Since its introduction into mainstream society two decades ago, ecotourism has become an international phenomenon. Claimed by its proponents to endorse ecologically, socially, and economically sustainable travel to natural areas, ecotourism is in many ways the conceptual fusion of conservation and development. Yet, despite the optimism often associated with the phenomenon, the question of the degree to which it actually contributes to development, however defined, has become a controversial issue. Theorists and practitioners hold a variety of opinions of ecotourism, ranging from cautious optimism (Honey 2008; Ross & Wall 1999) to outright rejection (Carrier & Macleod 2005; Wheeller 2003). Unfortunately, research shows that the poorest of the poor generally bear the burden of ecotourism initiatives without receiving an equitable share of the associated benefits (Stem et al. 2003; Western & Wright 1994). In response, a sustainable livelihoods approach is proposed as a practical means of understanding the complex livelihood strategies employed by indigenous populations. While tourism research has often focused on the economic impacts of ecotourism initiatives, current livelihoods discourse suggests that the poor draw on a wide range of assets and incorporate a variety of livelihood strategies, in their pursuit of economic gain (Ashley 2002; Ashley et al. 2001; Bebbington 1999; Bennett et al. 1999; Zoomers 1999). This discourse is especially timely for pastoral populations living adjacent to protected areas in Kenya. Recent changes in government policy have promoted the subdivision of land for private ownership (Homewood et al. 2009; Leserogol 2005; Lamprey & Reid 2004), an unexpected transformation that has led to the adoption of ecotourism as a sustainable livelihood strategy. Informed by development theory, tourism theory, and property rights theory, the purpose of this research was to examine the effect of different land tenure regimes on the distribution of benefits accrued from various ecotourism initiatives, and how those benefits impact the livelihoods of the pastoral Maasai living on the periphery of the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Culturally-appropriate, participatory research methods were combined with the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework to document an indigenous perspective on livelihood sustainability. By adapting the conceptual framework to include cultural and historical capital, it served as a lens for viewing and identifying the culturally embedded meaning associated with the recent privatisation of Maasai property. These changes include: significant increases in income generated from ecotourism initiatives, an increased desire to cultivate land, an enhanced capacity for participating in the decision-making process, and greater diversification in local livelihood strategies. However, the empirical evidence also demonstrated that changing property regimes have led to the increased sedentarisation of these semi-nomadic people, resulting in modifications to their pastoral culture, reductions in their herd sizes, and the occasional obstruction of wildlife migratory patterns through the construction of permanent fences.

Certification programs have grown exponentially over the past decade to respond to the increasing demand for more green and sustainable modes of operation from the part of customers. These schemes can be used as powerful tools to assist in the conservation of natural, human and cultural resources, helping better protect popular tourist destinations for future years to come. However, despite their potential to help codify important principles such as ecotourism and sustainable tourism, certification programs are currently facing several challenges that are hindering their overall practices. Much of the present tourism literature has examined the environmental aspect of these programs and the monitoring challenges they are currently facing. However, little research has explored the socio-cultural side of certification programs even if current literature increasingly demonstrates the strong connection that exists between environment, community and local culture when aiming to properly develop tourism in host destinations. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the importance and feasibility of adopting socio-cultural criteria in existing certification programs as to achieve proper sustainability. This goal is attained by using a qualitative research approach and by examining Green Globe certified hotels on the island of Barbados. The results of this research confirms that the culture, history, geography and/or policies of a tourist destination can shape and influence certification programs and their overall practices. This study also provided several examples of social and cultural actions that hotels could adopt, or have already adopted, demonstrating that it is feasible for certification programs to require tourism businesses to adhere to socio-cultural criteria before achieving certification. Moreover, results revealed several benefits that the accommodation sector can gain by becoming environmentally, socially and culturally responsible. The main conclusion of this study is that socio-cultural practices are necessary components to properly achieve newer designations of ecotourism and sustainable tourism, and therefore, certification programs need to include and/or make mandatory socio-cultural criteria in their programs. It is hoped that this information can provide guidelines on how to further implement both environmental and socio-cultural criteria for both certification programs and the accommodation sector. Although this research revealed interesting information on the socio-cultural aspect of these programs, much remains to be examined on this matter and recommendations for future studies are suggested at the end of this thesis.

Ecotourism has increased in demand and aided destination development within many destinations over the past decade. Many Germans have shown an increase of interest in nature-based tourism, and for travelling to Scandinavia. The study examined German tourist behaviour and German visitor trends to Scandinavia. Sweden has become an attractive holiday destination for many international guests including Germans. A case study of destination Ansättfjällen was conducted regarding the low awareness level by international summer tourists. An analysis of the current situation of the destination was conducted and recommendations were provided for future solutions to improve promotion to German ecotourists. Due to the fact that such research about destination Ansättfjällen was not done previously, it was necessary to primarily use qualitative research approach and using an abductive method with a tendency to an inductive manner. Based on the tourism attractiveness, various aspects of destination development had to be examined. One of the final conclusions of the study was the need to do further research about this destination, due to being at development stage of the Butler’s Model and improve stakeholder collaboration within the destination locally and regionally.

In this thesis, I contemplate the ecotourism in theory and in practice. I use the case study of a solid waste crisis (2002-2004) in Tortuguero, Costa Rica, a turtle tourism destination, to explore: the consumptive nature of ecotourism, tourist perceptions of the environment, ecotourism aesthetics, local resistance to ecotourism development, local perceptions of ecotourism's environmental impacts, and the future of ecotourism. I used mixed methods including participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and on-site surveys to collect data. I conducted mainly qualitative analysis (thematic coding; adapted grounded theory) influenced by political ecology, environmental justice, resistance studies, tourism studies, and the geography of tourism. My use of environmental justice concepts to frame the solid waste crisis in Tortuguero, and the application of key concepts from Scott's (1981) Weapons of the Weak to local behavior and narratives both represent fairly novel applications in an ecotourism context. I attempted to move beyond a restricted case study by emphasizing characteristics shared between Tortuguero and other sites, in the hopes of contributing towards efforts to inject new theoretical applications into tourism studies. This case study reveals the consumptive side of ecotourism, and the analysis of tourist survey responses highlights the central role of aesthetics in ecotourism. This project challenges simplistic portrayals of ecotourism as 'benevolent and benign' (e.g. by highlighting its consumptive impacts and related injustices), and of ecotourists as more aware and altruistic than mass tourists (e.g. by presenting a heterogeneous group of respondents who none the less, stress aesthetics). It updates existing literature on Tortuguero by presenting data on tourist and local perceptions of Tortuguero, and by suggesting explanations for divergent perceptions of the park's role in ecotourism, for example. The evidence that I present of local resistance and waste-related injustices suggest that despite its high profile reputation, multimillion dollar annual revenues, improved local standards of living, and green turtle conservation successes, critical details and key voices have largely been 'left out of the story of ecotourism in Tortuguero'. I hope that his study contributes to encouraging the culture of 'greater ecotourism realism' that is needed in order to move forward. / Dissertation

none

This research aimed to apply the theory of environmental benefits valuation to assess the plan of reformation in Zhongtun and Jiangmei village¡¦s wetland. Environmental change affects economy. Therefore, through people¡¦s feedback and tourists¡¦ participation of ecotourism, this paper discussed the economic benefits in transforming Zhongtun and Jiangmei village¡¦s wetland into an eco-garden. Thus, the research adopted the Payment-card method of the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM), categorized under the Non-market Valuation Techniques (NVT), analyzing the economic benefits of eco-tourism¡¦s virtual market at Zhongtun and Jiangmei village. That is, the amount of people¡¦s Willingness to Pay (WTP) was analyzed to discover the project¡¦s multiple values. Further more, by comparing and contrasting people¡¦s background information, people¡¦s data and differences among other facets were discovered. Finally, in responding to the urgent need in tourism development, this paper integrated tourists and residents¡¦ data to discover the amount of WTP. Such research mode provided a tourism benefits assessment of Zhongtun and Jiangmei village¡¦s eco-garden project, and its conclusion supplied some suggestions to government control and also future plans of the eco-garden. There are 236 respondents (including 162 residents and 74 tourists) willing to take the questionnaire survey assuming the correspondence among people¡¦s background information (resident or tourist), attitude and other variables and WTP. After analysis, the result demonstrates that sex and age have little effect on many variables. On the other hand, people¡¦s background (resident or tourist), education level, average income do have obvious influence. However, the both results are valid, showing the principle this research applied is reliable. The CVM results included: 1. People shows positive attitude toward the ten facets of Zhongtun and Jiangmei¡¦s eco-garden tour. 2. The average accommodation rates for visitors willing to pay for Zhongtun and Jiangmei¡¦s eco-tour is 4000 NT dollars. And each year, about 127000000NT/year dollars 3200NT/year dollars donation per person can be expected in total. 3. The average amount of willingness to pay for people to join in an eco-tour is: 400NT dollars for eco-tour; 400NT dollars for fishing village experience; 400NT dollars for farm life experience, 1200NT dollars in total. 4. The potential tourism benefits of Zhongtun and Jiangmei¡¦s eco-garden are about: 79000000NT/24000000NT year for tourists and 55000000NT/9940000NT year for residents,and 7370000NT/1840000NT year for compensation. In the end, this research hoped to tribute some advices to Zhongtun and Jiangmei¡¦s eco-garden¡¦s management, turning ecological resources into financial sources, for Penghu County to be an ecotourism paradise.

Tez (Yüksek Lisans) - Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Peyzaj Mimarlığı Anabilim Dalı, 2009. / Kaynakça var.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 208-219). Also available in electronic version. Access restricted to campus users.

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Landscape Architecture

Η διατήρηση της φύσης μέσω της δημιουργίας προστατευόμενων περιοχών έχει θεσμοθετηθεί στην Ελλάδα εδώ και πολλά χρόνια. Με τη δημιουργία του Οικολογικού Δικτύου NATURA 2000 επιδιώκεται να διατηρηθούν οι οικότοποι και τα είδη της αυτοφυούς χλωρίδας και της άγριας πανίδας στην επιθυμητή κατάσταση διατήρησης. Οι προστατευόμενες περιοχές περικλείουν ότι πιο σημαντικό διαθέτει σήμερα η Ελληνική φύση σε τοπία, οικοτόπους και είδη, αλλά και πολύτιμα στοιχεία της ιστορίας, των παραδόσεων και γενικότερα της πολιτισμικής μας κληρονομιάς. Οι βασικές αυτές παράμετροι οικολογικής αξίας χαρακτηρίζουν περιοχές που κρίνονται ιδανικές για την ανάπτυξη πολλών ηπίων τουριστικών δραστηριοτήτων, με στόχο την επανανακάλυψη της φύσης και της ιστορίας. Η ελκυστικότητα των φυσικών και πολιτιστικών πόρων μίας περιοχής σε συνδυασμό με την επιτακτική ανάγκη για προστασία και ανάδειξη του φυσικού πλούτου που την διακρίνει, απαιτεί την υιοθέτηση ενός πολυσύνθετου και πολυεπίπεδου αναπτυξιακού σχεδιασμού, αποτελούμενου από συγκεκριμένα μέτρα και δράσεις, με απώτερο στόχο να επιτευχθεί η στενή σύνδεση της προστασίας με την αειφορική χρήση των φυσικών πόρων της περιοχής, ώστε να αναπτυχθούν δραστηριότητες όπως η αναψυχή και ο τουρισμός. Στα πλαίσια αυτής της εργασίας εξετάζονται οι προστατευόμενες περιοχές « Στενά και Εκβολές του ποταμού Αχέροντα», που ανήκουν στο δίκτυο ΝATURA 2000 και αποτελούν πόλους συγκέντρωσης των επισκεπτών στην ευρύτερη περιοχή. Πραγματοποιήθηκε έρευνα με τη βοήθεια ενός κατάλληλα διαμορφωμένου ερωτηματολογίου, που εξετάζει τα ατομικά χαρακτηριστικά των επισκεπτών, τα μέρη που επισκέφτηκαν και το χρόνο παραμονής τους στην περιοχή, τις δραστηριότητες που αυτοί ασκούν κατά την επίσκεψή τους, καθώς και τις απόψεις και παρατηρήσεις τους για όσα η περιοχή προσφέρει. Από την ανάλυση και επεξεργασία των απαντήσεων που δόθηκαν, προκύπτει ένα χρήσιμο πληροφοριακό υπόβαθρο, για την παρούσα κατάσταση που επικρατεί στην περιοχή, με απώτερο σκοπό την αναβάθμιση της συγκεκριμένης περιοχής και την επίτευξη μιας ορθολογικής και αποτελεσματικής διαχείρισης, προσανατολισμένης στις απαιτήσεις των επισκεπτών της. Επισημαίνονται οι ανάγκες για περαιτέρω έργα, η βελτίωση της ποιότητας των υπαρχουσών εγκαταστάσεων και υποδομών, καθώς επίσης και των παρεχόμενων υπηρεσιών έτσι ώστε, να γίνουν πιο ελκυστικές στους επισκέπτες της περιοχής. / -