ecotourism in China

In the spirit of the trend toward opening and reforming China, the State Forestry Administration has taken advantage of the opportunity to improve forest parks and develop forest-based ecotourism. The State Forestry Administration has experienced great success in a short time. By 1997, the State Forestry Administration had built 874 forest parks, with a total area of 7. 48×106 hm2. More than 50 000 000 tourists visited the parks each year. The forest parks have become the new focus of forest-based ecotourism in China. This success demonstrated that the use of forest resources and the development of tourism had moved into a new period. To assure the healthy growth of forest-based ecotourism in China, based on the theory of sustainable development, we have made several suggestions about how to improve forest parks and develop forest-based ecotourism. Our recommendations are grounded in the principles of resource protection, moderate exports of forest products and recognition of the special character of individual park.

Ecosystem Tourism: A Resource-based Philosophy for Ecotourism

Ecotourism has become a popular form of tourism development and marketing in the past ten years, often harnessing the growth in public concern over the wise use of natural resources. In most cases, however, impacts on the ecosystems that are the resource base for ecotourism products are either externalised or their consequences incorporated into the natural evolution of tourism products. This paper is an attempt to stimulate debate on the role that more holistic resource management should play in ecotourism developments. We contend that this can only be achieved through an understanding of ecological science. Credible ecotourism must be firmly based in scientific ecological principles that define ecosystem integrity, especially the resilience of ecosystem processes to disturbance. Such tolerance should be the fundamental measurement against which ecotourism products are monitored.We introduce the term 'ecosystem tourism' to summarise this agenda to define truly sustainable ecotourism development.