Ecotourism impacts in the Nicoya Peninsula,Costa Rica

Ecotourism promotes responsible travel to natural areas, environmental conservation and the well‐being of local communities. Eco‐lodges are an important component of ecotourism ventures but an infrequently researched component of this field. Considering their influence on the natural environment (design and operation) and local communities (employment practices and purchases), the success of ecotourism depends, in part, on the performance of eco‐lodges. This project studies the effects of the Punta Islita (PI) eco‐lodge on the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica. An interdisciplinary nested‐scale analysis, combining guest and household interviews with multi‐temporal remote sensing analysis of forest cover change of the lodge and surrounding areas, is used to evaluate the environmental, economic and social impacts of ecotourism in the region. Our results show significant positive contributions of the PI eco‐lodge on forest cover, environmental conservation, and local economic incomes within the surrounding communities. For local livelihoods, the PI eco‐lodge was seen as having positive social, cultural and economic impacts for nearly all societal variables for both employees and their neighbours. The PI eco‐lodge was also perceived as reducing alcoholism, drug addiction and prostitution, where conventional tourism on the Peninsula was shown to increase these ‘societal ills’. Land value and product pricing were the few variables believed to have increased as a result of tourism on the Peninsula. For conservation, the PI eco‐lodge property had the highest rates of reforestation within the Nicoya Peninsula and remains the scale most reforested in both forest cover change and total forest cover. In fact, at the landscape scale, we find that the Pacific coast of the Nicoya, where the bulk of ecotourism occurs, has undergone reforestation, whereas forest interiors have been deforested. Historically, reforestation occurred as cattle ranching credit programs were halted by the government and households in the area left to find better job opportunities. The PI eco‐lodge, as a source of good employment, resulted in worker migration back to the surrounding area, resulting, in some cases, in increased deforestation. Overall, we feel that the PI eco‐lodge serves as an example of successful ecotourism. However, increasing development in the region, in particular by standard hotel operations and large condo developments, seeks to capitalise on the region's natural beauty and may reverse land cover trends if they are not accompanied by adequate forest conservation strategies and stresses the importance of monitoring and assessing the impacts of accommodations tied to nature‐based tourism operations. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Moral Authority of Ecotourism: A Critique

The paper argues that in debates on the role of tourism in bringing about development in the developing world, ecotourism has acquired a certain moral authority. It is often compared favourably to other categories of tourism, most notably mass tourism, based on its ability to combine conservation and development, categories that are often considered to exist in an antagonistic relationship. The paper seeks to challenge this moral authority. Others have attempted to do this, typically arguing that ecotourism can lead to mass tourism and consequently the same destructive tendencies, or that it is simply conscience salving for the western middle class. However the argument put forward here is a different one – that ecotourism as a tool for integrated conservation and development, widely advocated within conservation non-governmental organisations (NGOs), ties communities’ development prospects to a pre-existing relationship with their immediate natural environment. Basing development upon this relationship may offer some benefits to local communities, but at the same time the championing of such eco-development precludes a discussion of thoroughgoing economic development, development that would transform this relationship. The paper concludes that the championing of ecotourism reflects low horizons for development and that its moral credentials are highly questionable.     

Integrated vulnerability assessment of ecotourism to climate change in Dana Biosphere Reserve,Jordan

Climate change has become a major threat to ecotourism in protected areas. This study aims to assess the vulnerability of the ecotourism system in Dana Biosphere Reserve (DBR), the major ecotourism destination in Jordan, to climate change. We conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with key informants in DBR to assess climate change-related threats, their influence on natural resources, local communities and ecotourism's activities; and adaptation practices. The results indicate that DBR is highly exposed to multiple climate threats, specifically reduced precipitation, shifts in the rainy season, and increased frequency and intensity of drought. These changes are degrading the environment, shifting tourism seasons, and changing livelihoods and lifestyles of local communities. To mitigate these diverse consequences, DBR implements a range of environmental management, technical, educational and business management policies and practices. However, this vulnerability assessment, which addressed social, economic, and environmental impacts, provides a holistic understanding of the susceptibility of the tourism system to climate change and guidance for facilitating future adaptation.     

Sustainability of Small-Scale Ecotourism: The Case of Niue,South Pacific

This paper examines whether small-scale ecotourism is sustainable. For the purpose of the paper the term 'ecotourism' has been refined, and evaluation criteria compiled for small-scale community ecotourism comprising of three concepts: environmental sensitivity, socio-cultural appropriateness, and economic viability. The case study of Niue was chosen because it met the initial evaluation criteria, and was used to determine whether small-scale community ecotourism was sustainable. Niue's tourism industry was assessed in the areas of environmental, socio-cultural and economic viability and all three must exist in symbiosis to achieve sustainability. The results of the research show that Niue's tourism industry is sustainable only in environmental and socio-cultural aspects, however, due to insufficient visitor arrivals it is not economically viable. Niue is isolated, reliant on aid and is the most expensive destination in the South Pacific due primarily to the cost and frequency of the air service. Niue can increase its visitor numbers to achieve economic viability, or attract higher spending visitors to the island. Care must be taken not to exceed the island's carrying capacity, which would cause negative environmental and socio-cultural impacts. A balance needs to be made between the three concepts to achieve sustainability, with careful planning and monitoring.     

Supporting the Principles of Sustainable Development in Tourism and Ecotourism: Government's Potential Role

This paper articulates the principles of sustainable development, sustainable tourism, and ecotourism, and their interrelationship, and explains the critical difference between growth and development, which are commonly confused. It discusses numerous activities during the course of the early 1990s, which arguably moved the government into a 'strong sustainability' mode, through its support of the principles of sustainable development, tourism, and ecotourism. The paper also briefly describes the reduction of government activities to support principles of sustainable development over the latter part of the decade, which moved the government to a weak sustainability mode. Supportive activities include integrated planning; cooperation and partnerships; public consultation; proactive research and education; environment protection and conservation; management of resources, impact and visitors; and green standards activities. The benefits for government support of principles of sustainability are briefly described.     

Commodification of Volunteer Tourism: a Comparative Study of Volunteer Tourists in Vietnam and in Thailand

Volunteer tourism (VT) has often been depicted as a means of avoiding the commodification of tourism (and even ecotourism) by ensuring that local communities benefit from VT, both environmentally and economically, and that there is authentic engagement by the tourists with indigent people and their cultures. However, critics have questioned this claim, arguing that VT has become little different from tourism and ecotourism, entailing commodification by providing profit for VT organizations rather than for local communities and consuming rather than respecting local environments and cultures. This study tests these claims and counterclaims by a comparative analysis of two VT experiences, one in Vietnam and the other in Thailand. The findings of the study are that although each cohort of volunteer tourists (VTs) exhibited elements of both decommodification and commodification, on a continuum of decommodification and commodification, the Vietnam VTs were closer to the decommodification node, whereas the Thailand VTs were closer to the commodification node. In part, this was because the Vietnam VT project was pitched more towards conservation research, whereas the Thailand VT project was pitched more towards vacation conservation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Local intentions to participate in ecotourism development in Taiwan’s Atayal communities

By applying the theoretical concepts of planned behaviors and social exchange, this study aims to examine the decisive factors that influence the behavioral intentions of local residents in three Atayal communities in Yilan County, Taiwan, to participate in the community development of ecotourism. This study uses AMOS software to perform structural equation modeling. The results of the study indicate that (1) residents’ attitudes toward community-based ecotourism development, perceived behavioral control, and perceived social benefits have significant correlations with their behavioral intentions and that (2) respondents involved in community-related organizations have more positive behavioral intentions. Due to their location in remote areas to which tourists rarely venture, these three Atayal communities lack the incentives to attract tourists or to trigger the participation of the broader community in ecotourism development with the promise of sharing tourism revenue. Most Atayal residents in the research area clearly lack the ‘rights to develop’ and the ‘means to get involved’. From the perspective of power relations, this study could contribute insight into the theoretical and empirical implications of hierarchical influences to examine the political–economic inferiority of indigenous behavioral intentions toward community-based ecotourism development.     

NGO–Community Collaboration for Ecotourism: A Strategy for Sustainable Regional Development

An inappropriate mega-tourist project dramatically threatened the communities and ecosystems at Bahias de Huatulco, a beautiful site on the Pacific coast of Oaxaca, Mexico. The indigenous communities in the neighbouring highlands suffered, first as their forests were logged, and then by the economic pressures and cultural onslaught from globalised tourist development. An environmentally sensitive programme to emplace an infrastructure to provide ecotourism services, supported by the traditional beach-front tourist industry, offers a mechanism to strengthen the social organisation and the economic base of the participating communities. Together with complementary activities to rehabilitate and better manage the forests, to introduce artisanal activities and create a local wildlife reserve, ecotourism is stimulating conservation efforts and sustainable management and production practices. By introducing these alternatives to the marginal economic opportunities offered by the beach tourism, the local peoples enjoy a higher quality of life and are better insulated from the cyclical swings in the national and international economy that are taking a high toll on peoples elsewhere.     

Moving on from Joint Management Policy Regimes in Australian National Parks

Joint management regimes in Australia are seeing an increasing focus on cross-cultural approaches to management of national parks. This has brought under scrutiny the eurocentric approaches to park management that exclude the rights and perspectives of indigenous Australians. The history of our parks appears to have been built on policy that is not only exclusionary but stems from a hegemonic approach to management. With an increasing focus on natural resource and cultural tourism (often referred to as ecotourism) within Australia, it is time to address the issues that are fundamental to the provision of policy for this area of park management. Pressure from tourism can have significant impacts upon the natural and cultural resources of national parks, and thus on the local aboriginal community itself. Policies formulated within the framework of ecotourism principles, supported with social science research in the community studies area, are ideally suited to application within the joint management framework. These policies facilitate a cross-cultural flow of information and thus promote a development of the cross-cultural understanding that is vital to the resolution and progress of joint management. It would seem that policy directions founded on the principles of ecotourism and the facilitation of community ownership and control of tourism and the associated resource are being overlooked or treated in politically expedient ways as a means of appeasing legal requirements at both a management and political level.     

Nature-Based Tourism and Poverty Alleviation: Impacts of Private Sector and Parastatal Enterprises In and Around Kruger National Park,South Africa

International programmes and national policies around the world have identified tourism as an appropriate mechanism for sustainable development, poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation. To evaluate the impact of nature-based tourism on the poor, socio-economic assessments were undertaken at enterprises based within South African protected areas. Comparisons were made between local economic interventions reported by enterprises and neighbouring community member's perceptions of their initiatives. Socioeconomic impacts evaluated included employment, gender equality, procurement, corporate social responsibility, dependency on tourism and access to markets. The studies demonstrate that isolated efforts from individual tourism companies have little tangible impact on the majority of people living in highly populated rural communities but impacts are substantial for the few people who directly benefit. Implications of these findings for future socio-economic initiatives through tourism, and options to increase net benefits to the poor are explored.     

Fostering community empowerment and capacity building through tourism: perspectives from Dullstroom,South Africa

This study observed tourism development in the popular South African destination of Dullstroom, Mpumalanga, and sought to identify the significant social benefits that have been fostered as a result. Dullstroom is synonymous with fly-fishing and is well-known throughout the country for its unique natural environment that is host to diverse flora and fauna. In the South African context, the impacts generated by tourism development on local communities have remained preoccupied with the economic benefits they deliver and rarely the important social gains that may also be developed. Between October 2012 and March 2013, a qualitative research methodology was developed to capture the views and experiences of 46 local employees (predominantly Non-white, South African females) and 16 owners or managers of local tourism-focused businesses. The findings reveal that tourism development has provided a number of positive impacts and that local community members encountered a number of benefits that ventured beyond economic factors. These benefits included empowerment through capacity building and the acquisition of positions that involved a high degree of responsibility, many of which would have been otherwise unobtainable but for the support of local tourism businesses. Others were afforded opportunities to pursue formal qualifications that enabled them to pursue dreams of senior positions or even new career paths beyond Dullstroom. The platforms that enabled these outcomes are discussed from the perspectives of both employers and employees in the local tourism economy.     

Large Protected Areas and Visitor Information Management in Germany

Tourism and recreation in the countryside, particularly in large protected areas, has become a major trend in Germany. However, despite the fact that the political as well as academic debate on the impacts of tourism on the environment has a long tradition in Germany, professional ‘visitor information management strategies’ are not implemented in all nature parks, national parks or biosphere reserves. Apart from the image that is held by the international academic community, Germany started late with modern communication policies in large protected areas with recreation and leisure amenities for general consumption. Learning from international best practice examples (e.g. from Great Britain, Ireland, USA), tourists in large protected areas are seen increasingly as ‘partners’ instead of ‘numbers to be managed’. Topical issues of discussion in this article are centred on the relationship between environmental protection policies and leisure and tourism consumption in Germany, focusing especially on the ‘nature parks’. Contemporary issues and problems concerning tourism demand and environmental protection will be presented and later discussed by the concept of visitor information management as a sustainable response. Furthermore, the dimensions of the ‘hardware’ and ‘software’ of visitor information management will be introduced.     

Large-scale Ecotourism – A Contradiction in Itself?

In a large number of attempts to define ecotourism researchers often suggest that one vital aspect of ecotourism is the scale of the operations. Ecotourism, so the argument goes, should be small-scale tourism. This view is often illustrated with a number of negative impacts of mass tourism on the environment and on the host communites. However, this paper introduces the reader to two major players in mass tourism, Europe's largest package tour operator TUI and Germany's secondlargest charter carrier LTU. Both are certainly not ecotour operations; however, both implemented a variety of policies and actions, which attempt to keep the environmental and social impacts in the destinations as low as possible. The examples show that positive action can be taken without compromising company operations and customer comfort.     

Ecotourism from a conceptual perspective,an extended definition of a unique tourism form

The aim of this article is to develop and present an extended definition of the concept of ecotourism, which has been used and misused in many ways. Ecotourism is not farm tourism, nature tourism or adventure tourism, but a unique tourism form that has become very popular due to the greening of markets, increasing knowledge of the fragility of the environment, better informed managers, and the recognition that there is a close relationship between good ecology and good economy. Ecotourism has been defined in many different ways in the literature, but one of the most central dimensions, co‐operation, has not been included. Ecotourism must be sustainable and four central groups of actors have to co‐operate, the local people, the authorities, tourists and companies involved in tourism. The understanding of what ecotourism is and stands for is very diverse and the discussion found in Finland is used as an illustrative case in this article. The general view in Finland is that sustainable tourism should be used instead of the concept of ecotourism. A position, which can cause large problems for the development of ecotourism in Finland. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Content Analysis of Ecotourism Definitions

One of the most habitual practices in the sub-field of ecotourism, from both academic and industry perspectives, is the development of definitions. Although the reasons for such a proliferation of definitions is unknown, it appears as though the trend will continue. This research sought to better understand the concept of ecotourism through an examination of 85 definitions of the term (chiefly from the perspective of 20 variables), using a content analysis methodology. The variables most frequently cited in the definitions include: (i) reference to where ecotourism occurs, e.g. natural areas; (2) conservation; (3) culture; (4) benefits to locals; and (5) education. From the perspective of time, the data indicate that the years ranging from 1991 to 1996, were the most productive in terms of the development of ecotourism definitions, and more specifically 1994 to 1996, when a number of the most comprehensive of these were coined. Conservation, education, ethics, sustainability, impacts and local benefits were variables which were better represented in the more recent definitions, showing a changing emphasis in how the term has been conceptualised over time.     

Dive Tourism and Local Communities: Active Participation or Subject to Impacts? Case Studies from Malaysia

Dive tourism impacts were examined in three Malaysian islands: Perhentian (backpackers), Redang (package tourism) and Mabul (upmarket dive tourism). Qualitative local participation approaches were applied to investigate whether host communities were merely reactive to dive tourism's impacts. Dive tourism affected many aspects of community life. Besides physical/ environmental impacts (new infrastructure), research found varied economic impacts including employment/business opportunities and differing economic linkages. Participation varied between locations, and obstacles to increased participation were revealed. Mainly negative socio‐cultural impacts were observed with minimal participation in cultural productions (handicrafts, performances). However, positive educational impacts emerged, especially environmental awareness and English language acquisition. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Volunteer tourism impacts in Ghana: a practice approach

Relatively little empirical research has been conducted on impacts of volunteer tourism in local communities. This paper therefore focuses on the local consequences of volunteer tourism for two projects in Tamale, Ghana: Zion Primary School and Tamale Children's Home. A practice approach provides a useful theoretical framework to investigate how volunteers and local actors interact in these projects. In a practice approach, interactions become central to the analysis, highlighting the ways in which volunteers, local people and the local context mutually influence one another. Observations and interviews with volunteers and local actors were used to identify positive and negative consequences of their interactions, which are strongly interlinked and depend on routines, backgrounds and positions of the actors, and contextual conditions. The consequences of volunteer practices are also linked to other current and future practices. A practice approach provides insights into complex situations and may be more suited to analysing the impacts of volunteer tourism than a traditional mono-disciplinary focus.     

Sustainable Ecotourism in Amazonia: Evaluation of Six Sites in Southeastern Peru

It is widely assumed that ecotourism offers sustainable development opportunities in under‐developed countries, but little is known about the variables contributing to differential sustainability of multiple ecotourism ventures within a geographic region. This investigation compared differences among rainforest ecotourism sites in Tambopata, Amazonian Peru. These rainforest lodges act as stewards of the surrounding habitat. Different histories and philosophies regarding tourism resulted in varied levels of economic, social and ecological sustainability. This study quantitatively examines the differential sustainability of multiple ecotourism sites in a small geographic region. Tourism in Tambopata has a potential for sustainability of local communities and natural resources. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sustainability of Tourism Development in Macao,China

To maximize the benefits to stakeholders in Macao, the sustainability of Macao tourism was examined by assessing the economic, socio‐cultural and environmental impacts of tourism, visitor satisfaction and the level of community involvement in local tourism planning from 2002 to 2009, through the use of primary and secondary data. The results revealed that tourism did bring both positive and negative impacts to the community. Visitor satisfaction was found to be moderate. Channels for community participation in local tourism development were also lacking. The paper suggests that for sustainable tourism development, Macao needs to diversify away from its casino industry, to speed up the construction of the public transport system and to keep monitoring the environmental conditions, the students' drop‐out and crime rate and the locals' quality of life. More importantly, a master plan for its tourism development integrating all the key stakeholders' interests is urgently required. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.