Tourism has become an essential attribute of modern society that has an effect on the world and its citizens. On the other hand, tourism can also be blamed for an increase in environmental and social stress. Hence the need for a more sustainable tourism industry was advocated; thus the birth of alternative forms of tourism such as urban ecotourism, responsible tourism and community-based tourism. Urban ecotourism has been identified as a method of sustainable tourism that is expected to subsidise to both conservation and development in urban areas. This requires input and cooperation from various stakeholders. One of the most important stakeholders in this process is the local community. Thus, when there is collaboration with host communities in urban ecotourism projects, these projects convert to become community development. These projects such as urban parks are vital assets within the local community as they assist in addressing a broader range of environmental and societal issues. However, these instrumental resources are often ignored, resulting in a loss of potential benefits.

Submitted in full requirement for the Degree of Master of Management Sciences Specialising in Hospitality and Tourism, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / Over the years the rapid growth of the tourism industry has revealed itself to be a major source of income and social improvement for many. However, with this growth comes the undoubtable carbon footprint it carries. As a result, the growth and expansion of many tourism ecolabels have surfaced in the hopes of alleviating the negative environmental impacts the tourism industry imposes. This study aimed to ascertain the impacts of tourism ecolabels on businesses. It assessed the level of success of the ecolabel within the organisation as well as ascertained the benefits and challenges associated with ecolabel certification. A quantitative research approach was used and the data was collected by means of online questionnaires that were targeted at managers of tourism businesses in South Africa. The study reveals that tourism businesses in South Africa do experience the benefits of being certified with an ecolabel in terms of the natural, socio-cultural and economic environments. However, the high costs associated with being certified, the lack of general public awareness regarding ecolabels and the absence of government support are still prevalent. Consequently, cost reduction, promotion of public awareness as well as government support are the main areas of improvement required by tourism establishments with regard to ecolabels. / M

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Jessica Canfield / Nature based tourism is a growing trend across the world today. Ecotourism is a specific nature based tourism type, defined by the International Ecotourism Society (TIES) as “Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.” The ‘ecolodge,’ is a term that refers to the site and structure where ecotourists stay and where ecotourism activities occur. The intention of an ecolodge is to find a balance between three factors: conservation, local communities, and interpretation for travelers and workers. Every ecolodge is unique in form and function to uphold sustainability best practices and to meet specific environmental and climatic needs of a region. As more and more tourists choose to travel to environmentally sensitive areas of the world, ecolodge use must increase in order to preserve environmental and cultural assets (Honey, 2008). In other countries, like Costa Rica and Kenya, many ecolodges have successfully balanced these three components creating an overall trend towards ecolodges and ecotourism operations, shifting away from traditional accommodation types. However, as the U.S. tourism market continues to grow, there is yet to be a notable ecolodge presence. Some ecotourism experts would argue that true ecotourism--equally finding balance between conservation, guest interpretation, and community support--will never be possible to create in the U.S. Many believe it is the ‘supporting local communities’ aspect of ecotourism which cannot be met. The treatment of indigenous people, as well as the structure of the nation’s economy in the U.S. is different compared to developing countries where ecolodge design has found success. Interestingly, certified sustainable site development is becoming prevalent in the U.S. Frameworks such as LEED and SITES are used to improve the rigor of sustainability design. Design guidelines for ecolodges share similar goals with LEED and SITES. But ecolodge design is not prevalent in the U.S. This may be due to the lack of an international ecolodge certification system. If the ecotourism industry can progress from ecolodge guidelines (which are largely unknown) to an international ecolodge certification, truly authentic ecolodges will become the standard (Mehta, 2007). To explore how ecolodges can be used in a U.S. National Park, this project focuses on the Flamingo District in the Everglades National Park, Florida. A projective design methodology is used. The data collection methods include precedent studies, interviews, on-site observation, and site analysis. Flamingo, located in the southernmost point of the Everglades was destroyed by hurricane Katrina in 2005. The National Park Service is seeking a business concessioner to 1) oversee the construction of new lodging area, and 2) operate all business activities—recreation rentals, marina operations, general store, and dining—in the district. The goal of this research project is to create an ecolodge design that can serve Flamingo’s needs and serve as a model for future ecolodge design in U.S. National Parks.

Marine and coastal ecosystems face widespread degradation largely because market failure hides the economic value of the goods and services provided by them. Marine protected areas (MPAs) can serve as a structure that ensures the continuing function of marine and coastal ecosystem goods and services. Yet, to be effective and sustainable, MPAs must be able to prove their economic worth and generate revenue. User-fees are a common system used to partially finance multi-use MPAs. This study applies contingent valuation as a method of economic valuation within an MPA in southern Mozambique. The objectives of this study are to determine the willingness to pay of combined user groups and of individual user groups for use of the Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve and to investigate the potential for the reserve to increase revenues for conservation through the implementation of a user-fee for marine based activities. The payment card contingent valuation method was employed to determine willingness to pay of dolphin swim tourists, scuba divers and fishermen. Data was collected by face-to-face interviews of 120 respondents within two popular tourist locations in the PPMR. Results show that visitors within the PPMR are mainly South Africans, loyal to the area. Probit and OLS regressions were used to determine the effects of various independent variables on willingness to pay. Results from the Probit model indicate that African residency, activity and environmental awareness were significant factors that influenced visitors being WTP more than R20 per person per day as a user fee within the PPMR. The OLS model examined independent variables that influenced visitors being willing to pay as well as the impact of the variables on the amount visitors were willing to pay. The OLS model found income, African residency and environmental awareness to be significant factors influencing visitors being willing to pay. The mean WTP was R43.75 per person per day. Using data supplied by the PPMR, conservative estimated annual revenues based on the implementation of this fee amount would range between R1.46m – R 3.3m.

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. / Science, Faculty of / Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute for / Graduate

This study evaluates the potential for community-based ecotourism as conservation and development strategy in Kome village, which is an unprotected area. The study adopts the ecotourism concept to illustrate how communitybased ecotourism can be a tool for conservation and development in poor rural communities. Adopting the intensive case study design, the study investigates the major challenges for community-based ecotourism in Kome village. Findings reveal that Kome community derives low socio-economic benefits including limited earnings, low employment, poor benefits sharing and lack of entrepreneurships. Kome has a potential to offer better community-based ecotourism products due to diverse tourist attractions ranging from historical, cultural activities to natural scenery. The study suggests and recommends formation of a partnership between the Kome community, private, public sector and the NGOs as a strategy for development. The study concludes that ecotourism can be an appropriate option for conservation and development for Kome village.

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.

Most definitions of ecotourism refer to nature travel experiences which promote the conservation of visited ecosystems. The purpose of this study is to investigate the demand side of ecotourism within the broader tourism context. To this end, the study compares ecotourists with other tourist types, on the basis of conservation involvement and socio-demographic characteristics. Moreover, the study examines recreation specialization among birders, as one subset of ecotourists, and evaluates the substitutability of ecotourism activities. A case study was undertaken at Doi Inthanon National Park, Thailand, which, in 1993, attracted over 900,000 visitors. Primary methods included personal interviews (n = 857) to collect visitor data and participant observations to document impacts from ecotourism. Based on activities, motivations, and researcher and respondent descriptions, a tourist typology of five groups was developed: birding ecotourists, general ecotourists, highlights general tourists, highlights travellers, and trekkers. Ecotourists were older and more educated than other tourist types. Ecotourists contributed more to general conservation efforts than other tourist types; however, for foreigners, these contributions occurred primarily in their home countries, not in Thailand. Compared to other tourist types, some environmental, economic, social, and educational impacts of ecotourists were distinct. Using the recreation specialization model, based on economic commitment and centrality-to-lifestyle, birders were divided into three sub-types: advanced-experienced, advanced-active, and novice. Conservation interest and involvement varied only slightly among birder sub-types. Advanced birders were older, more affluent, and more likely to have professional occupations than other sub-types. Motivations varied among birder sub-types. Using the recreation substitutability model, 82.7% of respondents were interested in a one-day nature trek, and 47.5% were willing to trade their current activities for this trek. Substitutability was higher for tourists with wildlife and natural environment motivations, conservation interests, higher education, and of a younger age. The results are incorporated into conceptual frameworks to aid ecotourism management and to characterize linkages between ecotourism and conservation. Implications and recommendations, relevant to the ecotourism industry, environmental and development organizations, national parks, and other government agencies, are discussed. / Graduate

Orientadores: Frésia Soledad Ricardi Torres Branco, André Jasper / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociências / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-27T04:59:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Kauffmann_Marjorie_D.pdf: 10896204 bytes, checksum: e87c18b3f56ed15a1ab698a2c00261cf (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / Resumo: O presente trabalho foi desenvolvido no Monumento Natural das Árvores Fossilizadas do Tocantins (MNAF), um rico sítio paleobotânico depositado na Bacia Sedimentar do Parnaíba onde os fósseis afloram nas Formações Pedra de Fogo e Motuca. Pela importância científica e patrimonial deste local o estudo foi norteado objetivando aprofundar os conhecimentos, geológicos e paleobotânicos, além de promover medidas conservacionistas para área, tendo como foco o geoturismo. Os componentes foram abordados de forma integrada e complementar, viabilizando a construção de conhecimento acadêmico com possível reflexo no manejo do patrimônio fitofossilífero da área. Para a realização do mapeamento geológico atualizado foram levantados perfis colunares em 17 pontos distribuídos na área do MNAF e seu entorno, os quais foram compilados em 11 seções geológicas elaboradas a partir da correlação entre os dados de campo e a bibliografia existente para região. A avaliação da paleoflora local se deu com coleta de dados de carácter quali-quantitativo em 12 parcelas de área fixa de 25 m², executadas em sítios paleontológicos conhecidos na área do MNAF e seu entorno, distribuídas nos quadrantes NO, NE, SE e SO (totalizaram três parcelas por quadrante). Os resultados do levantamento paleobotânico foram tratados estatisticamente com o programa SPSS Statistics, o teste escolhido foi ANOVA, o objetivo principal foi averiguar as características da distribuição dos fitofósseis por ordem botânica (Equisetales, Marattiales e Coniferales) na área proposta. Para a avaliação da efetiva proteção do patrimônio a pesquisa se desenvolveu com a revisão de arquivos documentais envolvidos direta e indiretamente com a unidade de conservação, buscando avaliar a existência e eficiência das ações de conservação e desenvolvimento sustentável do local. Ainda, foram sugeridos e descritos três locais potenciais para instalação de Geosítios, propícios para uso turístico pela beleza cênica e/ou conteúdo presente. O mapa geológico atualizado para área do MNAF e seu entorno apresenta uma distribuição das formações aflorantes atualmente no MNAF com detalhes das colunas estratigráficas de cada ponto amostrado. Os afloramentos fitofossíliferos estudados foram classificados como pertencentes á Formação Motuca, que foi também a formação dominante na área do parque. Os dados paleobotânicos não demonstraram diferenças estatísticas significativas na distribuição das ordens Equisetales, Marattiales e Coniferales dentro da área do MNAF e seu entrono, sendo assim se pode concluir que a preservação é importante em todo este perímetro. Quanto à relevância patrimonial revelou que, ainda que o MNAF possua um plano de manejo aprovado e bem elaborado, este é minimamente implementado. Os programas específicos de educação ambiental e desenvolvimento de estratégicas de turismo sustentável demandam ênfase e efetivação, o que certamente serão de grande valia, principalmente para a população que reside no entorno ou dentro da área do parque. Foram indicadas como áreas potenciais ao geoturismo três geosítios, Fazenda Andradina, Fazenda Buritirana e Fazenda Torre da Lua, os dois primeiros pela importância paleobotânica e o último pela beleza cênica estampada na geologia local / Abstract: This work was developed in the Monumento Natural das Árvores Fossilizadas (MNAF), a rich palaeobotanical site deposited in the Parnaíba Sedimentary Basin where fossils outcrop in the formations "Pedra de Fogo" and "Motuca". Because of the scientific and patrimonial importance of this site, the study was guided aiming to deepen geological and paleobotanical knowledge as well as promoting conservation measures for the area, focusing on geotourism. The components were addressed in an integrated and complementary way, enabling the construction of academic knowledge with possible effect in the handling of the fossil plant area. For the realization of the updated geologic mapping columnar profiles were surveyed in 17 points distributed in the MNAF area and its surroundings, which were compiled into 11 geological sections drawn from the correlation between the field data and the existing literature about the region. The evaluation of the local paleoflora was made through collection of qualitative and quantitative data in 12 plots of equal area of 25 m², executed in paleontological sites known in MNAF¿s area and surroundings distributed in quadrants NW, NE, SE and SW (totaled three installments per quadrant). The results of palaeobotanical survey were statistically analyzed with the SPSS Statistics program, the chosen test was ANOVA, the main objective was to investigate the characteristics of the distribution of plant fossils by botanical order (Equisetales, Marattiales and Coniferales) in the proposed area. For the evaluation of the effective protection of heritage, the research has been developed with the review of documentary files directly and indirectly involved with the conservation unit, aimed at assessing the existence and effectiveness of conservation and sustainable development actions of the site. Also three potential locations for installation of geological sites have been suggested and described, which are propitious to the tourist use either for its scenic beauty and / or the present content. The updated geological map for the MNAF¿s area and surroundings, presents a distribution of the outcropping formations currently on MNAF with details of stratigraphic columns from each sampled. The plant fossil outcrops studied were classified as belonging to the Motuca formation, which was also the dominant formation in the park area. Paleobotanists data showed no statistically significant differences in the distribution of orders Equisetales, Marattiales and Coniferales inside the area of MNAF and its surroundings, thus it is possible to conclude that preservation is important in this whole perimeter. As for the patrimonial relevance, it was revealed that, although the MNAF contains a well-developed and approved handling plan, it is minimally implemented. The specific environmental education programs as well as the development of strategic sustainable tourism, demand emphasis and effectiveness, which will certainly be of great value, especially for the population residing in the vicinity or within the park area. Three geological sites were indicated as potential areas to geotourism, "Fazenda Andradina", "Fazenda Buritirana" and "Fazenda Torre da Lua", the first two by their paleobotany importance and the last by the scenic beauty stamped in the local geology / Doutorado / Geologia e Recursos Naturais / Doutora em Ciências

abstract: Cetacean-based ecotourism is a popular activity and an important source of revenue for many countries. Whale watching, a subset of cetacean-based ecotourism, is vital to supporting conservation efforts and provides numerous benefits to local communities including educational opportunities and job creation. However, the sustainability of whale-based ecotourism depends on the behavior and health of whale populations and is therefore vital that ecotourism industries consider the impact their activities have on whale reproductive behavior. To address this statement, behavioral data (e.g. direction change, breaching, slap behaviors, diving, and spy hops) were collected from humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Las Perlas Archipelago off the Pacific coast of Panama to determine if vessel presence had an influence on whale behaviors. Studies were recorded during their breeding season from August through September in 2019. Based on 47 behavioral observations, higher boat density corresponded with humpback whales changing direction which is believed to be a sign of disturbance. This result is important given Panamanian regulations implemented on February 13 of 2007 prohibit whale-based tourism from disturbing whales, which is measured as changes in behavior. Because there is no systematic monitoring of whale watching activity to enforce the regulations, there is currently little compliance among tour operators. The integration of animal behavior research into management planning will result in more effective regulation and compliance of conservation policies. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Biology 2020