A descriptive case study approach and 34 indicators was used to examine the socio-economic impacts of whale watching tourism in the Laguna San Ignacio (LSI) World Heritage Site - located within the El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve in Baja California Sur, Mexico. The framework measured both the socio-economic changes, and the economic viability of the local and regional operators. This approach led to a detailed understanding of the underlying, and often complex, inter-related factors that shaped the ecotourism development in LSI between 1994 and 2002. It identified strengths and weaknesses of current ecotourism development making it a valid tool for evaluating and improving these activities in any biosphere reserve. More specifically the objectives were to examine: 1. How existing ecotourism operations and their activities in the LSI have changed since 1994; 2. Whether these changes have made ecotourism a more viable socio-economic development alternative for the local communities; and 3. Which strategies may be useful in overcoming identified barriers to further socio-economic benefits both from existing and future ecotourism activities. The results strongly suggested that the benefits from ecotourism improved significantly between 1994 and 2002. Economically this was reflected in growth of visitor numbers (50%), employment (100%) and local and regional revenue approximately 70% (or 55% in real terms adjusting for inflation). Social benefits were seen in more cooperation among previous antagonistic stakeholders; a wider distribution of ecotourism benefits; some improvement in living standards and increasing local support for the Reserve. Politically, local stakeholders became more empowered through involvement in tourism related management activities. The viability of the local and regional operators also improved significantly as they became more sophisticated in their product offerings, enhanced their facilities and gained a market share of ecotourism relative to the foreign operators. These improvements were particular true for the operators that sold package tours. However, the analyses also revealed a number of barriers with the most important ones being: • Unresolved historic land use conflicts over rights to land with ecotourism possibilities; • Lack of activities diversification possibilities outside the tourism season; • Stagnating visitor numbers; • Uneven business skills among operators; • Poor marketing and promotional efforts; • Insufficient ecotourism infrastructure; • A proposed ecotourism tax; • Low profit margin of the ecotourism operators; and • Lack of funding for further investments To alleviate these threats and barriers 13 general strategies were identified. An elaboration of these resulted in 39 concrete operational strategies on how potentially to implement them.

This research is an ethnographic case study of the emerging ecotourism economies in the agricultural village of San Gerardo de Rivas, Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica. Due to the village’s location as the main entry point to climb the country’s tallest mountain within Chirripó National Park, the majority of households in San Gerardo now derive some income from tourism. I conducted twenty household surveys, followed by twenty-one semi-structured interviews with male and female heads of households and representatives of local organizations and tourism businesses. Drawing on local perspectives, I found that ecotourism was a complementary income source to agriculture and that men and women were engaging differently in ecotourism employment. Local organizations were involved in the participatory management of ecotourism activities within Chirripó National Park. Ecotourism has affected environmental practices and local people are strategically negotiating the direction of tourism development, including through using environmental discourses, to optimize the benefits to their community.

Sustainable development is concerned with acknowledging economic, social and environmental development aspects, catering for the current needs of society without damaging the well-being of future generations. Ecotourism is a niche market that emerged because of increased market demands for sustainable tourism practices. It serves to provide tourism products and services while accommodating for the economic, social and environmental aspects of society. However, earlier research suggests that it is difficult to handle the three dimensions of sustainable development, indicating that trade-offs may occur. Furthermore, as tour operators are able to affect local development prospects, it is of interest to examine how they handle sustainable development, and more specifically, contribute to trade-offs between the economic, social and environmental pillars of sustainable development. This thesis was aimed at answering the following research question; “How do ecotourism tour operators contribute to trade-offs between the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development?”, with the objective of examining how ecotourism tour operators handle the dimensions of sustainable development, and what trade-offs that may occur between economic, social and environmental concerns. This qualitative research was carried out in the context of ecotourism tour operators in Costa Rica through semi-structured interviews. Nine respondents participated in this research, representing seven local ecotourism tour operators. The data collected on the trade-offs of ecotourism and sustainable development has in turn been analysed with reference to a pre-established theoretical framework. This study has revealed that ecotourism tour operators are actively engaging in initiatives supporting the idea of sustainable development. The tour operators handle the economic, social and environmental concerns through different initiatives. One conclusion that can be derived from this research is that all pillars of sustainable development are important to acknowledge. However, this is difficult as the three dimensions are somewhat contradicting. Therefore, depending on how ecotourism tour operators prioritise different initiatives, trade-offs are inevitable as both inter- and intragenerational needs are difficult to align.

While most ecotourist definitions and typologies have relied on concepts ingrained in traveler behaviours or destinations, none has benefited from a consideration of personal ethics. The study of ecotourism has virtually ignored theoretical considerations of ethics, other than making comparisons with the broader tourism sector. An additional shortcoming is the general lack of methodological sophistication, where the bulk of research concerning ecotourism has remained exploratory and descriptive, and has not sought to understand and explain the role that ethics have played, or not, in ecotourist behaviour and developmental practices. The assumption that ecotourists possess a higher level of ethical beliefs than mass tourists, and in fact exhibit ethical behaviour, has not been contested to a sufficient degree. Consequently, this dissertation addresses a need for more conceptually-based research to identify core ethics underlying ecotourist behaviour, with the potential to reveal where quite diverse groups, including those with different cultural orientations, are positioned on these Western philosophical stances. Upon building a conceptual understanding of ecotourist ethics, I have developed a conceptually-driven, multi-dimensional scale – the Ecotourist Ethics Scale (EES) – based on a conceptual framework that draws on classic theories of ethics (Deontology, Teleology, and Existentialism) and on dominant components of ecotourism definitions, frameworks, and typologies (Nature, Culture, Education, and Conservation). This first phase of scale development was followed by a second phase of testing the EES for its validity and reliability with a sample of 1,544 students, and additionally, testing its concurrent validity in relation to four other established scale measures conceptually related to ecotourist ethics. The results of employing the EES indicate ethics based on Deontology and Teleology define the prevalent ethical stances held by individuals where the focus appears to be on rules or principles and consequences, and not on the authenticity of the experience or activity. The development of a profile of travelers based on ethics, as opposed to typologies based simply on settings, behaviours, or occasionally psychographics, could not only advance our understanding of these travelers, but also provide a means for ecotour companies to implement management strategies for a more sustainable operation in response to the array of positive and negative beliefs and behaviours driven by core ethics. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of findings and their implications from analyses of an assortment of the factors related to the sample’s travel and demographic characteristics.

While most ecotourist definitions and typologies have relied on concepts ingrained in traveler behaviours or destinations, none has benefited from a consideration of personal ethics. The study of ecotourism has virtually ignored theoretical considerations of ethics, other than making comparisons with the broader tourism sector. An additional shortcoming is the general lack of methodological sophistication, where the bulk of research concerning ecotourism has remained exploratory and descriptive, and has not sought to understand and explain the role that ethics have played, or not, in ecotourist behaviour and developmental practices. The assumption that ecotourists possess a higher level of ethical beliefs than mass tourists, and in fact exhibit ethical behaviour, has not been contested to a sufficient degree. Consequently, this dissertation addresses a need for more conceptually-based research to identify core ethics underlying ecotourist behaviour, with the potential to reveal where quite diverse groups, including those with different cultural orientations, are positioned on these Western philosophical stances. Upon building a conceptual understanding of ecotourist ethics, I have developed a conceptually-driven, multi-dimensional scale – the Ecotourist Ethics Scale (EES) – based on a conceptual framework that draws on classic theories of ethics (Deontology, Teleology, and Existentialism) and on dominant components of ecotourism definitions, frameworks, and typologies (Nature, Culture, Education, and Conservation). This first phase of scale development was followed by a second phase of testing the EES for its validity and reliability with a sample of 1,544 students, and additionally, testing its concurrent validity in relation to four other established scale measures conceptually related to ecotourist ethics. The results of employing the EES indicate ethics based on Deontology and Teleology define the prevalent ethical stances held by individuals where the focus appears to be on rules or principles and consequences, and not on the authenticity of the experience or activity. The development of a profile of travelers based on ethics, as opposed to typologies based simply on settings, behaviours, or occasionally psychographics, could not only advance our understanding of these travelers, but also provide a means for ecotour companies to implement management strategies for a more sustainable operation in response to the array of positive and negative beliefs and behaviours driven by core ethics. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of findings and their implications from analyses of an assortment of the factors related to the sample’s travel and demographic characteristics.

This study evaluated how three conservation approaches implemented by the Brazilian Sea Turtle Conservation Program (the TAMAR Project) are related to local support for sea turtle conservation in Praia do Forte, Brazil. Four species of sea turtles nest in Praia do Forte. In Praia do Forte, locals harvested sea turtles for their meat and eggs on a regular basis to support subsistence needs. The three conservation strategies analyzed are employment opportunities and alternative sources of income from sea turtle ecotourism; enforcement of federal sea turtle protection laws; and implementation of environmental education programs via sea turtle ecotourism. These conservation strategies, which are implemented since 1982, represent both top-down and bottom-up conservation paradigms. Qualitative and quantitative data were gathered through nine months of fieldbased research (between May 2006 and September 2008), using tools of participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and key informant interviews. Results indicate that conservation strategies implemented by TAMAR seem to influence local support for sea turtle conservation. Income and environmental education programs to the local children are cited as the main benefits sea turtle conservation brings to the community. Enforcement caused resentment when first implemented, but is now perceived as a necessary strategy to protect sea turtles. The relative lack of community participation in sea turtle conservation seems not to have hampered local support for sea turtle conservation. In fact, the majority of respondents perceive TAMAR as the most appropriate entity to manage sea turtles, and only a minority believes the community should co-manage sea turtle conservation with TAMAR. Though these three conservation strategies seem to help maintain traditional ecological knowledge, the future of this knowledge across generations is uncertain. Though community-based sea turtle conservation is working at the community scale, external factors associated with tourism development at the larger scale seem to influence both livelihoods and sea turtle survival. On a negative side, larger scale tourism development is associated with an increase in the cost of living, the introduction of drugs, violence and greater sense of insecurity, changes in the local fishing culture, and with ongoing threats to sea turtle survival. Tourism development is associated with benefits as well, including improvements in the local infrastructure, employment opportunities, and alternative sources of income. Since tourism development, at both local and regional scales, is unlikely to decrease any time soon, sea turtle survival no longer solely depends in getting local support for sea turtle conservation, but also in addressing the external factors that drive conservation and consumption of sea turtles. Overall, sea turtle ecotourism is one part of a larger strategy for meeting local socioeconomic needs while also protecting sea turtles in Praia do Forte.

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Cultural & Creative Industry (CCI) is a highly knowledge-based and productive industry. And the cultural tourist industry also been treated as the most potential industry in 21st century. Kaohsiung city, Kaohsiung county, and Ping Tung county are located in the most southern part of Taiwan. In the past, the local governments didn¡¦t focus on cultural travel. Since 2004, these three local government established ¡§Regional development committee¡¨ to open mutual dialogue between administrations. This committee is not only coordinating the relationships of governments, but also to run for more resources to develop industry captivity. Therefore, this research will take the region of Kaohsiung city, Kaohsiung County, and pin Tong County as research target. In vertical dimension, the research will focus on global trends, cultural touristy theory, cultural property theory, and overseas case study. In horizontal dimension, the research will combine the country¡¦s development policy, city vision, and regional resources. With cross analysis, the research will find out the benefits in politic, economic, and culture. Also, the research use methodologies such as document reading, case analysis, SWOT analysis, in-depth interview, and field study. This research will try to discuss following contents: 1.to clarify the trend and content of cultural touristy in international point of view through document reading. 2.to review the nation¡¦s development policy and southern city visions. The research will find the combination of targets. 3.to trigger the standards of economic benefit, and tell the develop advantage of this area from the development of cultural & creative industry and overseas successful case. 4.to use unique regional culture to create southern cultural travel image in eco-tourism as the last theme.

The English language is taught for a variety of professional purposes, including business and medicine, yet to date there is no scholarly research investigating the potential necessity of teaching English for environmental purposes. Given that tourism constitutes one of the largest global industries, that ecotourism is the fasting growing segment of the field, that English is the lingua franca of tourism worldwide, that the majority of ecotourism operations are located in the developing world, and that significant levels of unemployment persist within many of these areas, the relationship between knowledge of the English language and employment opportunities within the field of ecotourism warrants consideration. Consequently, the present exploratory study of the relationship between English and ecotourism in Latin America is a first attempt to determine whether or not English language training programs for ecotourism guides in Latin America are a relevant endeavor worthy of further investigation and whether or not the field of teaching English for Professional Purposes (EPP) should consider this area a new sub-discipline. / text

This thesis explores twenty years of community based tourism policy and planning in the Baffin Region. This rise of local participation in tourism development is reviewed. Such an approach is seen as being potentially beneficial to marginalized aboriginal people in remote areas. This, combined with political support for Inuit self determination, formed the rationale behind community based tourism policy in Baffin. / With its extensive community participation program, the planning process formed a strategy for sustainable tourism. Since then, the industry has grown but some of the strategy's goals have not been met. The number of Inuit involved in the industry initially increased, but is now beginning to decline and turnover is high. Interest in the industry, and initiatives such as training, need to arise from inside communities rather than the government. To complement traditional subsistence hunting, the tourism industry must support short term employment.