[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]



             Nature ourl

                  Alfa n aor I     a f o r       7            ir o Ti t n

                        Edited bY Tenisie 4,"helan





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             N39
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                 NATURE TOURISM


                  Managing for the Environment

                       EDITED By TENSIE WHELAN



											NOV 25 1996




                         Foreword by Peter A. A. Berle,
                                     President
                           National Audubon Society



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				       ISLAND PRESS
                        Washington, D.C.  Covelo, California
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                     C 1991 Island Press

                     All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in'
                     any form or by any means without permission in writing from
                     the publisher: Island Press, Suite 300, 1718 Connecticut Avenue
                     NW, Washington, D.C. 20009.
                     Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
                     Nature tourism : managing for the environment / edited by Ten-
                       sie Whelan : foreword by Peter A. A. Berle.
                           p. cm.
                         Includes bibliographical references and index.
                         ISBN 1-55963-037-X (cloth).-ISBN 1-55963-036-1 (paper)
                         1. Tourist trade-Environmental aspects. 1. Whelan, Tensie.
                       G155.AIN39 1991
                       338.4'791-dc                                         91-2646
                                                                              CIP

                       Printed on recycled, acid-free paper



                       Manufactured in the United States of America


                       10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1











                      This book is dedicated to Johan Ashuvud,
                      whose vision sustained me throughout its
                     production, and Eric Wright, whose willing-
                     ness to help made it possible for me to com-
                       plete the book only two months after my
                       deadline. I also dedicate the book to my
                    daughter Lora-Faye, and hope that in twenty
                     years she will still be able to visit the unique
                     and wonderful places ecotourists visit today.
                                                            _T`W










                             CONTENTS




           Foreword, Peter A. A. Berle                            xi

           Part I         A Visit to Key Destinations
           Chapter 1      Ecotourism and Its Role in Sustainable
                          Development                               3
                          Tensie Whelan
           Chapter 2      The Old Man of Nature Tourism:
                          Kenya                                   23
                          Perez Olindo
           Chapter 3      Private Reserves, Parks, and Ecotourism
                          in Costa Rica                           39
                          Yanina Rovinski
           Chapter 4      Tourism in Greater Yellowstone:
                          Maximizing the Good, Minimizing the
                          Bad, Eliminating the Ugly               58
                          Dennis Glick
           Chapter 5      Ecotourism on Family Farms and
                          Ranches in the American West            75
                          Bill Bryan

           Part 13        The Nuts and Bolts of Successful
                          Nature Tourism
           Chapter 6      The Economics of Nature Tourism:
                          Determining If It Pays                  89
                          Paul B. Sher?nan and John A. Dixon

                                        ix








                x                        CONTENTS
                Chapter 7      Local Participation in Ecotourism
                               Projects                              132
                               Susan R Drake
                Chapter 8      Marketing Ecotourism: Attracting the
                               Elusive Ecotourist                    164
                               Richard Ryel and Tom Grasse
                Chapter 9      Making Ecotourism Sustainable:
                               Recommendations for Planning,
                               Development, and Management           187
                               Elizabeth Boo
                Chapter 10     Global Solutions: An Ecotourism
                               Society                               200
                               Megan Epler Wood

                About the Editor                                     207
                About the Contributors                               209
                Index                                                211










                                     Foreword





              M
                   y family and I have long been outdoor enthusiasts. We
                   backpack, cross-country ski, canoe, fish, and climb
              mountains large and small. We have never thought of our-
              selves as "ecotourists ,' but in retrospect, we are. We have
              traveled to some magnificent natural areas. Hopefully some
              of the dollars spent in the process have contributed to pre-
              serve these places, either directly, or through supporting lo-
              cal communities. As competition for open spaces and
              natural resources intensifies, ecotourism can provide the
              economic rationale for preserving rather than destroying na-
              ture's bounty.
                This book, Nature Tourism: Managing for the Environment,
              takes a tough and much-needed look at ecotourism-its
              promise and its pitfalls. Editor Tensie Whelan has brought
              together experts from around the world to make thoughtful
              and well-researched contributions to the debate. Part One,
              on ecotourism destinations, provides a clear and fascinating
              introduction to the pros and cons of the industry. The reader
              learns about government planning gone awry, ill-educated
              tourists destroying the very resource they have come to visit,
              and the fury of local inhabitants. who have not benefited
              from the tourist visits..But we also learn about the quiet
              beauty of a sunny Costa  Rican destination, the major contri-
              bution ecotourism has made to Kenya's economy, and the
              new hope for ranchers struggling to survive in the Rocky
              Mountain states.


                                              Xi








                 Xii                         FOREWORD
                   Part Two, a framework for developing environmentally
                 beneficial ecotourism, will be extremely helpful for students
                 of the phenomenon, environmental organizations, the eco-
                 tourism industry, host governments, and local citizens. It
                 provides understandable guidelines on how to undertake a
                 cost-benefit analysis of a potential tourism site; invaluable
                 insight into how to market an ecotourism destination; and
                 useful suggestions on how to ensure local participation in a
                 project, among other fine chapters.
                   And for the reader who wants to take this in at a glance,
                 Tensie Whelan's overview provides a unique and carefully
                 researched introduction to ecotourism-what it is, what it
                 could be, and how to improve it.
                   The National Audubon Society was one of the first provid-
                 ers of ecotourism travel in the United States. As early as
                 1940, we were running trips in Florida, Texas, and Virginia.
                 Today, our tours to the tropics, the North and South Pole,
                 and unique ecosystems in the United States attract thou-
                 sands of Audubon members and other ecotourists. Partici-
                 pation in these trips provides travelers with a renewed
                 respect and appreciation for nature. I have often seen Audu-
                 bon ecotourists come home and ask what they can do to help
                 the places they have visited. "How can I ensure that habitat
                 and its wildlife will be here for my children and the children
                 of others across the world?" they ask.
                   At Audubon, ecotourism is part of a way of life. Our eco-
                 tourism principles, outlined in Chapter 1, ensure that both
                 our outfitters and our tourists develop the potential of eco-
                 tourism, while avoiding its pitfalls. Other organizations
                 have begun to do the same. I hope that this book, and others
                 like it, will help make environmentally sensitive ecotourism
                 a way of life for us all, sooner rather than later. We haven't
                 much time.              Peter A. A. Berle, President
                                         National Audubon Society




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                                    CHAPTER 1


                      Ecotourism and Its Role in
                       Sustainable Development

                                   TENSIE WHELAN






              1
                became fascinated with the potential of ecotourism while
                working as a journalist in Central America. I was in the
              region to write about sustainable development and its role
              in the conservation of the region's unique and beautiful nat-
              ural resources. Over and over again, I saw small chunks of
              the environment being saved by people who had an eco-
              nomic interest in doing so, whether it was villagers saving
              rain forest habitat in order to raise iguanas for sale, or pri-
              vate individuals preserving and maintaining virgin rain for-
              est as an attraction for tourists.
                There are intense economic pressures on the people of
              Central America and elsewhere, including the developed
              world, to overexploit their natural resources. Many coun-
              tries have established protected areas to guard against this.
              However, when the onlyway to obtain a meal is to mine the
              resources of a protected area, the protected area is going to
              lose. If we are to save any of our precious environment, we
              must provide people with alternatives to destruction.

                                              3







                 4                  A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
                   Ecotourism, done well, can be a sustainable and relatively
                 simple alternati 've. It promises employment and income to
                 local communities and needed foreign exchange to national
                 governments, while allowing the continued existence of the
                 natural resource base. In fact, it cannot survive unless the
                 resource on which it is based is protected. It can empower
                 local communities, giving them a sense of pride in their nat-
                 ural resources and control over their communities' develop-
                 ment. It can educate travelers about the importance of the
                 ecosystems they visit and actively involve them in conser-
                 vation efforts. In sum, it has the potential to maximize eco-
                 nomic benefits and minimize environmental costs.
                   Its potential is not always realized, however, and it can
                 destroy both the environment and local communities. My
                 goal in this book is to assess ecotourism's role in the sustain-
                 able development of natural areas and to answer the ques-
                 tion: How can ecotourism be planned so that it is both
                 ecologically sensitive and economically productive? Toward
                 that end, I have divided this book into two parts: the first
                 examines several case studies to see what has worked and
                 what hasn't; the second section provides more technical in-
                 formation on how to do ecotourism "right."



                 TOURISM IS BIG BUSINESS

                 According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO, a UN
                 affiliate), tourism is the second largest industry in the world,
                 comprising'7 percent of the world trade in goods and ser-
                 vices, and producing $195 billion annually in domestic and
                 international receipts. That was 390 million international
                 tourists in 1988 (up 20 million from 1987), creating 74 mil-
                 lion jobs in tourism (up from 65 million). In developing
                 countries, tourism comprises one-third of their trade in
                 goods and services. WTO projects that tourism will become
                 the world's largest industry by the year 2000 (WTO 1989).
                 WTO also found that adventure travel (which includes eco-
                 tourism in the WTO definition) enjoyed almost 10 percent of




                          Ecotourism and Its Role in Sustainable Develop m'ent    5
                 the market in 1989 and is increasing at the rate of 30 percent
                 a year (Kallen 1990).
                   In the United States, the U.S. Department of Commerce
                 estimates that by the year 2000, international tourism reve-
                 nues will reach $30 billion (Edgell 1987). While no formal
                 studies have been done, tour operators say that ecotourism
                 makes up a significant portion of the total.
                   Conversely, the editor of the U.S .-based Speciality Travel In-
                 dex estimates that special-interest travel by U.S. citizens to
                 sites outside the United States comprises 3 to 5 percent of
                 the total, and that ecotourism is responsible for up to half of
                 that figure.
                   The developing world currently is the recipient of some
                 $55 billion in tourism receipts (Westlake 1989), and a good
                 portion of those expenditures is related to ecotourism.
                 Kenya earns $350 million in tourism receipts annually, for
                 example, almost entirely due to wildlife tourism. In Costa
                 Rica, where 60 percent of visitors are interested in visiting
                 the national parks system (Boo 1990), tourism-related for-
                 eign exchange came to $138 million in 1986, and all the
                 signs point to a sizable increase since then. Ecuador, and
                 more specifically the Galdpagos Islands, brought $180 mil-
                 lion in foreign exchange in 1986, again mostly for ecotour-
                 ism (Healy 1988).


                 WHO IS THE INTREPID ECOTOURIST?

                 Most ecotourists are from Europe, North America, and Ja-
                 pan, as they have more money and more leisure time than
                 many of their counterparts in developing countries. The av-
                 erage U.S. ecotourist is a man or woman familiar with the
                 outdoors, a professional or retired, between thirty-one and
                 fifty years of age, who most likely has had previous experi-
                 ence traveling abroad. One-third of all ecotourists are re-
                 ported by tour operators to be repeat customers (Ingram and
                 Durst 1987)!
                   These ecotourists are relatively wealthy; a survey of U.S.
                 travelers to Ecuador found that approximately 25 percent of







                 6                 A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
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                 the group earned over $90,000 a year in family income, and
                 that another 27 percent earned between $30,000 and $60,000
                 (Wilson 1987). Another study showed that ecotourists are
                 likely to spend more money than other tourists, at least in
                 Latin America, where people who cited national parks as
                 their main reason for entering the country spent over $ 1,000
                 more in two weeks than did other tourists (Boo 1990).
                  The most popular activities for ecotourists are trekking/
                 hikina, bird watching, nature photography, wildlife safaris,
                 camping, mountain climbing, fishing, river rafting/canoe-
                 i
                  7!,kavaking, and botanical study. Nepal, Kenva, Tanzania,
                 ng
                 China, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Puerto Rico are the most
                 popular destinations (Ingram and Durst 1987).
                  Ecotourism. is popular also in the United States; in 1989,
                 there were 265 million recreational visits (both domestic
                 and international) to the national parks system alone






                     Ecotourism and Its Role in Sustainable Development     7
             (deCourcy Hinds 1990). Wyoming estimates total expendi-
             tures related to the consumptive and nonconsumptive use of
             its unique wildlife resource at nearly $1 billion annually
             (Kruckenberg 1988).
               Whv has ecotourism become so popular? No comprehen-
             sive s-tudies have been undertaken, but speculation is rife.
             Many ecotourists come from urban or suburban settings;
             they may feel the need to "get back in touch with nature."
             others may feel bored with their nine-to-five routine, and
             wish for the challenge and excitement to be found in an un-
             tamed   environment. The popular media bring sights and
             sounds of exotic locales into everyone's living rooms, subtly
             promoting natural areas, while the recent publicity sur-
             rounding the loss of ecotourism sites due to deforestation
             and other factors may provide people with an incentive to
             see them before it's too late. Others may travel because they
             have already developed an interest in birding or river rafting
             in their own countries, and wish to see how it's done else-
             where.



             ECOTOURISM: WHAT WORKS,
             WHAT DOESN'T

             it is clear that ecotourism has the financial potential to pro-
             vide a viable economic alternative to the exploitation of the
             environment. The following is one example of an ecotourism
             project that has lived up to its promise.
               In Costa Rica, a unique, locally based ecotourism. project
             called "Rara Avis" has been highly successful in saving
             threatened rain forest, making money, getting the locals in-
             volved, and educating visitors.
               Rara Avis is a private reserve perched high in the moun-
             tains and bordering the national park, Braulio Carrillo. Vis-
             itors are brought by jeep from the capital of San Jos6 to the
             closest village to the site, Horquetas. They are driven by vil-
             lagers to a small local "soda," where they stop and have
             lunch. They park in the dirt yard of the program manager.







                  8                  A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
                  Over lunch, they discover that he is a former Costa Rican
                  forest service employee who now believes that it is impor-
                  tant to keep the rain forest standing. Several locals stop by
                  and chat with the tourists while they are waiting for the
                  jeeps to be loaded with supplies-virtually all the food for
                  the trip is bought in the village of Horquetas. Once the jeeps
                  are loaded, they make their way up the mountain until they
                  come to a crude but comfortable bunkhouse (formerly a
                  prison barracks!), where local Costa Ricans welcome them
                  with a home-cooked dinner by lamplight.
                    Rara Avis has involved the local community in every as-
                  pect of its tours. In fact, ecotourism has now become the
                  third most important source of income for the inhabitants of
                  Horquetas. -Not surprisingly, all are favorably disposed to-
                  ward the project.
                    In the case of Rara Avis, ecotourism. was used as a tech-
                  nique to help save the rain forest right from the beginning.
                  However, in some cases, ecotourism can be developed after a
                  protected area has been created, if problems with local com-
                  munities require that economic alternatives to the exploita-
                  tion of the protected areas be created.
                    In India, "Project Tiger," a governmental plan to save the
                  tiger by creating national parks around its habitat, is threat-
                  ened by the lack of local support. Here, planners neglected
                  to involve the members of the community, to provide them
                  with incentives for conservation, or even to suggest alterna-
                  tives for fuelwood and grazing grounds. Consequently, some
                  55,000 cattle currently reside within the buffer zone of Ran-
                  thambhor National Park, one of the key protected areas in
                  the plan, often wandering into the core area, and competing
                  for fodder with the tiger's natural prey. People continue to
                  gather fuelwood from the forest.
                    The Antaeus Group, a nonprofit educational and research
                  institute, sees ecotourism as a way out of this problem. It
                  plans to bring tourists into the Ranthambhor and involve
                  them in local conservation efforts. The accommodations and
                  food for these travelers will be generated locally, and the An-
                  taeus Group will also make direct donations to community
                  development projects with each expedition.






                        Ecotourism and Its Role in Sustainable Development      9
                  This is the role ecotourism c   ould play, but more often it
                fails to attain its potential.


                PROBLEMS OF LOCAL PARTICIPATION

                one of the most egregious shortcomings of most ecotourism
                projects is that the local people are not given any role in the
                planning process or implementation and are forced off lands
                that were traditionally theirs to use. Not surprisingly, they
                become resentful of the "rich tourists" who supplant them,
                but, more important, economic needs make it difficult for
                them not to overexploit the resources of the protected area.
                Firewood, meat, agricultural land, sale of exotic wildlife-
                these means of subsistence have been removed, often with
                no viable alternative. And a high population rate means that
                they have an increasing number of mouths to feed.
                  In Costa Rica, the planning associated with the country's
                spectacular parks system took place on a national, not a lo-
                cal, level. People were moved off their lands and told they
                would be compensated for the loss. Many have not yet been
                paid. Occasionally, they were discouraged from entering the
                parks at all, and in many cases, important sources of income
                were suddenly no longer available. Not surprisingly, many
                Costa Ricans living near the national parks are often respon-
                sible for slash-and-burn, gold mining, and a host of other
                activities within park boundaries. In recent years, govern-
                ment agencies and conservation organizations have begun to
                turn toward a more localized approach, with an emphasis
                on sustainable development as a solution.
                  Another problem is that income generated by tourism is
                very likely to almost completely bypass the local communi-
                ties. In Nepal, for example, where local commu      *nities pro-
                vide shelter and hospitality to trekkers, only $0.20 of the $3
                spent daily by the trekker stays in the villages (Puntenney
                1990).
                  Foreign tour operators are a large part of the problem in
                most countries. Very often, they bring in their own supplies
                and staff and hire few natives to assist on their trips. A sur-







               10                A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
               vey of thirty-two U.S.-based operators (41 percent of all U.S.
               ecotour operators) found that while twenty used local guides
               and interpreters, only eight employed focal managers or
               tour operators, six used local cooks, and eight used local
               drivers (Ingram and Durst 1987). And though twenty report
               they use local guides, it is likely that most are brought in
               from the larger cities and are not from the small communi-
               ties where the tour takes place. The same survey found that
               while 40 percent of U.S. ecotour operators use rural and vil-
               lage accommodations, 21 percent use luxury hotels, 33 per-
               cent use other hotels, and 27 percent camp out (operators
               use more than one type of accommodation).
                 The national economy of the host country is likely to do
               substantially better than the local economy; one study found
               that at least 50 percent of tourist expenditures in developing
               countries are likely to stay in the country (English 1986).
               However, it is unusual to find those receipts (e.g., tourism
               taxes) channeled back to local communities or even to the
               management of the protected areas that generated the in-
               come.



               FUNDS FOR PROTECTED AREA'
               MANAGEMENT

               There are roughly 1,000 national parks in the world today,
               mostly in the developed countries. Fewer than half of the
               developing countries contain national parks. While most
               countries do have some protected areas-there are 7,000
               protected areas around the globe-the protection is often
               only on paper, due to both a lack of funds and local support.
               Yet the success of ecotourism. is dependent on the continued
               existence of these protected areas.
                 Over and over again, we find parks in crisis because very
               few funds are being dedicated to their management and pro-
               tection. Often countries focus their attention on purchasing
               lands, but then fail to follow up with adequate funds for in-
               frastructure and management. This is true in Costa Rica,






                           Ecotourism and Its Role in Sustainable Development       I I
                   where spending for parks (excluding acquisition) has re-
                   mained at the same level for ten years; in Kenya, where until
                   recently only $7 million of the $300 million generated by
                   parks was returned to them; and in the United States, where
                   park rangers have to supplement their salaries with food
                   stamps, and parks such as the Adirondack National Park
                   have become battlegrounds for developers. These economic
                   problems are sometimes compounded by the fact that parks
                   in developing countries charge woefully inadequate entry
                   fees to foreign visitors, who can afford to pay a great deal
                   more than the locals.
                     Private reserves also have emphasized acquisition at the
                   expense of management. The privately owned Monteverde
                   Cloud Forest Reserve in Costa Rica, for example, has
                   mounted a highly successful campaign to raise funds for
                   land acquisition. However, while the land can support the
                   number of current visitors, the current infrastructure can
                   not. In response, the reserve is currently conducting a feasi-
                   bility study on developing a visitor's center and new trails.


                   CARRYING CAPACITIES

                   Ironically, the survival of protected areas may be threatened
                   by the very thing that otherwise protects them-tourism. All
                   Frotected areas have limited ecological and aesthetic carry-
                   ing capacities. The ecological carrying capacity is reached
                   when the number of visitors and characteristics of visitor
                   use start to affect the wildlife and degrade the ecosystem
                   (e.g., disrupting mating habits and eroding soil). The aes-
                   thetic carrying capacity is reached when tourists encounter
                   so many other tourists, or see the impacts of other visitors
                   (e.g., lack of watchable wildlife, litter, erosion, deforesta-
                   tion), that their enjoyment of the site is marred.
                    A survey of visitors   *to the Spanish Peaks Primitive Area in
                   the United States, for example, found that if the number of
                   trail encounters were to increase from three to four, people
                   would be less willing to pay, but enough would continue to
                   come so that the payoff in terms of increased revenues would







             12                 A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
             more than offset the loss. However, when the number of ex-
             pected trail encounters increases to five, the willingness to
             pay becomes so low that the aggregate drops off sharply and
             the area begins to lose money (Lindberg 1990).
               While establishing the ecological capacity for a protected
             area seems essential, very few areas in the developing and
             developed worlds alike have identified carrying capacities.
             Nor have they determined how to avoid exceeding those car-
             rying capacities.
               In some areas, such as Antarctica, this is because no one
             agency or organization is responsible for monitoring or
             managing the environmental impacts of visitation. The
             Bahia Paraiso, a supply ship carrying tourists to the Antarc-
             tic, crashed upon uncharted rocks in 1989, leaking 200,000
             gallons of diesel fuel, which killed thousands of seabirds and
             marine mammals and disrupted migration patterns. The
             ship was outside charted waters because the tourists had
             wanted to try a different route. Tourist ships also dump gar-
             bage directly into the ocean, and tourists wander into deli-
             cate areas, removing "souvenirs" and disrupting ecosystems.
             This occurs at least in part because there is no one respon-
             sible for establishing or enforcing guidelines against envi-
             ronmentally destructive behavior.
               The rapid increase in the number of ecotourists has over-
             loaded fragile areas. Nepal has seen the number of its tour-
             ists increase fivefold, from 45,000 in 1970 to 223,000 in 1986.
             Over the same period, the number of ecotourists (trekkers,
             mostly) almost tripled, from 12,600 to 33,600. This has re-
             sulted in the emergence virtually overnight of more than 200
             mountain lodges and the clearing of large areas in order to
             supply fuelwood for lodges and trekkers. The visitor use of
             fuelwood for cooking, hot showers, and campfires is extrav-
             agant-a typical two-month climbing expedition may use as
             much as 8,000 kg of fuelwood, while a traditional hearth
             bums 5,000 kg in one year (Puntenney 1990).
               In the United States, many of the more accessible national
             and state parks are overwhelmed during the peak summer
             months. In Minnesota, where problems resemble those of
             other states, visits to the state's sixty-four parks increased






                          Ecotourism and Its Role in Sustainable Development     13
                  from 6 million to 10 Million in three years. Ten of the parks
                  are subject to continual overcrowding. Increased visitation
                  to parks nationwide has resulted in more roads, more.park-
                  ing lots, and more concessions built in the protected areas,
                  frequently decreasing the aesthetic value of the park.
                    often, park managers, conservationists, and governments
                  determine to solve their carrying capacity problems by em-
                  phasizing quality rather than quantity. In other words, they
                  target fewer people who can pay more. This may make sense
                  from an environmental point of view, but it has elitist impli-
                  cations. In Rwanda, for example, visitors pay $170 a day to
                  see Dian Fossey's gorillas in their mountain reserve. In order
                  to keep the reserve accessible to Rwandans, the fee charged
                  to locals is minimal. However, the reserve is no longer acces-
                  sible to many foreign tourists. If this trend means that eco-
                  tourism becomes an industry only for the rich, then average
                  citizens will not be able to learn about other environments
                  and wildlife and will be less inclined to fund or support pro-
                  tection efforts.



                  NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL
                  ENVIRONMENTAL PRESSURES

                  Environmental problems in protected areas are not only
                  caused by tourism or local population pressures. The Adi-
                  rondack National Park in the United States is suffering from
                  acid rain produced thousands of miles away, for example.
                  Water diversion from the Everglades has severely disrupted
                  that system. The soil released by deforestation of Caribbean
                  isles is carried by rivers into the ocean, where it kills marine
                  life in underwater parks, and the chemical pollution in East
                  European rivers runs through refuges, killing plant and
                  aquatic life.
                    These issues are outside the scope of this book. Neverthe-
                  less, it is important to remember that the impact of ecotour-
                  ism and even local use of resources may be much less
                  harmful than these other environmental impacts in the long






             14                A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
             term, and ecotourism planners must take them into account
             as well.



             CONFLICTING MANAGEMENT
             OBJECTIVES

             Protected areas supporting ecotourism often are managed
             by a number of agencies with conflicting goals and objec-
             tives. Nearly thirty agencies manage some aspect of the
             Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, for example, which makes
             it virtually impossible to develop a coherent management or
             ecotourism policy for the area. In other cases, some agencies
             have a mandate to exploit the land, as in the Tongass Na-
             tional Forest in Alaska, where the single-minded, and uneco-
             nomic, pursuit of timber is causing severe problems for a
             growing ecotourism industry. In Costa Rica, agencies often
             have conflicting needs for natural areas, ranging from devel-
             oping hydroelectricity to logging.
               Conflicting goals and needs are not only the province of
             governmental agencies. Government, conservationists, local
             communities, tour operators, and development agencies all
             need to resolve their differences and work together if eco-
             tourism really is to be sustainable. This needs to occur on
             both a national and an international level.
               Governments ought to develop national ecotourism.
             boards composed of representatives from every related in-
             dustry and concern. These boards would be responsible for
             weighing different alternatives, based on all pertinent infor-
             mation, rather than focusing on the specific factors that con-
             cern a particular party. They would be given a mandate by
             the government to develop economically and environmen-
             tally sustainable ecotourism.
               Some of the constraints of ecotourism are due to the fact
             that it is an international activity. Many tourists are from
             other countries, as are eco"tour operators and major carriers.
             All would benefit from an international forum for discus-
             sion. In addition, many countries do not have the resources






                           Ecotourism and Its Role in Sustainable Development   15
                   they need to manage the development of ecotourism wisely.
                   Access to an international body that provides needed tech-
                   nicat and financial assistance, as well as access to informa-
                   tion and others experiencing similar concerns, would be
                   invaluable. However, no international organization focusing
                   specifically on ecotourism currently exists.


                   THE ECOTOURIST AS ACTIVIST

                   The ecotourist will be a key player in the success or failure
                   of ecotourism. In Monteverde, the nesting of quetzals occa-
                   sionally is disrupted by tourists who rap on their nests and
                   then stand poised with a video camera to capture their
                   flight. In Yellowstone, visitors feed the bears, encouraging
                   them to accost people for food and making them extremely
                   dangerous. In the Caribbean, tourists buy jewelry made
                   from black coral and other rare reef marine life. In Bot-
                   swana, tourists treat natives with a rude curiosity, not
                   asking for permission to enter their villages and take photo-
                   graphs. Trekkers in Nepal and elsewhere leave behind the
                   litter from the food and other items they have carried in.
                     Ecotour operators must instill a conservation ethic for en-
                   vironmentally sensitive travel in their clients if they are to
                   continue bringing visitors to fragile sites. The National Au-
                   dubon Society, which conducts ecotourism tours in many
                   countries, has developed a travel ethic that must be adhered
                   to by all its tour operators. The basic guidelines are as fol-
                   lows:


                     1. Wildlife and their habitats must not be disturbed.
                     2. Audubon tourism to natural areas will be sustainable.
                     3. Waste disposal must have neither environmental nor
                        aesthetic impacts.
                     4. The experience a tourist gains in traveling with Audu-
                        bon must enrich his or her appreciation of nature, con-
                        servation, and the environment.
                     5. Audubon tours must strengthen the conservation effort
                        and enhance the natural integrity of places visited.







              16                 A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
                6. Traffic in products that threaten wildlife and plant pop-
                   ulations must not occur.
                7. The sensibilities of other cultures must be respected.

              Audubon tour operators are required to sign a contract stat-
              ing that they agree to abide by these strictures. Audubon
              passengers receive a copy of the guidelines and are asked by
              questionnaire at the end of the trip if the tour operator fol-
              lowed the ethic. So far, Audubon has not received negative
              feedback.
                The ecotourist can do more than learn from the experi-
              ence. He or she can get involved. Some tour operators are
              running tours to areas that have suffered from overuse;
              clients help clean up the mess left behind by previous visi-
              tors and work to restore endangered habitats. Some organi-
              zations such as Earthwatch involve tourists in "citizen
              scientist" activities: counting turtle eggs on the beaches of
              Costa Rica, for example. On returning home, quite a few
              tourists become involved with such issues as tropical de-
              forestation and illegal traffic in endangered species.
                Ecotour operators and conservation organizations both in
              the destination country and in the home country need to
              work harder to get the ecotourist actively involved in sus-
              tainable development. Ecotourists represent a potential
              army of recruits with free time and money to spend on sus-
              tainable development efforts.



              THE ECOTOURISM DEBATE:
              WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

              The types of issues covered in this chapter are just beginning
              to be discussed seriously by academics, development assis-
              tance agencies, conservation organizations, and government
              planners. This book differs from previous studies in that it
              analyzes each of the major components that make ecotour-
              ism successful or unsuccessful and provides guidelines on
              how to make ecotourism work. The first part of the book, "A






                        Ecotourism and Its Role in Sustainable Development    17
                Visit to Key Destinations," provides a description and anal-
                vsis of the ecotourism destinations- Kenya, Costa Rica,'and
                the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in the United States.
                Here we see what has worked and what hasn't, as described
                by experts in each country.
                  The second part, "The Nuts and Bolts of Successful Nature
                Tourism," is more technical in nature; it covers each of the
                major components of ecotourism-planning an ecotourism
                development strategy, performing an economic analysis of
                the alternatives, developing local participation, preparing a
                marketing strategy-and presents new ideas about how eco-
                tourism can be supported internationally.
                  Following are brief summaries of each of the chapters.
                  The former director of the Kenya Wildlife Department,
                Perez Olindo, takes us through the history of ecotourisrn in
                Kenya-how huntingp which had been the first form of tour-
                ism in Kenya, was banned in 1978, due to the severe decline
                of Kenyan wildlife. The tourism infrastructure that had de-
                veloped to service the hunters was without any tourists.
                Ingeniously, Kenyans reached out to a new audience-eco-
                tourists-who would come to Kenya to shoot with their
                cameras. Within a few years, ecotourism was a booming
                business, in part due to a major marketing effort on the part
                of the government. However, problems emerged. The mis-
                management of the relationship of ecotourism to the locals
                precipitated unnecessary conflict. A lack of funding for parks
                management, as well as inadequate information about car-
                rying capacities, is threatening the long-term viability of the
                parks. Fortunately, the Kenyan government has taken steps
                to improve the management of the parks and is trying to get
                the locals involved. International cooperation on ivory has
                led to a marked decline in the number of elephants slaugh-
                tered illegally, while direct payments to local communities
                have also decreased local poaching.
                  Yanina Rovinski, a Costa Rican writer specializing in en-
                vironment and development issues and a consultant on eco-
                tourism, documents how science-based tourism-in which
                scientists came to Costa Rica to study tropical biology, bot-
                any, and wildlife-developed into more broad-based eco-







               18                A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
               tourism. Both are rooted in Costa Rica's extensive system of
               protected areas. In the early days of the parks, locals were
               not included in planning, nor were they allowed to use the
               natural resources of the parks. However, in recent years, the
               emphasis has shifted to stress more local involvement, with
               particular emphasis on ecotourism. Ecotourism is neverthe-
               less hampered by the fact that the National Parks Service
               lacks funds for building infrastructure and management.
               And the government tourism authority refuses to put money
               into promoting Costa Rica as a ecotourism destination, pre-
               ferring instead to focus on beach tourism and large-scale re-
               sort schemes.
                 In the United States, the oldest park in the world, Yellow-
               stone, is under attack by neighboring development schemes
               and poorly managed ecotourism. Dennis Glick, a wildland
               planner and analyst with the Greater Yellowstone Coalition,
               describes the history of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
               and the problems it currently faces. He shows that ecotour-
               ism is making a strong contribution to the economies of the
               host states and local communities. However, it is being de-
               veloped helter-skelter, without the benefit of a master plan,
               often resulting in negative social and environmental im-
               pacts.
                 Bill Bryan describes an exciting new form of ecotourism
               that is developing in the Yellowstone area-ranch and farm
               hospitality operations. Working family farms and ranches,
               facing severe economic problems, have begun to supplement
               their income with tourist dollars. They offer accommoda-
               tions and the opportunity to experience the "great outdoors"
               to urban dwellers. In the states of Wyoming, Montana, and
               Idaho, these types of endeavors are popping up every day-
               in 1985, there were five in operation; today there are more
               than seventy.
                 Paul Sherman and John Dixon, both environmental econ-
               omists, explain how to analyze a potential ecotourism proj-
               ect from two angles: finiancial and social. Ecotourism needs
               to be looked at as a business and as a type of resource use
               that helps ensure other, long-term social goals. The net fi-






                           Ecotourism and Its Role in Sustainable Development    19
                   nancial and social benefits of ecotourism must be better
                   than the next best alternative if the land under dispute is to
                   be used to its best capacity. Sherman and Dixon then explain
                   how to undertake a cost-benefit analysis for this particular
                   tvpe of project, as well as how to maximize both financial
                   and social benefits. They present several case studies that
                   show how the process works in real life.
                     Susan Drake, United Nations officer (and formerly local
                   wetlands coordinator) at the U.S. Environmental Protection
                   Agency, defines different levels of local participation and re-
                   views various approaches in the United States and abroad.
                   Her nine-phase local participation plan is based on lessons
                   learned from these other approaches and requires extensive
                   consultation with local communities during planning, im-
                   plementation, and follow-up in order to address their needs
                   and concerns.
                     Richard Ryel, president of the largest American ecotour
                   organization, International Expeditions, and his colleague,
                   Tom Grasse, discuss what they have learned about market-
                   ing ecotourism during ten years in the business. First, they
                   say, a tour operator must develop a conservation ethic on
                   which the organization should base its activities. Other
                   steps include determining a site's marketability, defining the
                   market,, identifying marketing vehicles, crafting the mes-
                   sage, getting it out, and developing a mailing list. They em-
                   phasize that the ecotourism operator must always consider
                   issues broader than pure monetary concerns, though, of
                   course, making a profit is essential.
                     Liz Boo, ecotourism program officer at World Wildlife
                   Fund-U.S., puts the problems associated with ecotourism
                   into perspective with her recommendations on how to plan
                   a nature tourism development strategy.        She stresses the
                   need for a national ecotourism board, which will help over-
                   see and coordinate the planning of the various government
                   agencies, park managers, tour operators, local conservation
                   organizations, and '*International conservation and develop-
                   ment organizations. She provides specific recommendations
                   for action by each of these sectors in three phases: planning,







              20                 A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
              development, and management. The emphasis is on maxi-
              mizing the economic benefits of ecotourism, while minimiz-
              ing negative environmental and social impacts.
                Megan Wood, president of Ecoventures (an environmental
              communications company), contends that ecotourism will
              need an international forum if it is to succeed. She suggests
              the creation of an Ecotourism Society, to be composed of
              specialists in many different fields: tour operators and
              guides, government representatives, protected area manag-
              ers, representatives from local communities, conservation-
              ists, and development agencies. The society would offer its
              members the opportunity to develop a global initiative for
              the sustainable development of ecotourism areas. It would
              focus on issues such as obtaining technical and financial as-
              sistance from the development community, developing en-
              vironmental principles and guidelines, ensuring local.
              participation, and providing a clearinghouse for informa-
              tion on ecotourism.



              CONCLUSION

              Ecotourism will not on its own save disappearing ecosys-
              tems. Nor will it alone liberate rural communities from the
              shackles of poverty. In fact, unless it is planned to minimize
              environmental damage, maximize economic outcomes, and
              involve the local communities, then it may actually harm
              the environment and local peoples.
                But when ecotourism is planned as a tool for sustainable
              development, one that includes the type of safeguards dis-
              cussed in this book, it can indeed make an important contri-
              bution to the welfare of both the visited and the visitors and
              every aspect of the environment. The challenge is to make
              sure that ecotourism doesn't occur willy-nilly wherever
              there is a demand for, it, but that governments, tour opera-
              tors, conservation groups, and local communities, among
              others, plan together where ecotourism sites should be es-
              tablished and how they should be managed. Then, fifty years
              from now, it will be possible for our grandchildren to enjoy






                          Ecotourism and Its Role in Sustainable Development   21
                  the natural beauty and benefits associated with natural
                  areas near their homes and farther afi.eld.




                                          REFERENCES

                  Boo, Elizabeth. 1990. Ecotourism: The Potentials and Pitfalls.
                    Washington, D.C.: World Wildlife Fund-U.S.
                  deCourcy Hinds, M. 1990. "Anxious Armies of Vacationers
                    Are Demanding More from Nature." New York Times (July
                    8).
                  Edgell, D. 1987. International Tourism Prospects 1987-2000.
                    Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Commerce.
                  English, P 1986. The Great Escape? An Examination of North-
                    South Tourism. Ottawa, Canada: The North-South Insti-
                    tute.
                  Healy, R. G. 1988. Economic Consideration in Nature-
                    Oriented Tourism: The Case of Tropical Forest Tourism. FPEI
                    Working Paper, no. 39. Research Triangle Park, North Car-
                    olina: Forest Private Enterprise Initiative.
                  Ingram, C. D. and P B. Durst. 1987. Nature-Oriented Travel to
                    Developing Countries. FPEI Working Paper, no. 28. Re-
                    search Triangle Park, North Carolina: Forestry Private En-
                    terprise Initiative.
                  Kallen, C. 1990. "Ecotourism: The Light at the End of the
                    Terminal." E Magazine (July/August).
                  Kruckenberg, L. 1988. "Wyoming's Wildlife-Worth the
                    Watching: Management in Transition." In Transactions of
                    the Fifty-third North American Wildlife and Natural Re-
                    sources Conference. Reprint.
                  Lindberg, K. 1990. "Tourism as a Conservation Tool." Work-
                    ing paper. Washington, D.C.: World Resources Institute.
                  Puntenney, P J. 1990. "Defining Solutions: The Annapurna
                    Experience." Cultural Survival Monthly 14, no. 2.
                  Westlake, M. 1989. "Riding the Tourist Boom." South (Au-
                    gust).
                  Wilson, M. 1987. Nature-Oriented Tourism in Ecuador. Assess-







           22               A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
             ment of Industry Structure and Development Needs. Forestrv
             Private Enterprise Initiative Working Paper No. 20. Ra-
             leigh, N.C.: North Carolina State UniversitV.
           World Tourism Organization (WTO). 1989. Policy and Activ-
             ities for Tourism and the Environment. Madrid: WTO.











                                       CHAPTER 2

                   The Old Man of Nature Tourism:
                                            Kenya


                                        PEREZ OLINDO






                 l
                  n the flatlands of Kenya's Amboseli Game Reserve, a lion-
                  essIlies resting. Every few minutes, a minivan or bus drives
                 up and the crowd of tourists inside snap their camera shut-
                 ters. The animal may remain for twohours. In that time,
                 twenty-five vehicles might stop and stare.
                   Kenya is the world's foremost ecotourist attraction. Some
                 650 thousand people visit Kenya's parks and protected areas
                 each year, spending about $350 million. Wildlife is the mag-
                 net. One estimate holds that an elephant is worth about
                 $14,375 a year, or $900,000 over the course of its life, in tour-
                 ist expenditures.
                   This financial success hides a multitude of problems, how-
                 ever. Kenya's colonial legacy, combined with a low level of
                 local community support for the parks, inadequate funding
                 and enforcement powers for the ministry in charge of the
                 parks, and poaching for ivory, has led to a dramatic decline
                 in the elephant population, as well as the degradation of
                 public lands. In response, the Kenyan government has

                                                 23







             24                  A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
             launched recently a series of innovative techniques and pro-
             grams it hopes will ensure ecotourism's continued success.


             HISTORY OF ECOTOURISM IN KENYA
             At the  turn of the twentieth century, Kenya was teeming
             with a wide array of wildlife. The various ethnic groups of
             African peoples moved freely across the land, fishing, hunt-
             ing, or gathering roots and fruits for a living. They killed
             game only as needed for food and rituals, and never for plea-
             sure.
                Then the European explorers disembarked on the shores
             of the African continent. With their arrival, the first wild an-
             imals were captured and killed for sport and other nonessen-
             tial uses. In the late nineteenth century, the "great white
             hunters" descended on Africa. They made fortunes by selling
             ivory, killing hundreds of thousands of elephants. By World
             War I, elephant herds in Kenya and the rest of East Africa
             were beginning to show serious signs of decline.
                Following the war, environmental degradation in the re-
             gion began, through bush clearing, tilling the land, and
             shooting wild animals. The colonial powers, having carved
             Africa into areas of influence, encouraged their citizens to
             settle there, and tried to turn the "empty" continent into an
             agricultural giant.
                The attempt was initially unsuccessful due to a basic ig-
             norance on the part of the settlers of tropical conditions and
             constraints. Imported dairy and beef cattle died by the thou-
             sands, unable to adapt to tropical heat and diseases. Crops
             were decimated by the forays of African wildlife.
                in response, the colonial governments embarked on a
             scheme that called for the large-scale elimination of African
             wildlife as a means of opening up the country to develop-
             ment. European soldiers who had elected to remain in Africa
             after the war were deployed as game wardens -
                These game wardens licensed and supervised the activi-
             ties of the white hunting fraternity. They also hunted them-
             selves. But at the same time, they prevented the African






                              The Old Man of Nature Tourism: Kenya           25
                people from hunting on the pretext that their bows and ar-
                rows and spears were not suitable tools for the task.
                  Big game hunting by Europeans and Americans emerged
                as an important source of revenue for Kenya. The business
                was dominated by white hunters, however; whites were tour
                operators and guides, Africans were porters, gun bearers,
                and skinners. A variety of rules and regulations was devel-
                oped to make it extremely difficult for Africans to cross these
                divisions, a state of affairs that lasted into the early 1960s.
                  Resentment of this unfair relationship was further fueled
                by a decree that outlawed traditional hunting in 1946, bring-
                ing the African way of life to an abrupt halt. Local commu-
                nities had no choice but to continue to engage in some
                traditional hunting, giving rise to the poaching phenomenon
                that is rife today.
                  By the 1970s, it became evident that the combined effect
                of licensed hunting and poaching was to threaten the sur-
                vival of the big game species such as elephants, rhinos, and
                leopards. In 1977, Kenyans from all walks of life and of every
                shade of color forced the government to declare a complete
                ban on hunting. In 1978, the commercial trade in wildlife
                trophies and products was outlawed. Unfortunately, the
                worldwide demand for African wildlife products continued,
                and therefore so did poaching.
                  When hunting was banned, many Kenyans, white and
                black, found themselves without jobs. The more enterprising
                of the ex-guides and trackers began to develop another type
                of tourism-ecotourism. They coined the phrase "Come
                shooting to Kenya with your camera." Black Kenyans were
                able to move away from the less important jobs into man-
                agement and owning their own companies. They promoted
                the natural beauty of the country-its biodiversity, wild-
                life, unique ecosystems, breathtaking scenery, and sunny
                beaches. Specialized tours were developed for bird lovers,
                botanical expeditions, and many other groups.
                  Within five years of the ban on hunting, ecotourism was a
                booming business. It was able to expand so rapidly, in part,
                because the wildlife tourism infrastructure that had been
                built up for sports hunting was easily adapted to an infra-







              2) 6                A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
              Fi2ure2.1 Travelers encozaaeranAtricall bullelephant cool'n, off-
              (it Zbnbabive@,Vatzisczdona Gaine Resen-e on the shores ol'Lake
              Kariska.











                                 do






















                                                                     ONO'



              structure  for nonconsumptive     ecotourism.   Thousands, then
              tens of thousands, then, in 1989, 650,000 ecotourists, found
              Kenya a major wildlife attraction. They spent their money
              freelv-on accommodat ions, safari clothes and equipment,
              in-countrv transport, tour guides, food, and film.
                In 1988, tourism became the country's top foreign ex-
                    Ye earner, beating out coffee and tea for the first time.
              chanL
              Since agriculture requires substantially greater capital in-
              vestments than ecotourism, the "gross national benefit"
              (subtract capital investment from gross income) of ecotour-
              ism will continue to be greater in the years to come.
                For several vears now, Kenva has been earning in excess of
              USD 350 million in direct and indirect revenues a vear from
              tourism. Kenva plans an aggressive strategy of growth
              aimed at increasing the number of tourists from current lev-
              els of 650,000 to I million annuallv in five years.
                This development strategy has the potential to undermine





                            The'01d Man of Nature Tourism: Kenya           27
              the very resource on which it is based, however, unless man-
              aged carefully. Experience in Kenya and elsewhere has
              shown that it may be better to focus more on increasing the
              quality of the ecotourism experience (and thus the amount
              of money charged for it) rather than increasing the total
              number of visitors, and perhaps stretching the carrying ca-
              pacities of fragile ecosystems beyond their limits.


              KENYAN ECOTOURISM: HOW IT WORKS

              The success of Kenya's tourism efforts,.first for sports hunt-
              ing, and now for ecotourism, has been based on several fac-
              tors: a unique wildlife resource, an extensive system of
              national parks and game reserves, and an intensive promo-
              tion and investment effort'. The sometimes severe problems
              associated with its efforts, such as environmental degrada-
              tion and a dwindling wildlife resource, will be discussed in
              detail later.
                In order to protect its unique wildlife resources, a system
              of wildlife conservation areas was established by the Kenya
              National Parks Service soon after World War II and
              strengthened considerably after Kenya became independent
              in 1963. Some 17,000 square miles, or 8 percent of the na-
              tional territory, are protected by fifty-two national parks and
              reserves. A further 3, percent of the country is designated as
              forest reserve. These protected areas were selected based on
              how well they represented a cross-section of habitat and
              wildlife. The ranges currently under protection stretch from
              the highest mountains in the country (17,000 feet above sea
              level) to the mangrove forests of the Indian Ocean and
              marine environments reaching a maximum depth of sixty
              fathoms.
                Most of the protected areas are in the Great Rift Valley,
              which starts north of the Jordan River and extends as far
              south as Mozambique and is one of the world's most spectac-
              ular natural wonders. Dense wet forests inhabited by majes-
              tic crowned eagles, sweeping savannah grasslands, and
              sparkling inland lakes: these diverse ecosystems are the her-







               28                A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
               itage of the Great Rift Valley, and the Kenya national parks
               svstem.
                 Several vears after Kenya made the transition to ecotour-
               ism, mainly through the efforts of private individuals, the
               government saw that it would be in its national interest to
               experiment with promoting and providing incentives for
               ecotourism. In 1965, a special department of tourism was
               created as part of the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife; its
               task was to develop a blueprint for the popularization of
               Kenva as an attractive tourist destination.
                 Toward that end, it set in motion a highly successful pro-
               motional effort that focused on Kenya's exotic scenery and
               wildlife. Writers and photographers were commissioned to
               prepare alluring brochures for distribution around the
               world. Beautiful calendars and postcards depicting Kenya's
               colorful wildlife were produced and sold in large quantities.
               Public relations representatives in- key sites such as the
               United States, Canada, Great Britain, and Western Europe
               were retained to promote Kenya      Is image in those areas.
               Later, representatives were hired in Japan, Southeast Asia,
               Australia, and New Zealand. Tourist officers were posted at
               Kenyan embassies and trade missions around the world and
               continue to be today.
                 The government entered into a dialogue with tour opera-
               tors and travel agents in an attempt to address divisive is-
               sues such as delays of visitors at entry points and visa
               problems. A Kenya Tourist Advisory Committee was formed
               to meet regularly on issues that appeared to be threatening
               the success of ecotourism efforts. Through this process, po-
               tential problems were identified and addressed. Immigra-
               tion matters were discussed openly and steps taken to
               streamline the process. Financial issues such as tax rebates,
               export promotion gratuities, and duty-free imports of equip-
               ment were also tackled. No subject was deemed too big or
               too trivial.
                 Kenya also decided to provide fiscal incentives for the de-
               velopment of ecotourism and an ecotourism. infrastructure.
               In order to finance its efforts, it raised funds and received






                                The 012- Man of Nature Tourism: Kenya           29
                  technical assistance from development agencies in countries
                  such as Great Britain, West Germany, Switzerland, and Italy,
                  in addition to spending funds held in its own treasurv. Al-
                  though ultimately rejected, the idea of nationalizing the in-
                  dustry was considered; instead, they established the Kenya
                  Tourist Development Corporation (KTDC) in 1966.
                    The new body was given a mandate to finance up-and-
                  coming Kenyan tour operators, travel agents, and hotel own-
                  ers, and to make money doing so. In the process, the KTDC
                  embarked on a program of buying shares in foreign-owned
                  firms, with the aim of selling them to promising Kenyan en-
                  trepreneurs on special terms. This innovative approach to
                  localizing the tourist industry has made it virtually impos-
                  sible to distinguish between foreign and locally owned tour-
                  ism firms.
                    The government continues to offer incentives to foreign
                  investors, however, through the Foreign Investments Act,
                  which guarantees them repatriation of capital and profits.
                  The potential to attract large sums of "bad" money (i.e., that
                  earned from gambling, drugs, prostitution, etc.) is addressed
                  through an investment vetting system that prohibits it.
                    Major airlines have also been wooed. Practical incentives
                  are offered in the form of tax exemptions for capital invest-
                  ments and taxes only on income (to date, they do not even
                  pay property taxes), to encourage their involvement with
                  game lodge and hotel development, enabling airlines to earn
                  money on two fronts, plane tickets and accommodations.


                    While ecotourism    in Kenya has been a success, the very
                  attraction on which it is based-wildlife-is severely threat-
                  ened. Mismanagement of the protected areas, illegal hunt-
                  ing, and a low level of local participation and support for
                  conservation are among the reasons why. Since indepen-
                  dence, the Kenyan government has launched several major
                  initiatives to tackleffiese problems. The jury is still out on
                  what the future will bring, but many of the changes appear
                  promising.







              30                A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS

              MANAGEMENT OF KENYAPS PARKS
              AND RESERVES

              Despite the fact that nature tourism has been a big foreign
              exchange earner, until recently very little of that money ($7
              million of $350 million) was put back into the resource that
              supports it-the parks system. Parks personnel and guards
              were underpaid and worked long hours, equipment was
              lacking, and poaching was rife-in short, the Department of
              Wildlife Conservation and Management was unable to man-
              age the areas it was charged to protect due to a lack of
              funding.
                In 1989, President Daniel arap Moi moved to address that
              problem by establishing the parastatal Kenyan Wildlife Ser-
              vice (KWS), which replaced the Department of Wildlife Con-
              servation and Management. The primary role of KWS is to
              ensure the protection and management of wildlife both in-
              side and outside the protected areas-and to make that
              wildlife accessible for viewing by tourists and so promote
              ecotourism. Under the new system, the income and assets
              .associated with the national parks and game reserves are
              under the jurisdiction of the KWS, and thus can be plowed
              back into management and conservation. In addition, the
              KWS can now set the prices charged for park admissions,
              accommodations, and so forth. (It has raised the rate 125
              percent, to Ksh 200 for foreign nationals. Kenyans continue
              to pay the relatively low rate of Ksh 40, as they otherwise
              support KWS through taxes.)
                The organization is autonomous and is managed by a
              board of trustees, which is composed of Kenyan nationals
              from different sectors of the economy. The budget, however,
              remains subject to public and parliamentary scrutiny, in or-
              der to discourage potential abuses.
                Each park and reserve is now run as a separate corporate
              division, responsible for its own income and expenditures.
              Some will be developed for high-density (minibus) tourism,
              others will target the high-income individual who wishes to'
              camp in the midst of nature away from crowds, others will






                                The Old Man of Nature Tourism: Kenya             31
                  be set aside for as little human impact as possible, while still
                  others will serve as multiple-use sites (research, wildlife
                  management, education, etc.). The effect of increased in-
                  come for the parks can be seen already in the purchase of
                  modern arms and new communications equipment for park
                  guards, along with higher salaries and other benefits.
                    Parks personnel now receive nine months of paramilitary
                  training and one year of educL;I:ion in wildlife management,
                  and thus are better equipped to deal with the pressures, such
                  as well-armed ivory poachers, on the areas they protect.
                    Few other parks management agencies, either in Africa or
                  in the rest of the world, enjoy such autonomy and control as
                  the newly created KWS. If managed wisely, success is guar-
                  anteed. However, if the new freedoms are abused or poorly
                  managed, the KWS could. find itself at loggerheads with
                  other sectors of the economy.
                    The scars of the neglect inflicted on the parks system in
                  earlier years through lack of financing will take substantial
                  investment, innovation, and time to heal. KWS has been op-
                  erating for less than a year and has not yet made public its
                  long-term plans. It will have many important issues to ad-
                  dress.
                    One such issue is determining the carrying capacities for
                  Kenya's parks and reserves. The task is complicated by the
                  fact that the carrying capacity of a given area varies from
                  season to season'or year to year depending on the amount of
                  rainfall, and the migration habits of wildlife. In addition,
                  the need to maintain Kenya's democratic traditions makes
                  it difficult to deny access or development opportunities to
                  Kenyan nationals. Nevertheless, a determination of the car-
                  rying capacities for humans, vehicles, wildlife, domestic an-
                  imals, and the like must be made and enforced if the
                  protected areas are to be viable over the long term.
                    Another, even more critical, issue, is stopping the illegal
                  hunting of wildlife. The solutions must address both the
                  poaching by the local communities and the slaughter of ele-
                  phants and rhinos for ivory by professional black marke-
                  teers. Fortunately, the KWS will be aided greatly in its work
                  with the latter by the fact that in 1989, the international







            32                A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
            community of nations signed an agreement to ban ivory im-
            ports (CITES). Poaching of elephants has since scaled down
            drama tical ly- park wardens are not finding as many car-
            casses, and many once-thriving ivory shops have close@ their
            doors. However, other southern African nations with thriv-
            ing elephant populations (e.g., South Africa, Zimbabwe)
            continue to sell ivory, which provides incentives for poachers
            to kill elephants in Kenya and smuggle the ivory into these
            other countries, where it can be sold legally. Consequently,
            poaching still occurs. The next meeting on this issue will
            take place in 1992, at which time it is hoped that a solution
            for the problem will be presented, and the ban implemented
            in full measure; if this occurs, poaching for ivory should no
            longer be a problem.
              KWS has also greatly strengthened enforcement. In 1988,
            the rangers were authorized to shoot poachers on sight, and
            more than seventy poachers have been killed since. Not one
            has been a Kenyan, however, which implies that poaching is
            fueled by forces outside Kenya.



            LOCAL PARTICIPATION

            The Kenyan government has also moved to address the
            problems associated with the interaction of neighboring lo-
            cal communities with the protected areas.
              Many of the local people are so disgruntled with decades
            of being ignored that today they are the enemies of the parks
            and national forests. Their anger has its roots in colonialism
            and the ban on traditional hunting, and in the fact that the
            wild game living in the parks are allowed to range freely
            over private lands, competing with domestic animals, using
            up essential water supplies, and sometimes contributing to
            soil erosion and degradation. Until recently, the private
            landowner saw very   little monetary return from this public
            use of his lands.
              Local landowners began to feel that their interests were
            being treated as less important than those of the animals,
            and that their good-naturedness was being abused. Some be-






                                 The Old Man of Nature Tourism: Kenya            33
                  gan to put up fences to keep wildlife off their property and
                  others used innovative methods to deny water to migrating
                  wildlife. As a result, the number of wild animals declined
                  noticeably in the reserves, and migration patterns were dis-
                  rupted.
                    in response, the government recently developed a number
                  of policies aimed at increasing local participation in the de-
                  velopment of tourism, providing financial incentives to local
                  communities to protect the neighboring tourism sites, and
                  encouraging domestic tourism in     order to build Kenyan sup-
                  port for the parks
                    The Kenyan government is providing fiscal incentives to
                  the local communities through a variety of mechanisms.
                  First, it attempts to ensure that local goods and services, as
                  well as local labor, are used by the tourism industry, through
                  a series of specific requirements. Kenyans must be employed
                  on a preferential basis, with the exception of the most senior
                  personnel, whom the investor may appoint as desired. Ho-
                  tels and lodges are required to keep imported foodstuffs to a
                  minimum, using Kenyan products wherever possible. The
                  visitors are charged a government hotel tax, a training levy
                  charge, and a service charge, all of which accrue to the Ken-
                  yan government (a portion trickles down to the local popu-
                  lations) and are in addition to the normal corporate taxes
                  levied by the government each year on the gross trading in-
                  come.
                    Local participation and involvement are the keystone of a
                  policy implemented in 1988 after being negotiated with lo-
                  cal communities. Following lengthy discussions, it was
                  agreed that each visitor staying in a game lodge overnight
                  would be charged an extra USD 5 that would be allocated to
                  the local peoples. This money is placed into a trust fund to
                  be. used by the private land owners in the area. Some tour-
                  ists visit reserves that do not have game lodges nearby; in
                  this case, a portion of the entry fee will be deposited into the
                  trust fund.
                    The trust funds are managed by the people themselves
                  under the neutral chairmanship of the district commissioner
                  or the local game warden. In the case of wrongdoing such as
                  misappropriation of funds, or favoritism, an appeal process







            34                 A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
            has been established. If this is also unfruitful, the aggrieved
            person may take the case to a court of law. No such problems
            have yet emerged, however. The money in these trust funds
            is first distributed for community needs such as schools,
            cattle dips (where cattle are cleaned of ticks and other par-
            asites), and hospitals. Any money that remains is distributed
            on a pro rata basis among the affected landowners, based on
            how much land is involved in the program.
              This program is still new and as yet has been implemented
            only in Amboseli and Masai Mara national parks. There are
            no real data as yet on how well the system is functioning,
            though local communities now seem more positive about
            the parks and local poaching appears to be declining. KWS
            currently is conducting negotiations for similar programs
            with communities surrounding other reserves.
              Domestic tourism is encouraged through substantially re-
            duced pricing, particularly during the rainy season and
            school holidays. Educational hostels have been built in stra-
            tegic locations across the country for schoolchildren and
            members of the popular Kenyan wildlife clubs. Their main-
            tenance and administration are heavily subsidized by the
            government. Public buses are available for organized local
            groups, such as schools, churches, or civic groups, to provide
            inexpensive transportation to these sites.


            PRIVATE RESERVES

            In some countries, private reserves play a large role in both
            preserving wildlife and distributing some of the benefits of
            ecotourism back to the local communities. There are at pres-
            ent relatively few private reserves in existence in Kenya,
            however. The best known number six in total. The owners of
            these areas are mainly wealthy foreigners. The reserves are
            usually part of a working ranch, located on marginal lands
            used primarily for cattle grazing. Portions of the ranch are
            devoted to the protection of wildlife, -and the cattle are not
            allowed in those regions. Some of the more sophisticated of
            the reserves have built high-priced accommodations for the






                                The Old Man of Nature Tourism: Kenya              35
                  tourist. They all appeal to the well-heeled visitor who wants
                  to avoid the mass tourism found on the state reserves.
                    In many cases, the operators of these sites claim they are
                  losing money and that they should be supported by the gov-
                  ernment and exempted from income taxes. However, if they
                  are truly losing money, why do they wish to continue the
                  operation? And if it were trulv nonprofitable, why are more
                  and more people opting for tl@is type of land use)
                    There are no hard data available on tourism at private re-
                  serves. There is no government oversight, either, except that
                  wildlife is legally a national asset, so the KWS theoretically
                  could become involved in the management of the wildlife (if
                  hunting were to occur, for example). Currently, the govern-
                  ment has no plans to review the issue. The KWS is, however,
                  planning for that eventuality.


                  CASE STUDY: MASAI MARA/SERENGETi EcosYSTEM
                  The spectacular savannah woodlands of the Mara/Serengeti
                  are what many people envision when they think of Africa.
                  This tropical paradise for wildlife straddles the borders of
                  Kenya and Tanzania (see figure 2.2) and is home to zebras,
                  wildebeests, lions, antelopes, hyenas, jackals, African hunt-
                  ing dogs, giraffes, buffaloes, elephants, and many birds of
                  prey. It is also' home to several hundred families of Masai, a
                  nomadic people who base their livelihoods on maintaining
                  large herds of cattle.
                    Many of the 650,000 visitors to Kenya each year feel their
                  tour is incomplete without a trip to see the Mara/Serengeti.
                  However, the ever-increasing numbers of tourists visiting
                  the site have led to a host of environmental problems. Pre-
                  vious mismanagement of the relationship of the Masai to the
                  reserve has also led to environmental damage by Masai-
                  owned livestock and poaching.
                    Until 1960, when the 750-square-mile Masai Mara County
                  Council Game Reserve was established, the local Masai had
                  access to all the land in the district, and were free to move
                  southward into Tanzania in search of water and grazing
                  when necessary. The creation of the reserve, together with











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                         The Old Man of Nature Tourism: Kenya             37
           the adjacent Serengeti National Park, which was established
           a decade earlier, greatlv restricted their options without pro-
           viding any alternatives. In addition, during certain months
           of the vear, the wild game animals forage on the Masai's pri-
           vate lands, competing with Masai livestock and decreasing
           the productivity of the domestic animals.
             In order to aadress this problem, the government and the
           Masai agreed on a revenue-sharing scheme (described in
           greater detail earlier). Each visitor staying in or around the
           reserve overnight (six lodges are located inside the reserve,
           seven outside) is charged an extra USD 10 per day, half of
           which goes to the county council (a local administrative au-
           thority). The other half is paid into a trust fund for the local
           Masai, and managed by them with the help of a locally ap-
           pointed district commissioner.
             As soon as the system was implemented, the shift in com-
           munity attitudes 'was immediate and dramatic. The com-
           munity began to earn a handsome income in excess of nearly
           USD I million a year, and now views wildlife as an asset
           rather than a liability. Poaching, which had accounted for
           the loss of tens of thousands of animals annually, dropped to
           virtually nothing.
             Thus, one threat to the future of the reserve has been elim-
           inated-permanently, one hopes. The impact of a virtual
           avalanche of tourists, however, has yet to be addressed ade-
           quately.
             The sensitive soils of the savannah are crisscrossed with
           tire tracks where tourists in search of wildlife have offered
           drivers large tips to go off the roads. Balloonists swoop over
           herds of elephants, buffalo, and other animals, causing them
           to scurry this way and that. (On the other hand, each indi-
           vidual on the balloon pays $250 for a forty-five-minute ride,
           which makes a strong economic argument in terms of short-
           term investment criteria for continuing the practice in some
           form.) The feeding and mating habits of the region's wildlife
           have been disrupted as ani    .mals react to large numbers of
           viewers. Some animals, such as the cheetahs, become so dis-
           turbed that they frequently fail to feed, mate, or raise their
           young.







              38                 A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
                The local county council is the richest in the country, but
              as yet it has not invested enough funds in the development
              of mechanisms to better control the viewing habits of visi-
              tors to the reserves and so alleviate pressures on environ-
              mentally sensitive lands. Such an investment would suit its
              best interests.
                Several actions are planned by the Kenyan Wildlife Ser-
              vice that should address the worst of these problems in the
              Masai Mara and other parks. A first priority is the construc-
              tion of primary, secondary, and tertiary roads; their use will
              be mandatory. Road construction is tough on the environ-
              ment, but the current free-for-all is much worse. A complete
              ban on the development of additional tourist accommoda-
              tions or expansion of existing ones is being contemplated.
              Casual camping will be illegal. Minimum flight levels for
              balloons, and fixed take-off and landing sites, will be estab-
              lished. Finally, tourists will be asked to be sensitive to the
              ecological needs of the areas they visit. Without their partic-
              ipation, the environment of the Mara/Serengeti ecosystem
              will continue to be degraded.


              CONCLUSION

              Tourism in Kenya has had a stormy history@ However, it ap-
              pears that the government, and to some degree the local
              communities, has decided that ecotourism. is critical to the
              well-being of the nation and is moving to make it sustain-
              able. The changes in governmental attitudes toward the lo-
              cal people, the increased financial and executive support for
              the protection of the parks, and the complete ban on the
              ivory trade have been important steps forward. The future
              will demonstrate if ecotourism in Kenya will indeed be sus-
              tainable, and if it can continue to provide protection for the
              parks and wildlife of Kenya.











                                  CHAPTER 3

                   Private Reserves, Parks, and
                      Ecotourism in Costa Rica


                                 YANINA ROVINSKI










             P
                erched on top of the rugged Tilaran Mountain Range in
                the north of Costa Rica lies Monteverde Cloud Forest Re-
             serve, one of the country's main attractions for natural his-
             tory lovers (see figure 3.1). This 10,000-hectare private
             nature reserve hosts a growing flood of tourists who come
             year after year seeking a glimpse of Monteverde's natural
             treasures.
               The reserve, owned and managed by the Tropical Science
             Center, is becoming increasingly well known for its wealth
             of wildlife, its lush green wildlands, and the resplendent
             quetzal, symbol of freedom and sacred bird of the Mayas.
             The reserve is also the only home of the brightly colored
             golden toad. These endangered species, and many other for-
             est dwellers, have turned Monteverde into the tourist attrac-
             tion it is today. But it was not always this way.

                                            39







                  40                   A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS

                  Figure 3.1 Major nature tourism sites in Costa Rica.



                            NICARAGUA
                                                                Caribbean
                                                                    Sea

                               Monte Verde .  Puerto             La Selva
                               Cloud Forest   Viejo              Biological Station
                                   Reserve
                                C 0 #S T A
                                                          Bralulio
                                                          Carrillo
                                             San Jose National Par
                                                  R I C A

                            Barra Honda                                        <
                            National Park

                       Guanacaste, National Park
                                                                               z
                                               Corcova(                        <
                                                       '0
                                             National Park
                           Pacific                        U rate
                           Ocean

                            kilometers0 20
                               miles0    204

                                                             Costa
                                          AREA OF MAP        Rica


                      16& Mao 0 1991 Gr"I Dlvo* GraPhes Halo". MT



                 Private Reserves, Parks, and Ecotourism in Costa Rica'  41
            In the early 1950s, Monteverde was mostly untouched pri-
          mary forest. The cultivated lands ended at the edge of the
          mountains. The agricultural frontier moved farther up the
          slopes with time, however, as population increased and laws
          that favored agricultural expansion were promulgated.
            A small community of North American Quakers, seeking
          peace and a nonviolent way of life, came to settle in these
          peaceful and isolated Costa Rican mountains in the late
          1950s. They bought 1,400 hectares of land, divided it among
          themselves, and set aside 554 hectares for watershed conser-
          vation on the steep slopes of the mountain.
            In the 1960s, biologists and students (mostly fro    'm the
          United States) began to visit the protected area, attracted by
          its rich cloud forest, which was still quite unaltered. They
          found each tree to be a tropical garden and were able to ob-
          serve species that were endangered elsewhere. Their re-
          search led to the discovery of the golden toad, whose entire
          habitat lies within a few hectares of Monteverde's dwarf
          forest.
            Interest in preserving this biological wealth against slash-
          and-burn agriculture began to grow among both the original
          Quaker settlers, who formed a conservation group called
          Bosque Eterno, and the Tropical Science Center, a San Josi@-
          based scientific organization. In 1972, they agreed to found
          the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.
            The number of scientists visiting Monteverde kept increas-
          ing. They came to this misty forest, where rain is almost per-
          petual, to study the habits of bellbirds or photograph
          umbrella birds. They observed macaws, quetzals, tinamous,
          agoutis, kinkajous, jaguars, and ocelots. Palms, ferns,
          mosses, bromeliads, immense oaks, and tiny mushrooms
          were, also studied. Their accounts in technical journals
          brought other visitors to the area and their studies served as
          a base for more research. Articles then began to appear in
          the popular media, attracting visitors who were interested
          in the beauty of the land or fascinated by its unusual inhab-
          itants.
            The number of visitors increased from 300 in 1973 to
          15,000 in 1989. The reserve also grew, from 2,000 hectares to
          10,000 hectares in 1990.







                 42                 A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
                    The large number of visitors has resulted in noticeable
                 changes in the neighboring communities. First, a shelter was
                 built near the reserve. Then, a "pension" and a "soda," which
                 is a type of coffee shop. Today, there are two modern hotels,
                 several guesthouses, a local network of @ tour guides, a souve-
                 nirs and crafts store (which brings in a respectable $50,000
                 a year), horse rentals, a "cantina'  "and a disco bar (appro-
                 priately called "The Golden Toad").
                    Changes are also evident within the reserve itself. On the
                 positive side, visitors are bringing substantial income to the
                 reserve, which is used to buy new lands and pay for manage-
                 ment of the area. The reserve more than pays for its mainte-
                 nance with the money from entrance fees (about $2.75 per
                 person) and T-shirt sales. The local economy also benefits
                 from the reserve-tourism is the second largest source of
                 earnings after dairy-which has made Monteverde popular
                 with the local community. -
                    New trails have been built inside, some mainly for tour-
                 ists, others for research. Unfortunately, erosion on the tour-
                 ist trails is a growing problem. During the rainy season, the
                 tree roots that border the trails are washed clean and tram-
                 pled on by the visitors as they walk by. Locals say the habits
                 of the animals are changing and much of the wildlife now
                 stays away from the tourist trails during the high season.
                    In response, the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve group
                 undertook a study of the carrying capacity of the reserve.
                 They found that while the reserve can handle more visitors,
                 the current visitor facilities within the reserve cannot. Their
                 solution is to build a "Monteverde Conservation Center,"
                 which will help to educate the ecotourists and groups of
                 Costa Rican students, as well as train Costa Ricans and
                 other Latin Americans as guides. They also plan to build
                 new trails, which will help them better manage the flow of
                 visitors.
                    Will the increase in tourists mean a decrease in wildlife?
                 Dr. George Powell, one of the founding members of the re-
                 serve, thinks not. He has seen a substantial increase in wild-
                 life, especially large mammals, over the last few years. One
                 of his current research projects is examining the impact of
                 tourism on quetzals. His preliminary findings are that the






                         Private Reserves, Parks, and Ecotourism in Costa Rica  43
                  tourists are not disturbing quetzals, unless they molest their
                  nests. This problem can be addressed,.he says, by rerouting
                  trails around nests so that tourists will be una@le to touch
                  them.
                    other questions of overuse related to socioeconomic con-
                  cerns are also being raised. Visitors wandering onto private
                  lands, changes in the habits of young people who are being
                  influenced by the steadily increasing numbers of tourists, in-
                  creased costs of living for locals, and the growing pressures
                  on a fragile infrastructure are some of the problems that
                  have emerged.
                    Monteverde is one of the earliest and best developed ex-
                  amples of a new and thriving industry in Costa Rica: eco-
                  tourism -



                  THE DEVELOPMENT OF ECOTOURISM
                  IN COSTA RICA

                  The popularity and rapid emergence of ecotourism in Costa
                  Rica is the result of a mixture of circumstances: an astound-
                  ing and extensively studied biological diversity, sites of ex-
                  Areme natural beauty and easy access, stable political
                  conditions 'and an extensive system of protected areas.
                    The story of ecotourism in Costa Rica is linked closely to
                  that of the national parks. And that story is not very old.
                    In 1969, some natural resource experts began to lobby for
                  the creation of a system of protected areas in the country.
                  They argued that because most of the forest that originally
                  covered 99.8 percent of Costa Rica had been destroyed, seri-
                  ous steps needed to be taken to preserve at least a small part
                  of that unique heritage. They argued that action needed to
                  be taken right away because every year another I percent of
                  the remainder was being cleared by land-hungry farmers
                  and settlers. Resources were disappearing at an alarming
                  rate.
                    The classic causes of deforestation were responsible: agri-
                  cultural expansion, timber exploitation, and cattle ranch-
                  ing.. At that time, Costa Rica's laws favored agricultural







              44                 A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
              expansion and by the earlV 1960s, most of the country's ex-
              ploitable land had an owner. Very often, it was a large land-
              owner. Three-quarters of the agricultural land belonged to
              10 percent of the farms. And the big landowners-farmers,
              ranchers, and loggers-were a powerful lobbying force
              against the parks.
                Costa Rica's conservationists, on the other hand, had com-
              pelling arguments and the strong personalities to make
              them heard. One of the parks' advocates, Mario Boza, fresh
              out of forestry school, defended his ideas with strong words.
              Those who opposed the creation of the parks were fools, "ab-
              surd people who think forests are meant for logging and
              nothing else." Confronted with a critical situation, conser-
              vationists demanded speedy action. They said that endan-
              gered habitats, representative zones, and rich forests had to
              be protected immediately. There was no time for discussion,
              no time for philosophical questions. If it was endangered, it
              needed to be protected.
                Park defenders got their way, and the National Parks Ser-
              vice was created in 1970. Twenty years later, almost all the
              country's natural habitats, from lowland wet forests to high
              mountain paramos, and from seaside mangroves and
              swamps to deciduous dry forest, are represented in Costa Ri-
              ca's thirty-four parks and reserves. The parks now occupy I I
              percent of the territory, and most of the dry tropical forests
              left in the New World are in Costa Rica's protected lands.
                The government also has been supportive of the establish-
              ment of privately owned reserves for both research and tour-
              ism. Monteverde was one of the first, but since then, scores
              of organizations and individuals have created their own na-
              ture reserves. Many border the national parks, which helps
              them maintain biological diversity, as wildlife can pass be-
              tween the park and the private reserve. Some actually act' as
              buffer zones for the national parks, diverting both visitor
              and development pressure.
                Unfortunately, deforestation in the rest of Costa Rica con-
              tinues at a nonsustainable rate, and forestry experts esti-
              mate that in less than 10 years, the only exploitable forests
              remaining will be within the parks and private reserves.






                        Private Reserves, Parks, and Ecotourism in Costa Rica  45
                 Soon, Costa Rica will see pressure to cut down the protected
                 areas. In response, a new approach to conservation has been
                 adopted in Costa Rica, one that holds much promise for the
                 continued well-being of its wilderness areas.
                   When the parks were first created, the main priority of the
                 National Parks Service was to preserve habitat. This ap-
                 proach earned enemies among farmers, ranchers, and log-
                 gers who wanted to expand their properties and among park
                 dwellers who were relocated and who previously had used
                 the forests as hunting grounds or agricultural land.
                   The situation grew tense, as the National Parks Service
                 promised future accomplishments and international re-
                 nown, while the people and other sectors of the government
                 asked for tangible results-meaning income.
                   In 1986, the government switched responsibility for the
                 National Parks Service and the parks from the Ministry of
                 Agriculture to the recently created Ministry of Natural Re-
                 sources. The new management had some fresh ideas for the
                 nation's protected areas.
                   Alvaro Umafta, then minister of natural resources, began
                 to promote a new concept to solve the conservation-versus-
                 development dilemma: sustainable development. Umana in-
                 troduced alternative schemes for development that would
                 not deplete the country's natural resource base. He refused
                 to accept that, being a country of forest and rivers, Costa
                 Rica would have to suffer from water shortages and defores-
                 tation.
                   And thus began the talk of development schemes within a
                 conservationist framework. More intensive production tech-
                 niques for farming were called for to lower the need for
                 agricultural expansion. Parks and reserves were to be man-
                 aged for sustainable development and grouped in regional
                 megaparks, with the neighboring communities viewed as
                 id areas of influence" The use of protected areas for lucrative
                 and nondestructive* activities, such as ecotourism, became a
                 priority.
                   That is how a small number of private entrepreneurs who
                 had already put their money on ecotourism found support
                 among conservationists.







               46                 A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
                 It was not a bad idea, conservationists said, to convince
               private investors. to put their money into conservation.
               People would be more likely to protect the areas where their
               financial interests were at stake. And a campaign was
               launched to convince investors that conservation could be a
               lucrative business. The war-horse of this campaign was eco-
               tourism.



               HOW PRIVATE ENTERPRISE MET
               NATURE TOURISM

               The Costa Rican government, while it had the best of inten-
               tions, lacked the funds to develop national parks and pro-
               tected areas for ecotourism. There was no money for visitor
               facilities, no money for training guides and interpreters, and
               very little money for basic management. If ecotourists were
               to be satisfied with their trips to Costa Rica, these had to be
               provided. So the private sector was presented with a unique
               opportunity-the government would provide the natural re-
               sources if the private sector would provide the services; and
               the private sector would reap most of the financial benefits.

               COSTA RICA EXPEDITIONS
               Michael Kaye arrived in Costa Rica in 1978 with plans to
               open a travel agency that specialized in river rafting. On his
               first visit to Costa Rica several years before, he had found
               good rafting rivers, rough, exciting, and unspoiled, and as a
               river-rafting enthusiast, he thought there would be a market
               for selling river-rafting tours to North Americans.
                 He was right. Clients came in droves for the rivers. What
               he hadn't foreseen is that they would return for the wilder-
               ness. Kaye saw requests for wilderness excursions piling up
               on his desk and slowly began to shift from rafting to "off-the-
               beaten-track" excursions, as his Costa Rica Expeditions
               Travel Agency now advertises.
                 Today, 75 percent of Kaye's clients come for natural his-
               tory tours and excursions. He brings in about 20,OW clients






                      Private Reserves, Parks, and Ecotourism in Costa Rica  47
               a year, and each one spends an average of $148 a day His
               ecotourism agency is currently the largest ecotourism
               agency in the country, but others are hot on its-trail  *  Kaye
               employs Costa Ricans as managers and guides, though most
               are not from the rural communities near where he runs
               tours


               COSTA RICAN ECOTOUR OPERATORS PROLIFERATE
               While Kaye, an American, was the first - in-coun try operator
               to focus exclusively on ecotourism, the ecotourism business
               is now dominated by Costa Ricans. Shortly after Kaye
               opened his doors. Tikal, which had already established itself
               as a general tourism agency, decided that the natural history
               market held great promise, and coined the term "ecotour-
               ism" in its brightly illustrated brochures of Costa Rica's nat-
               ural attractions. And Horizontes, the brainchild of two
               young Costa Rican entrepreneurs, was created to cater to
               scientists, students, and other nature lovers.
                 Tamara Budowski and Margarita Forero, owners of Hori-
               zontes, carefully planned the enterprise to serve the purpose
               of leading naturalists to the country's most attractive wil-
               dernesses. Budowski (a native Costa Rican) grew up in
               Switzerland, where she became accustomed to beautiful
               landscapes but was astonished by its lack of wildlife when
               she returned to Costa Rica as a teenager: she had never seen
               fish in the rivers -of Switzerland, nor the variety of wildlife
               she found in the unspoiled tropical lands.
                 Budowski and Forero financed their idea by selling tickets
               for trips abroad to Costa Ricans. The profit went to fund an
               agency that organized nature tours. As the agency grew, it
               moved away from ticket sales and is now solely dedicated to
               its original purpose: ecotourism in Costa Rica.
                 In two or three years, over a dozen new agencies were cre-
               ated. Coming from diverse backgrounds, businessmen, biol-
               ogists, conservationists, and traditional tour        operators
               began to make their way toward the ecotourism market.
                 As these agencies promoted their country's attractions, the
               growing flow of visitors began to create a need for simple






                48                  A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS

                Figure 3.2 Biologists and students were the main visitors to nature
                reserves during the early -years. They still come in considerable
                numbers.







                      Private Reserves, Parks, and Ecotourism in Costa Rica  49
               accommodations near such parks as Corcovado, Braulio
               Carrillo, and Monteverde. In just a few years, operators and
               other investors created lodges and shelters for ecotourists
               around the countrv. This basic infrastructure allowed tour
               operators to lead groups to some of the country's most beau-
               tiful protected lands, providing visitors comfort or at least
               the opportunity to sleep on dry, clean sheets after a day's
               adventurous trekking through the forest.
                 Sergio Miranda and his family own a plot of land at the
               edge of the Corcovado National Park. During weekends
               spent at their farm, Miranda met scientists who complained
               about the harsh living conditions at Corcovado's shelters
               and the difficulties of obtaining transportation to and from
               the area.
                 He thought he could provide a new means of trabsporta-
               tion and some basic accommodations on the farm as a
               hobby, but during a market research tour in the United
               States, Miranda discovered that instead of attracting scien-
               tists, he aroused the interest of travel agents. Thus was cre-
               ated Marenco, today one of Costa Rica's best-known
               ecotourism resorts.
                 Almost at the same time, Am    'os Bien, a tropical biologist
               who had been working with the Organization for Tropical
               Studies (OTS) and other research institutions in Costa Rica,
               decided attention needed to be focused on the 90 percent of
               the country's lands that were not under legal protection as
               national parks.
                 Bien believed that deforestation occurred due to economic
               needs, and therefore the solutions needed to be financial. He
               then purchased a natural area he named Rara Avis, an ex-
               periment on "rain forest conservation for profit."
                 Ecotourism is the foremost activity of the private reserve,
               though sustainable forestry and alternative forest crops such
               as ornamental plants are also under way. Bien's tourism ac-
               tivities at the edge of Braulio Carrillo National Park cause
               about $80,000 to accrue to the local community annually,
               which makes ecotourism one of the most important sources
               of income and employment for the neighboring settlement
               of Horquetas.







               50                  A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS

               A CASE STUDY: PLACING COSTA RICA
               ON THE NATURALIST'S MAP

               The growth of ecotourism in Costa Rica has been greatly fa-
               cilitated by the presence of the Organization for Tropical
               Studies. Although OTS was neither a commercial travel
               agency nor a conservation organization, it was responsible
               for helping to create Costa Rica's image abroad as a tropical
               paradise through bringing tens of thousands of visitors to
               the country.
                 Created in 1963, the North Carolina-based international
               consortium of universities and research institutions owns
               three research sites in Costa Rica: the La Selva and Palo
               Verde Biological Field Stations and the Robert and Cather-
               ine Wilson Botanical Garden. These function as open-air
               classrooms and laboratories for tropical science students
               and professionals, providing hands-on experience for mem-
               bers of OTS's forty-eight member institutions.
                 More than 2,500 biology students have embarked on their
               first studies of tropical ecology at one of OTS's field stations;
               many have written and published papers resulting from
               their research wotk there; and most tropical scientists work-
               ing in the New World today have at some point studied or
               worked at OTS.
                 When space permits, groups of nonacademic visitors also
               visit La Selva to see birds, frogs, and insects, as well as its
               unique vegetation.
                 Were OTS a profit-making institution, it would be Costa
               Rica's most successful travel agency, with La Selva its main
               resort. All the students and scientists OTS brings to the
               country need to be housed, fed, and provided with guides.
               And the number arriving each year keeps increasing, sur-
               passing 20,000 person-days at La Selva in 1989 (a combined
               measure of number of visitors and time spent in the place).
                 But the direct financial impact of OTS-related ecotourism
               only represents a small part of the organization's overall ef-
               fect on the industry. It is the research and publications gen-
               erated through OTS that has put Costa Rica on the map of







                       Private Reserves, Parks, and Ecotourism in Costa Rica  51
                the ecotourist-especially scientists, but many other types
                of nature lovers as well.


                LA SELVA BIOLOGICAL STATION

                La Selva Biological Field Station is near Puerto Viejo in Sar-
                apiqui, a two-hour drive from San Jos6. The newly paved
                road crosses the central mountain range, then drops
                abruptly toward the Atlantic lowlands of northeastern Costa
                Rica. The vegetation change is dramatic. In less than fifteen
                minutes, mountain cypresses and moss-covered oaks with
                more orchids and bromeliads than a fancy flower shop are
                replaced by white-flowered lilies and tree ferns, and by
                achiote shrubs and African and peach palm trees a little far-
                ther on. Its long-term viability and diversity is assured by
                the fact that it abuts the immense Braulio Carrillo National
                Park, allowing wildlife to travel to and from the station.
                  At first sight, the station does not appear to be a tropical
                jungle, as its Spanish name, La Selva (The Jungle), indicates.
                The entrance leads to a recently acquired pasture with mod-
                ern barracks, housing cabins, a dining room, and a laundry
                room. Each room is a tidy cabin with bunk beds, bathroom,
                running water, and electricity. Visitors are greeted with
                clean sheets and instruction leaflets, a map of the station,
                and registration forms.
                  But on crossing the hanging bridge that separates the pas-
                ture from the old La Selva, and walking past the modern
                laboratories that house sophisticated equipment for chemi-
                cal analysis, geographical information systems, and biolog-
                ical research, one suddenly reaches the real La Selva: 2,000
                acres of virgin forest, swamps, and abandoned plantations.
                  Until 1968, La Selva belonged to ecologist Leslie Holdrige,
                who had planned to turn it into a commercial forest and
                fruit farm. He planted cacao and pejibaye (peach palm) for
                fruits, and laurel for wood, but more than 85 percent of the
                land was preserved as virgin forest.
                  When OTS bought the farm, the plantations were aban-
                doned. A small plot was transformed into an arboretum that








                 52                A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
                 bears Holdrige's name. The plot includes more than 1,000
                 trees with 240 species represented- two-thirds of La Selva's
                 total. The farm also includes secondary forest, pastures, and
                 experimental plots. But most of it is virgin forest: a real
                 jungle with swamps and caymans, lianas and strangler
                 vines, innumerable dwarf palms, and endless varieties of
                 birds.
                   During its early years, La Selva's visitors were mostly
                 North American students, and most research remained the
                 property of "ivory tower" scientists. This changed with time.
                 Courses in Spanish attracted and trained national and re-
                 gional biologists and naturalists. Publications in both En-
                 glish and Spanish began to increase La Selva's popularity as
                 a research station. The wild beauty of the station became
                 apparent as less technical articles were published, and inter-
                 est began to grow among nonspecialists as well-bird-
                 watchers in particular.
                   About 60 percent of OTS visitors return, and some 69 per-
                 cent persuade others to visit as well. The expenditures that
                 have accrued to Costa Rica because of OTS return travel (up
                 through 1987) are about $7.51 million (Laarman 1987). To-
                 day, 13,000 nature tourists visit La Selva each year, spending
                 $291,000 in 1989.


                 REGULATION OF ECOTOURISM

                 The spectacular growth in the ecotourism industry has had
                 a downside. Conservationists and operators, to a lesser de-
                 gree, are concerned that uncontrolled'ecotourism will de-
                 stroy the very resource upon which it is based. One of the
                 most popular beachfront parks, Manuel Antonio, is experi-
                 encing overcrowding, water pollution, trail erosion, and dis-
                 rupted wildlife behavior. Monteverde, which has received
                 the most international press, is virtually overwhelmed with
                 visitors at the peak season. Wildlife at the Carrara National
                 Park has been molested by tourists who walk in unaccom-
                 panied by a guide, even though theyare required to have
                 one.







                         Private Reserves, Parks, and Ecotourism in Costa Rica   53
                   Misuse of the park's resources by the neighboring com-
                 munities is another problem, one that has not vet been ade-
                 quately addressed by tour operators or the government. It is
                 common to see small homesteads carved into the sides of the
                 national parks, trees cut down within park limits, and exotic
                 wildlife poached for sale to the North or for food on the
                 table. Each national park includes an environmental educa-
                 tion component in its management plan that is supposed to
                 engender community support.
                   However, with a few exceptions such as Braulio Carrillo
                 National Park and Guanacaste National Park, these pro-
                 grams have not been very successful. In Braulio Carrillo,
                 park managers have organized local communities to take ad-
                 vantage of the income possibilities presented by ecotourism,
                      in Guanacaste, managers have hired local citizens to
                 help manage the park, as well as initiated extensive environ-
                 mental education programs.
                   In response to abuses by operators and tourists, informal
                 regulations regarding the conduct of tours have started to
                 emerge. Nature-oriented tours are to be led by biologists or
                 other natural history experts. Groups must be kept small
                 and manageable. Carrying capacity has to be respected for
                 protected areas. Accommodations should be built at a con-
                 siderable distance from parks and reserves, and money has
                 to be spent as close to the wildlands as possible, in order to
                 engender local support.
                   Some of these regulations are being respected. But for the
                 most part, compliance is self-monitored. And ecotourism
                 continues to grow without planning or oversight.
                   General tourism in Costa Rica is regulated by the legal
                 arm of the National Tourism Board UCT), itself a part of the
                 Ministry of Industry and Commerce. ICT is a mammoth in-
                 stitution, dealing with such varied tourism issues as trans-
                 portation, infrastructure, foreign investment, advertising,
                 zoning, and regulation.. On first glance, it would seem clear
                 that ICT should provide regulations for nature tourism, as
                 part of its other tourism activities.
                   On closer look, the issue becomes more complicated. Na-
                 tional legislation has put the regulation of all activities deal-






             54                 A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
             ing with protected areas under the responsibility of the
             Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy, and Mines.
               The ministry acknowledges the need to regulate parks vis-
             itation, but states that each area must define its own regu-
             lations in its management plan, taking into consideration
             such variables as carrying capacity and work priorities.
             Such management plans exist in only a few parks, and are
             being implemented in just a handful. Visitor regulations, if
             they exist, generally address simple issues, such as alcohol
             consumption, entrance of pets, use of portable stereos and
             footballs, and extraction of plants and wildlife. The carrying
             capacity of the sites is seldom determined.
               Visitor services (which could help control the negative im-
             pacts of visitation) are also lacking. Parks personnel are
             rarely trained, even to the extent of providing basic guid-
             ance and information services. Interpretation trails exist in
             only a few of the most developed parks. Information for the
             visitor is next to nonexistent, and the Parks Service has a
             budget that barely pays survival salaries to the existing per-
             sonnel. This budget has not been increased in nearly ten
             years due to the freeze imposed on governmental growth by
             international financing institutions, and to the fact that park
             entrance fees, which are kept extremely low for Costa Ri-
             cans, are not raised for the foreign visitor who can afford to
             pay a good deal more.
               The National Tourism Board sees clearly that the growing
             number of visitors attracted by protected areas presents an
             opportunity for economic growth. Tourism in general is the
             third largest foreign exchange earner in the country (after
             coffee and bananas) and brought in $132.7 million in 1986.
             According to recent visitor surveys, about 36 percent specif-
             ically cite ecotourism as among their main reasons for vis-
             iting Costa Rica (Boo 1990).
               Yet ecotourism is not a priority in ICT's budget. Tourism
             officials assume that through promoting the country as a
             general tourism destination (emphasizing beaches, hotels,
             etc.), ecotourism will indirectly benefit. Encouraging large-
             scale tourism, huge beach developments, and providing for-
             eign investment packages are the board's main priorities.
               Incentives provided for tourism investment by ICT rarely







                      Private Reserves, Parks, and Ecotourism in Costa Rica  55
               apply to the small kinds of development needed for nature
               tourism. Paperwork is sometimes so complicated that small
               investors shy away. And regulations on guides and transpor-
               tation services are generally not appropriate for ecotourism.
                 Tourism officials claim the main responsibility for regula-
               tion lies with conservationists and that development should
               be conducted by the private sector. They have not yet clari-
               fied what ICT's role should be, but it appears clear that it
               will remain on the sidelines.
                 Private entrepreneurs consider this a mistake, since the
               number of visitors coming to the country for nature-oriented
               activities has been growing steadily, to reach almost 40 per-
               cent of all tourists (the total number of tourists in 1989 was
               375,951). Such numbers, they argue, make it clear that na-
               ture tourism should be a priority of the Tourism Board.
                 Conservation officials also state that much of nature tour-
               ism should be regulated by the Tourism Board, though they
               have developed some minor regulations related to usage of
               trails, extraction of natural resources, and hours of visita-
               tion. On issues such as appropriately trained guides and in-
               vestment and regulation for tourism infrastructure near the
               parks, neither the National Parks Service nor the National
               Tourism Board is willing to take responsibility.
                 In an attempt to address this problem, a special coopera-
               tive board on ecotourism was founded in March of 1990. Its
               members included representatives from private enterprise,
               the Parks Service, the National Tourism Board, and other
               institutions. No action was taken at the meeting, however,
               and the next meeting has yet to be called. Most were agreed
               that if the new board were to function, funds would have to
               be found to hire someone to coordinate the effort.



               THE BOOM: PRESENT STATE
               OF THE INDUSTRY

               By 1990, ten years after the first ecotourismagency was cre-
               ated in Costa Rica, the number of enterprises dealing with
               nature-oriented visitors had reached unexpected propor-






               56                 A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
               tions. More than twenty specialized agencies were function-
               ing, nature shelters and resorts had opened throughout the
               country, and guide-training facilities were being developed.
                 The real "boom," according to private entrepreneurs, has
               occurred in the last three years, after the image of Costa Rica
               was projected around the world by two events: the Seven-
               teenth General Assembly of the World Conservation Union,
               held in San Jos6 in 1988, where the country's record of ac-
               complishment in conservation was made public; and the
               award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Costa Rica's president Os-
               car Arias in 1987 for his efforts to create peace in Central
               America, thereby ridding the country of the widespread im-
               age of Central American "banana republics," haunted by
               wars and dictatorships.
                 Since then, the number of visitors coming to Costa Rica
               has been on a steady incline. The need for such facilities as
               shelters, guides, transportation, interpreters, equipment
               rentals, tourism operators, and managers is also increasing.
               Hotels are now full most of the year. Hot spots such as Mon-
               teverde do not have a low tourism season anymore.
                 Ecological tourism centers are sprouting up everywhere,
               and those already in existence are considering expansion
               and diversification.
                 A graduate course on ecotourism has been created by a
               private university to prepare naturalist guides, tour opera-
               tion managers, and supervisors for entrance into this grow-
               ing field.
                 Souvenir shops have filled up with nature books, posters,
               and maps. Colorful ceramic birds are replacing the typical
               painted oxcarts as favorite souvenirs. Postcards feature na-
               ture instead of churches. And the prefix "eco" is featured in
               almost any ad dealing with tourism these days. When Costa
               Ricans want to sell something, they paint it green.
                 International funding agencies, both those interested in
               development and those dealing with conservation, are
               studying and funding nature tourism activities.
                 This enthusiasm is mostly considered positive by conser-
               vationists, yet some warnings are already being heard. Fore-
               most is the fact that carrying capacity should not be







                        Private Reserves, Parks, and Ecotourism in Costa Rica    57
                surpassed. Conservationists point out that a park is like a
                movie theater: if its capacity is 150, visitor 151 will not fit in
                and will endanger the security of the others. Yet the carrying
                capacities of most parks have yet to be determined.
                  Another important consideration is the distribution of the
                benefits. One of conservationists' basic reasons to support
                nature tourism is the need to provide alternative sources of
                income to park neighbors, to avoid their coveting the land
                for agriculture, hunting, logging, or other such activities. If
                economic benefits do not reach local populations, the battle
                for conservation will be lost.
                  The need for well-trained personnel, to provide both secu-
                rity and information to the visitors, is also growing among
                those in charge of protected areas.
                  Tourism infrastructure near the parks has been expand-
                ing, although regulations and proper incentives do not yet
                exist. This development could get out of hand unless speedy
                measures are taken.
                  Ecotourism is based on a fragile and limited resource: pro-
                tected natural ecosystems. Unregulated and excessive eco-
                tourism ultimately will destroy itself. Yet efforts to plan and
                manage ecotourism in Costa Rica are still in the early stages.
                More research and regulation are needed soon if this new
                industry is to achieve its potential.



                                         REFERENCES

                Boo, Elizabeth. 1990. Ecotourism: The Potentials and Pitfalls.
                  Vol. 2. Washington, D.C.: World Wildlife Fund-U.S.
                Laarman, Jan. 1987. "A Survey of Return Visits to Costa Rica
                  by OTS Participants and Associates." Working paper. Ra-
                  leigh: North Carolina State University.












                                    CHAPTER 4

                   Tourism in Greater Yellowstone:
                           Maximizing the Good,
                            Minimizing the Bad,
                            Eliminating the Ugly


                                     DENNis GLICK






               S
                   ome hail tourism as a panacea that will cure the eco-
                   nomic woes  of the sprawling 14-million-acre Greater Yel-
               lowstone Ecosystem. Others warn tourism could be a Trojan
               horse that will disgorge all manner of ecological and social
               chaos on this spectacular region. Yet despite these varied
               opinions, nearly everyone agrees that tourism in Greater Yel-
               lowstone will exert increasing influence on the area's eco-
               nomic, environmental, and social systems. Concerned
               conservationists are taking a hard look at this emerging in-
               dustry and its impacts on Greater Yellowstone, and are plan-
               ning for its future.


                                              58






                                Tourism in Greater Yellowstone               59


              AN ECOSYSTEM PROFILE

              From outer space, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem ap-
              pears on a satellite image as a vast island of mountains and
              plateaus, rising from the high plains to form one of the most
              extensive tracts of wildlands in the lower forty-eight states
              (see figure 4.1). Straddling the tri-state area of Wyoming,
              Montana, and Idaho, the Ecosystem encompasses two na-
              tional parks (Yellowstone and Grand Teton), portions of
              seven national forests, three national wildlife refuges, Bu-
              reau of Land Management lands, and state and private prop-
              erties.
                The region boasts the world's most extensive array of gey-
              sers and geothermal features, some of North America's larg-
              est herds of elk, bison, and bighorn sheep, over 300 species
              of birds (nearly half of those found in the United States), and
              several threatened and endangered plants and animals rang-
              ing from the diminutive Yellow Spring Beauty to the majes-
              tic grizzly bear.
                Perhaps even more significant, Greater Yellowstone rep-
              resents one of the largest, essentially intact temperate zone
              ecosystems on earth. It is a resource of national and inter-
              national importance. Created in 1872, Yellowstone National
              Park was both the birthplace of the national park movement
              and one of the first areas listed on the United Nations' regis-
              try of World Heritage Sites.
                This combination of spectacular scenery; readily visible
              big game, wondrous geothermal features, nearly unsur-
              passed outdoor recreation opportunities, and unique history
              draws nearly 10 million tourists annually to the public lands
              of the Ecosystem. The majority of these visitors are "nature
              tourists,' that is, they are touring relatively undisturbed nat-
              ural areas with the specific objective of admiring, studying,
              and enjoying the scenery and its flora and fauna. Indeed, a
              survey by the Montana Department of Tourism revealed that
              over three-quarters of all out-of-state tourists reportedly
              visit national parks while vacationing, and that over 90 per-







                               60                                     A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
                               Figure 4.1 Recreation sites in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

                                                                                                           Al                      Recreation Sites
                                                 A             A                                                                        in the
                                                                                                                A                  Greater Yellowstone
                                                                                                      A                            AEcosystem
                                                                                                                                   A
                                                                                                                                       A A       A
                                                                               A                           A                       A
                                                                           A    A
                                                                           A    AA           A               A                                  A
                                                              A            &    A      "i A                 A
                                                     E-s                                         A
                                         AL                            GALLATIN               NATIONAL     A
                                                       A                   AL                                  CUSTER              AA
                                                       A                             FOREST                                                      Red
                                                        A                            A                                 NATIONAL                   Mg.
                                               A                                            Ga@e,                                  FOREST

                                             BEAVERMEA                                                                             AA
                                               NATIONAL             A                                 A                            A
                                               FOREST
                                                   A                                 YELLOWSTONE                                   A
                                      REO ROC                                             A Ali&                                   SHOSHT
                                          LAKES                                                                                      A A
                                           NWR                                Ow"t A
                                                                               jYWk"@
                                           A                                        A                                                              0 Cody
                                   A                                 TAROHEI

                                                                    NATIONAL
                                                                A A        ST   NATIONAL                PARK
                                                              r                      A A                                           A
                                                                 0 AsrdW
                                                                                                     Grand Teton
                                               St A@0,,y 0                                           National
                                                                                                     Park                          FOREST    A
                                                                                                        A A
                                                                           D, s                                 A                  A
                                                                                                               A A
                                                                                                A&    A                            A
                                              O,W.                            AL              ENATiON-L A                          ou"s            WIND RIVER
                                                                                               LK REFUGE    BRIOGER
                                                                           A              Jackw@
                                                             CARIBOU           I                                                                       INDIAN
                                     Boundary of                                          A A A&             TETON
                                           Greater                NATIONAL                                      A                  A
                                      Yellowstone        GRAYS
                                                           LAKE
                                       Ecosystem           LAKE
                                                          MWA         FOREST         AA     NATIONAL         &                     FOREST          RESERV<ATION
                                                                                       A

                                                                                                                                                    A
                                                                                                                                             A           A  A
                                                                   A                                                                                        A


                                                                                                                   A Public Campgrounas
                                                                                      A
                                                                                                                  0- Downhill Ski Areas
                                                                                       A                         A Large Retain CorV*xes
                                                                                                                                   010


                                                                                                                                   a10
                                                                                                                                              A







                                     Tourism in Greater Yellowstone              61
                  cent of those rated Montana as a "good" or "excellent" place
                  to enjoy outdoor recreation (Brock et al. 1990).
                     Nature-oriented tourists, however, are not only from out-
                  side the region. In 1985, the percentage of Idaho, Montana,
                  and Wyoming residents who participated in "nonconsump-
                  tive" wildlife-related activities (observing or photographing)
                  was nearly the highest in the nation. Yellowstone Park, for
                  instance, reported that 19 percent of its visitors in July of
                  1989 were from Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana and ihat
                  during the off-season, the percentage of regional visitors
                  doubled (Brandt 1990). The Wyoming Recreation Commis-
                  sion found that "the most active participants in backpacking
                  [in Wyoming] are typically lifelong residents of Wyoming"
                  (Wyoming Recreation Commission 1985).
                     Greater Yellowstone tourism statistics compiled by gov-
                  ernment agencies seem to indicate a general leveling off of
                  annual visitation, though a significant shift in seasonality
                  has been observed. In 1967, for example, around 5,200 trav-
                  elers braved the harsh winter weather of Yellowstone Park
                  to explore the region during this formerly tranquil "off-
                  season." By 1988, that number had skyrocketed to 71,000
                  (Yellowstone National Park 1990). The implications of this
                  shift affect not only the local economies, but also the health
                  of wildlife and natural habitats.
                     The accuracy of these visitor counts are, however, some-
                  what suspect, particularly when one considers the finding
                  that the overall number of visitors has remained stable. One
                  researcher described a recreation estimation procedure
                  commonly used by the Forest Service in the Pacific North-
                  west as the "SWAG" Method-" Scientific Wild Ass Guess"
                  (Kocis 1986). Research methodologies vary widely among
                  the 'resource management agencies due to a lack of commu-
                  nication and coordination, though some agencies are start-
                  ing to increase cooperation on research and investigations.
                     It is difficult to project just what the future holds for the
                  tourism industry in the region. Projections of trends in tour-
                  ism generally are based on four fueling factors: population,
                  income, travel patterns, and amount of leisure time. How-







                62                 A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
                ever, in the case of nature tourism, a fifth factor, the ecologi-
                cal condition of the wildland resource, should be added.
                  Nature tourists want to see nature, not degraded land-
                scapes or depleted wildlife populations. As the cumulative
                impacts of a host of development activities, such as logging,
                mining, oil and gas development, and urbanization, whittle
                away at Greater Yellowstone's natural attractions, the pos-
                sibility for increasing or even maintaining tourism numbers
                could be in jeopardy. Already forests and natural habitats
                have been fragmented, wildlife migratory routes -disrupted,
                and important ecosystem processes and components elimi-
                nated or severely altered.
                  Further complicating the situation is the fact that this vast
                region with its complex ecological interrelationships is
                managed by twenty-seven different agencies, including the
                National Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the
                Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and three
                state fish and wildlife services. These agencies often have
                conflicting management objectives-the Park Service wants
                to manage the area for preservation, the Forest Service for
                timber, for example.
                  Resource protection in Greater Yellowstone is required
                not only to maintain biodiversity, but also to protect the nat-
                ural features that attract tourists. Nations around the world
                are accelerating efforts to establish and develop parks and
                opportunities for the nature tourist. With increasing mobil-
                ity and affluence, the choices for travelers interested in nat-
                ural history continue to expand. Older, well-established
                parks and reserves must now compete with the more
                recently protected natural wonders of other regions and
                nations. The tourism market is a global market, with nature-
                tourism-related opportunities and activities in one region
                affecting those in another. But as long as its unique combi-
                nation of biological and geological features is preserved,
                Greater Yellowstone can be expected to continue to receive
                large numbers of regional, national, and international visi-
                tors.
                  What will be the impact of this flow of humanity on both
                the environmental and socioeconomic characteristics of







                                 Tourism in Greater Yellowstone              63
                Greater Yellowstone? A 1985 report prepared       for the Wvo-
                ming Futures Project-which was an attempt to plan for an
                economically viable future for Wyoming-stated that "this
                industry [tourism] can have significant economic and cul-
                tural advantages for Wyoming, it must be further developed
                [through improved marketing]" (Public Policy Center 1985).
                But there is, as the saying goes, no such thing as a free lunch.
                How much will such a banquet cost the environment and the
                people of Greater Yellowstone?


                THE GOOD

                There is no doubt that the direct and indirect benefits of
                tourism have been impressive and far-reaching in the case of
                Greater Yellowstone. In fact, Joseph Sax, author of Moun-
                tains Without Handrails, cites evidence that the impetus for
                the establishment of Yellowstone and several other national
                parks came from the lobbying efforts of early tourism pro-
                moters. Sax notes that while the popular account of the
                founding of Yellowstone "holds that the idea for the park was
                conceived by one of the early exploratory parties," in fact,
                idan agent for the Northern Pacific Railroad Company,
                passed on to Washington a suggestion . . .'Let Congress pass
                a bill reserving the Great Geyser Basin as a public park for-
                ever'. . . Subsequently the Northern Pacific became the prin-
                cipal means of access to Yellowstone and its first
                concessionaire providing services for tourists."
                  Tourism officials today, concerned about maintaining the
                natural attractions that are drawing tourists, are encourag-
                ing other state and federal agencies to preserve wildland
                areas. Sandra Guedes, of the "Travel Montana' office in Mon-
                tana's Department of Commerce, foresees "increasing coop-
                eration between tourism promoters and organizations
                whose mandate is the protection of natural resources." This
                seems only appropriate for an agency that has adopted the
                slogan "Montana: Unspoiled, unforgettable."
                  Yellowstone National Park is on the short list of natural
                icons considered a "must see" by the American public, and






                 64                  A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
                 is one of the most heavily visited parks in the system. Past
                 and present visitors to Greater Yellowstone have become the
                 Ecosystem's staunchest defenders and many have become
                 active conservationists. Thus, ecotourism to the park plays
                 an important educational role and is largely responsible for
                 the fact that there is a sizable national and even interna-
                 tional constituency lobbying for its protection.
                   Nature tourism is not only important due to its educa-
                 tional and conservation potential, of course. The associated
                 economic benefits provide incentive for people to manage
                 the resource for nature tourism.
                   In Greater Yellowstone, direct economic impacts at the re-
                 gional level are difficult to assess. Indirect impacts-goods
                 and services purchased by businesses serving the tourism
                 market-are even more problematic. Still, increasingly so-
                 phisticated studies are providing some measure of tourist
                 expenditures and contribution to local economies.
                   In the state of Montana, for example, nonresident' travelers
                 spent approximately $658 million in direct expenditures
                 (lodging, travel, food, etc.) in 1989, according to the Institute
                 for Tourism and Recreation Research. Travelers to Wyoming
                 spent $700 million in 1982 (Public Policy Center 1985).
                   In a report prepared for Congress, the U.S. Congressional
                 Research Service found that     44recreation supports more em-
                 ployment than any other activity in the National Forests of
                 Greater Yellowstone, and except for phosphate mining in the
                 Caribou National Forest, is responsible for two thirds of the
                 jobs resulting from all activities in the National Forests." In
                 the Montana portion of the Ecosystem, the estimated ex-
                 penditures of nonresident travelers in 1988 was $140 million
                 and total economic impact generated was nearly $250 mil-
                 lion, according to the University of Montana. The same re-
                 port stated that regional tourism generated 5,800 jobs (Insti-
                 tute for Tourism and Recreation Research 1989).
                   In Wyoming, the county that had the lowest unemploy-
                 ment rate in 1988 was Teton, gateway to Grand Teton Na-
                 tional Park and considered by some as the "tourism mecca"
                 of the Ecosystem. The economic impact of tourism in the
                 Idaho portion of the Ecosystem is considerably less (its por-








                                 Tourism in Greater Yellowstone              65
                tion of the ecosystem is smaller, and the area around it more
                degraded), but, according to the Idaho Department of Com-
                merce, "the communities of Fremont and Teton counties pos-
                sess a tremendous opportunity to enhance tourism services
                and destinations that will add to the attractions of the Yel-
                lowstone/Grand Teton Complex" (Idaho Department of Com-
                merce 1989). The development of tourism in eastern Idaho
                will undoubtedly increase visitation and length of stay in
                this corner of the Ecosystem.
                  Tourism-related jobs are often stereotyped as low-paying
                and of short duration. Tourism promoters argue that these
                jobs provide entry-level opportunities for new additions to
                the work force and for people in need of employment. In ad-
                dition, the work is often sought after by students and others
                wishing part-time positions, due to their seasonal nature.
                  Tourism proponents point out that many of these jobs are,
                in fact, well-paying 'professional positions. The industry re-
                quires a host of skilled personnel, ranging from managers
                and administrators to computer specialists and account-
                ants. In addition, a large percentage of tourism expenditures
                (28 percent in Montana in 1989) goes directly to retail sales,
                and not only restaurants and lodging (Institute for Tourism
                and Recreation Research 1989).


                THE BAD AND THE UGLY

                                             P
                "Tourism destroys tourism   ,' reported the Organization for
                Economic Cooperation and Development in 1980 (Boo 1990).
                In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the actions of tourists
                have degraded fragile resources and, in some cases, caused
                irreparable environmental damage. Minute and Ebony gey-
                sers, at the Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone Park, have
                ceased erupting because of litter carelessly tossed in their
                mouths. Near Old Faithful, the brilliant colors of the Morn-
                ing Glory pool have faded due to a lowering of water temper-
                attire after garbage plugged its vent.
                  Other site-specific impacts of tourism include the tram-
                pling of vegetation, noise pollution, litter, and water pollu-







               66                 A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS

               Figure 4.2 Bison and snowmobilers interact in Yellowstone
               National Park.




                                                      Its.





                                                  Mao%%




                                                    tie

                              z;


               tion. Giardia has become rampant throughout the waters of
               the ecosystem, solely due to the activities of outdoor recrea-
               tionists. Forest fires have been started by careless campers
               who have also stripped areas of firewood, disrupting natural
               processes. Some poaching is attributed to tourists, and the
               introduction of exotic species for fishermen and hunters,
               such as eastern brook trout, has wreaked havoc on native
               animal populations. Clearly, these actions are      Iplacing a
               heavv burden on the resources of Greater Yellowstone.
                 In addition to these obvious problems, other, more subtle
               environmental modifications are also having a significant
               cumulative impact. For example, in January of 1990, a lone
               cross-country skier was attacked by a coyote near Old Faith-
               ful. This was the climax of several episodes of emboldened
               covotes threatening park visitors. Upon closer investigation,
               it was discovered that tourists had been accustoming coy-
               otes to human handouts, inadvertently signing the coyotes'
               death warrants (they were shot by the Park Service). Unin-
               formed tourists continue to feed the coyotes, however, and
                                                             ` N







                                  Tourism in Greater Yellowstone              67
                the animals have now replaced bears as Yellowstone's most
                common roadside beggars.
                   In 1978, Congress required that the National Park Service
                establish a visitor carrying capacity for each unit of the na-
                tional park system. The National Parks and Conservation
                Foundation, which has been assisting the Park Service in de-
                veloping a management process for evaluating and manag-
                ing visitor use in the parks, reports that "the National Park
                Service's response to these calls for controls has been scat-
                tered and inconsistent" (National Parks and Conservation
                Foundation 1988).
                   Many national parks, including Yellowstone, are being
                managed according to outdated management plans that do
                not take into account new stresses on the ecosystem. For ex-
                ample, the Park Service developed a detailed plan for winter
                use in Yellowstone, through upgrading visitor facilities, be-
                fore they prepared an environmental impact assessment.
                A recently released "Winter Use Plan Environmental As-
                sessment" does nothing of the sort, but is a general policy
                document that says the Service will develop a "visitor use
                management process" (Yellowstone National Park 1990).
                   Though the era of blatant commercialization of the parks
                seems to be on the wane, a significant portion of the area has
                been developed for hotels and other types of concessions.
                The construction of this infrastructure has had major envi-
                ronmental impacts, as has the increased visitor use due to
                their presence.
                   Tourism is also changing the nature of many communities
                bordering the Ecosystem. In some cases, the impact has been
                positive. Efforts to develop a thriving tourism industry were
                responsible for impressive restoration of buildings and in-
                frastructure improvements in West Yellowstone and the de-
                velopment of the widely acclaimed Buffalo Bill museum in
                Cody. But efforts to capture tourist dollars have also resulted
                in numerous ill-planned and environmentally unsound de-
                velopments. Billboards, garish signs, and other tourist
                "lures" increasingly clutter the otherwise magnificent land-
                scapes of Paradise Valley in Montana and Jackson Hole,
                Wyoming, among other sites.







               68                 A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
                 Research on the negative socioeconomic impacts of tour-
               ism generally focuses on so-called fragile or exotic cultures,
               especially those of the Third World. But it is evident that the
               social, cultural, and economic makeup of rural American
               communities can also be turned topsy-turvy by poorly man-
               aged tourism - Traffic jams in former one-horse to%k@    _i, soar-
               ing land prices, sprawling development gobbling up
               precious greenery, deteriorating air quality, these are the all-
               too-common trappings of the modern "tourist town."
                 While these problems relate directly to the activities of
               tourists, it is often the indirect impacts of tourism-the con-
               struction of visitor facilities, roads, parking lots, trails, and
               other tourism-related infrastructure- that cause the most
               damage to supposedly "protected wildlands." Termed "in-
               dustrial tourism" by writer Edward Abbey, and a "recreation
               trap" by conservationist Joyce Kelley (Kutay 1989), many
               believe that tourism threatens to swap many of the nation's
               crown jewels for dime store baubles.
                 The saga of the Fishing Bridge Campground and Visitor's
               Center in Yellowstone National Park is one of the most ob-
               vious examples of a tourism facility that has had a devastat-
               ing impact on a precious living resource, the grizzly bear. As
               its name would imply, Fishing Bridge is a favorite fishing site
               for both humans and bears. The inevitable conflicts between
               the two breeds of fishermen have resulted in the death or
               removal of more grizzlies than in any other site in the Eco-
               system.
                 In an effort to resolve the problem, it was proposed that a
               new recreational facility be developed in West Thumb on
               Yellowstone Lake, where grizzlies are less common, and
               Fishing Bridge be closed to humans. However, some local
               residents, concerned about the possible diversion of tourist
               traffic from their city to other gateway communities, lobbied
               against its closure. Fishing Bridge is still operating, albeit
               with some new, bear-related restrictions, and a new, sprawl-
               ing complex of stores, restaurants, lodging, and other struc-
               tures has been built. Fortunately, improved management
               has led to less conflict with the grizzlies, and the situation
               appears to be improving.







                                  Tourism in Greater Yellowstone             69

               MAXIMIZING THE GOOD,
               MINIMIZING THE BAD

               It is possible to maximize the positive economic, environ-
               mental, and social impacts of tourism in Greater Yellow-
               stone, and reduce or eliminate the negative. Tourism
               projects, especially those with a "nature tourism" orienta-
               tion, are becoming a standard component of efforts to estab-
               lish sustainable economies in areas adjacent to protected
               wildlands around the world. "We see the possibility for a
               much stronger alliance between tourism and conservation:'
               says Jim Thorsell, director of the Parks Commission of the
               International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
               (Kutay 1989).
                 In Greater Yellowstone, the economic contribution of the
               service-oriented sector of the economy, which includes tour-
               ism, has far surpassed that of the extractive industries (tim-
               ber, mining, oil and gas development). However, there is
               growing concern that the rapid expansion of tourism could
               threaten the conservation gains associated with the curtail-
               ment of the more blatantly destructive land use practices.
                 "Proactive" efforts to plan tourism so that it meets both
               economic and conservation goals are under way in the Eco-
               system. These are being carried out by federal, state, and
               local government agencies, as well as by private organiza-
               tions and concerned citizens.
                 The Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a conservation group
               dedicated to protecting the ecological integrity of the region
               and promoting an "ecosystem approach" to resource man-
               agement, has launched an ambitious effort to develop a blue-
               print for the long-term protection of the Ecosystem. Part of
               the first phase of this project, titled "Greater Yellowstone
               Tomorrow," is taking a close look at the environmental and
               economic impacts of tourism. In the second phase, recom-
               mendations for environmentally sensitive development in
               the region, including nature-based tourism, will be pre-
               sented. These will form part of a comprehensive set of re-
               source management guidelines that must be implemented if







                70                A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
                the wilderness qualities of Greater Yellowstone are to be pre-
                served. An important component of the project is a collabo-
                rative effort with several Ecosystem communities to begin
                to build economies that are based on a sustainable approach
                to development.
                  The federal government's Greater Yellowstone Coordinat-
                ing Committee (GYCC), which is formulating an Ecosystem-
                wide set of management goals and "implementing criteria"
                to govern National Park Service and Forest Service activi-
                ties, has included several goals that relate directly to out-
                door recreation and tourism. For example, the committee's
                philosophy statement calls for protecting "the sense of nat-
                uralness," and explains that the achievement of this goal
                "implies that management recognizes the worth of this eco-
                logically unified area as a source of education, recreation
                and inspiration" (GYCC 1989).
                  At the site-specific level, the Park Service has initiated
                work on a winter use plan and environmental assessment for
                Yellowstone Park. This long overdue study will detail plans
                for developing and managing the increasing winter use in
                the park and will assess the environmental impacts of these
                proposed activities. While to some degree it is being written
                 after the fact," it is nevertheless a step in the right direction.
                  The National Forest Service is also carrying out some in-
                novative tourism-related activities. An ambitious wilderness
                education program has reduced substantially the impacts of
                backcountry use in the popular Absaroka Beartooth Wilder-
                ness. Participants in the program learn low-impact camping
                techniques such as how to manage horses, use stoves (versus
                fuelwood), and minimize trail use/erosion.
                  The governor of Montana and the state Department of
                Fish, Wildlife and Parks recently embarked on a vision quest
                of their own. A State Parks Futures Committee, composed of
                legislators, conservationists, businessmen, and government
                representatives, was formed to find permanent solutions to
                the financial and management problems plaguing the state
                park system. They are preparing a report outlining the com-
                ponents of a well-managed system, the status of the current
                system, and how changes can be made. The report will in-







                              Tourism In Greater Yellowstone             71
            clude feedback from local citizens: fifteen workshops were
            held around the state, and local residents were invited to
            comment on related economic, social, and environmental is-

            sues.
              The town of Dubois, Wyoming, together with the Wvo-
            ming Department of Fish and Game, the Forest Service and
            the Bureau of Land Management, has initiated work on an
            interpretive center that will focus on the natural history of
            the Rockv Mountain bighorn sheep, which are common1v
            seen bv motorists passing through this scenic area. This is
            just one element of the "Dubois 2000" project, a community-
            organized effort to develop a shared vision for the future of
            the town. "Tourism," according to Pam Connally of the 2000
            Committee, "will definitely play an important role in gener-
            ating the revenue needed to make this vision a realitv."
              Education can often be an effective management tool for
            reducing visitor impacts on natural resources. It is also a
            prerequisite for catalyzing interest and active involvement
            in conservation activities. Recognizing this, a symbiotic re-
            lationship has developed between two important education-
            oriented facilities and the Yellowstone and Grand Teton
            national parks. The Teton Science School near Jackson Hole,
            Wyoming, and the Yellowstone Institute, located within Yel-
            lowstone Park, are nonprofit learning centers offering a wide
            array of field courses and hands-on natural history experi-
            ences. Both have played an important role in increasing en-
            vironmental knowledge and awareness of park visitors, and
            certainly neither facility would exist if it were not for the
            spectacular open-air classrooms offered by the adjacent
            parks.
              In August of 1990, over 100 city, county, and state planners
            from around the West descended on Bozeman, Montana, for
            the Tenth Annual Western Planners Conference. The theme
            focused on sustainable community development. The disad-
            vantages and benefits of tourism, as well as how to plan for
            it and protect the natural resources that sustain it, were a
            principal focus of discussion.
              Many other public and private entities are gearing up for
            involvement in the planning and implementation of tourism







              72                 A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
              in the region. Motives for this flurry of activity range from
              maximizing profits to minimizing destruction. But, without
              doubt, linking tourism development with good planning,
              thorough impact assessment, a strong education orienta-
              tion, identification of carrying capacity, and appropriate re-
              source management will help to ensure local economic
              benefits with minimal disruption of environmental and so-
              cial systems.
                 Conservationists have found that tourism is a double-
              edged sword-able to save the day if skillfully wielded, but
              liable to cut one's leg off if handled carelessly. In response,
              the, Greater Yellowstone Coalition is in the process of devel-
              oping a series of recommendations aimed at maximizing
              tourism's potentialto save the day, while minimizing its de-
              structive aspects. Though still in the formulation stage, pre-
              liminary recommendations follow.


              RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LOW-IMPACT
              ECOTOURISM IN GREATER
              YELLOWSTONE

              The following list of recommendations for minimizing neg-
              ative tourism impacts in Greater Yellowstone is based upon
              the characteristics of tourism in the region, the natural and
              socioeconomic features affected, and the existing and pro-
              jected opportunities for improving tourism management.

                 1. Proposed recreation and tourism activities and devel-
                                                                        ellow-
                    opment should not in any way degrade Greater Y
                    stone's wildland resources.
                 2. Environmental impact assessments should be carried
                    out for all tourism development projects that have the
                    potential to degrade natural and cultural resources.
                 3. Planning for tourism development must be well inte-
                    grated with other planning efforts, particularly those
                    related to environmental protection.
                 4. Visitor management should be thoroughly addressed in






                                Tourism in Greater Yellowstone            73
                   the management plans for federal and state resource
                   agencies, and in the development and master plans of
                   cities and counties.
                5. Before initiating tourism and recreational develop-
                   ments, the carrying capacity of the natural resources
                   that will be impacted should be assessed. After project
                   implementation, sites should be continually moni-
                   tored, impacts identified, and measures taken to elimi-
                   nate environmental degradation.
                6. Tourism programs should include a strong environ-
                   mental education component that provides guidelines
                   for "low-impact tourism    '" stimulates an ecosystem
                   awareness, and provides for direct participation in con-
                   servation efforts.
                7. Communities developing tourism based upon natural
                   resources should work with resource managers to en-
                   sure that the tourism resource is well protected and
                   managed.
                8. Information- and data-gathering efforts related to tour-
                   ists and tourism should be improved and standardized.
                   Trends in tourism and its impact on resource manage-
                   ment and protection should be closely monitored.



                                      REFERENCES

              Abbey, E. 1968. Desert Solitaire. New York: Ballantine.
              Boo, E. 1990. Ecotourism: The Potential and Pitfalls. Wash-
                ington, D.C.: World Wildlife Fund-U.S.
              Brandt, K. 1990. Assistant to the superintendent, Yellow-
                stone National Park, personal communication.
              Brock, I et al. 1990. Montana Tourism Marketing Research
                Project. Bozeman, Montana: Montana State University.
              Congressional Research Service. 1987. Greater Yellowstone
                Ecosystem, An Analysis of Data Submitted by Federal and
                State Agencies. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress.
              Connally, P 1990. Member of the Dubois 2000 Committee,
                Dubois, Wyoming, personal communication.






            74                 A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
            D'Alesandro, N. 1985. Concessions in Our National Parks-
              Are They Necessary and Appropriate? Salt Lake City: Uni-
              versity of Utah, College of Law.
            Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee (GYCC). 1989.
              Vision for the Future of the Greater Yellowstone Area. Bill-
              ings, Montana: GYCC.
            Idaho Department of Commerce. 1989. Fremont-Teton Tour-
              ism Diversification Project. Boise: Idaho Department of
              Commerce.
            Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research. 1989. 1988
              Non-Resident Travel in Montana, An Economic Report. Mis-
              soula, Montana: University of Montana.
            Kocis, S. 1986. "The Adoption and Diffusion of Methods for
              Estimating Recreation Use in the Pacific Northwest Re-
              gion of the U.S. Forest Service." Doctoral thesis. University
              of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho.
            Kutay, K. 1989. "A New Ethic in Adventure Travel." Buzz-
              worm 1, no. 4.
            National Parks and Conservation Association (NPCA). 1988.
              Parks and People: A Natural Relationship. Washington,
              D.C.: NPCA.
            National Park Service. 1990. Joint Winter Use Plan for Yellow-
              stone National Park. Draft. Denver, Colorado: Denver Ser-
              vice Center.
            Public Policy Center. 1985. Building a Stronger Wyoming.
              Menlo Park, California: Wyoming Futures Project, Public
              Policy Center.
            Sax, J. 1980. Mountains Without Handrails. Ann Arbor, Mich-
              igan: University of Michigan Press.
            Wyoming Recreation Commission. 1985. State Comprehen-
              sive Outdoor Recreation Plan. Cheyenne, Wyoming: State
              of Wyoming.
            Yellowstone National Park. 1990. Winter Use Statistics. Yel-
              lowstone National Park.











                                      CHAPTER 5

                  Ecotourism on Family Farms and
                    Ranches in the American West


                                        BILL BRYAN






                Q et at the foot of the spectacular Big Horn Mountains,     the
                %J Z Bar 0 Ranch boasts 12,000 acres of rich bottomlands,
                riparian habitat, and high drylands covered with native
                grasses. The Tongue River runs through the property, creat-
                ing natural wetlands that attract birds and large mammals
                from miles away.
                  Dick and Jean Masters, together with four generations of
                Masterses, live and, work on the ranch, which was home-
                steaded by Dick's grandfather in 1884. Their primary source
                of income is cattle, though they grow alfalfa hay, corn, oats,
                barley, and soy grass, and experiment with other crops.
                  Several years ago, the Masterses underwent a financial cri-
                sis such that they had to find other sources of income or fold.
                There were several vacant guesthouses on their property,
                and they often had friends and family come by on visits.
                In reviewing alternatives, they came up with the idea of
                supplementing their income with a bed-and-breakfast
                operation.

                                               75







                76                A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
                  Today, they host upwards of 100 guests during the season
                (May I to mid-October), and about 25 percent of their total
                income comes from visitors. They charge between $45 and
                $125 per night per couple, and estimate that easily half their
                take is profit.
                  Jean Masters cautions, however, that their strong earnings
                reflect the fact that they incurred virtually no start-up or
                capital costs. Guests stay in rooms that had been built'for
                previous generations of Masterses and that had been unused.
                Friends in the community donated the extra household
                items that the Masterses needed to start out. They have hired
                no staff for the venture, doing everything themselves, or call-
                ing on family to help out occasionally. Their largest expend-
                iture was producing a brochure about the ranch, and the
                time they spent writing letters to potential clients.
                  Z Bar 0 Ranch was the first hospitality operation in Wyo-
                ming. Today, it is one of the most successful. This is in part
                due to the fact that the Masterses practice sustainable agri-
                culture and sustainable ecotourism. While much of the
                bottomland has been turned to irrigated farmland, the Mas-
                terses have kept the riparian habitat and wetlands un-
                touched, in order to keep the waters of the river clean, and
                the wildlife abundant. They rotate their cattle to avoid plac-
                ing too much pressure on the grasslands. They also rotate
                their crops, and use other natural alternatives before they
                use pesticides and chemical fertilizers. They allow hunting
                and fishing on their lands, but keep a strict count of what
                gets taken and shut their doors once the limit has been
                reached. Some seasons they don't allow hunting at all if they
                feel that there is no need for it. And they work closely with
                their guests, educating them about farm life, western wild-
                life and habitat, and the environment.
                  They are also well thought of in the community. They send
                their guests into town to sample the local restaurants and to
                buy souvenirs and clothes. Local schoolchildren come out to
                the ranch on school outings, in order to learn about how a
                ranch works. And the locals are not forbidden access to the
                Masters ranch during hunting season (which does occur at





                     Ecotouris m@ on Family Farms and Ranches in the W@st  77
              some other hospitality operations), as long as they observe
              certain rules of behavior and limits on game.


              FARM AND RANCH HOSPITALITY:
              A NEW FORM OF ECOTOURISM

              The Z Bar 0 ranch is an example of an entirely new form of
              ecotourism in the West that has emerged in the last five
              years-the ranch, or farm, hospitality business. The owners
              of these types of operations are real farmers and ranchers
              who have decided to supplement their income with money
              from visitors who are interested in experiencing life on a
              working ranch or farm, observing wildlife and wildlife hab-
              itat, and fishing and hunting on private lands. And while
              this chapter describes the phenomenon in the United States,
              it is a development that holds promise for other countries as
              well.
                In the tri-state area of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho,
              ranch and farm hospitality operations (excluding those that
              only offer hunting opportunities) have increased from a
              handful in 1985 to between seventy and ninety today. And
              while estimates are very rough as yet, it seems likely that
              they generate at least $750 million in tourist expenditures
              each year.
                This phenomenon has its roots in the fact that the western
              family farm and ranch is experiencing troubled times, and
              that many Americans are looking for ways to "get back to
              the land.'
                The economic woes in the agricultural industry have
              caused many small ranchers and farmers to go out of busi-
              ness, liquidating their assets, and abandoning their land.
              Others have tried to diversify their income. Some have
              plunged into the ecotourism business. They are learning that
              there is a market for their product: people who like to spend
              their leisure time enjoying nature, taking advantage of pho-
              tographic opportunities,' learning the historical lore of the
              area, doing farm and ranch chores such as haying and fence







              78                 A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
              mending, or just talking about the future of agriculture and
              other social and economic issues of the day.
                 The Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service has spon-
              sored a program to actively promote farm and ranch recre-
              ation in the state. The state's Travel Commission, Health,
              and Economic Development departments have changed ad-
              ministrative procedures so that farm and ranch recreation
              can develop without becoming bogged down in red tape.
              Farm and ranch recreation enterprises in the state have set
              up their own trade and marketing association called the
              Wyoming Homestay and Outdoor Adventure Association
              (WHOA).
                 The concept has caught on in neighboring states. Colo-
              rado, Nebraska, the Dakotas, and Montana have all recog-
              nized farm/ranch recreation as a viable tourism enterprise
              and an excellent way to supplement farm and ranch income.
              Idaho is aggressively pursuing ecotourism as well, and re-
              cently sponsored a conference on farmJranch recreation.
                 The Northern Rockies states-Idaho, Wyoming, and Mon-
              tana-identify tourism as one of the most important sources
              of income for the region. The numbers of tourists are up and
              are continuing to rise. Ecotourists staying at farm and ranch
              hospitality operations represent a growing percentage of the
              total. Again, estimates are rough, but some put the number
              of annual visitors at about 3,000, and the number of visitor-
              days at about 11,500. This does not sound like a lot of people.
              And hospitality operations can net as little as $1,000 for
              their - efforts, with the most, successful seldom topping
              $25,000 per year. But these funds are what makes the dif-
              ference for the ranch. Without this money, many family
              operations are sold to agribusiness, often with negative con-
              sequences for the environment. Why are people visiting
              these hospitality operations? The standard answer is: more
              people, more free time, a more mobile society, and a deval-
              ued dollar abroad.
                 That is part of it. But -the phenomenon also has its roots in
              the fact that more and more people want to experience
              something genuine in their vacation, a "real" adventure, not
              a passive experience like lying on a beach. Travel specialist






                     Ecotourism on Family Farms and Ranches in the West     79
              Arthur Frommer, who has just published The Future of Tour-
              ism, writes that people want recreational experiences that
              challenge the mind, expand horizons, and- test beliefs about
              their lifestyles.
                Many of these people want to spend their vacations out-
              doors, fishing, hiking, camping, riding, bicycling, etc. They
              are looking for a mild climate, clear and clean air, and beau-
              tiful scenery.
                Others, often firs t-generation urbanites, want to "return to
              their roots" and have a nature-oriented leisure-time experi-
              ence reminiscent of the days they spent as a youth, either on
              the family farm or a relative's ranch or farm. Some want to
              meet people who have different lifestyles and make their liv-
              ing in ways closel related to the land.
                       I        y


              APPROPRIATE ECOTOURISM

              Ecotourism on farms and ranches can be a wonderful eco-
              nomic opportunity, with positive and wide-ranging social,
              political, and environmental benefits. However, it should not
              be viewed solely as an avenue for short-term financial gain.
                There are a number of prerequisites to making ecotourism
              profitable and beneficial over the long term. First, would-be
              operators must decide whether offering the service is an ap-
              propriate endeavor for them, given personal traits, economic
              needs, state of facilities, and so forth. Second, the site must
              provide appropriate recreational and educational opportu-
              nities for visitors. And, third, ecotourism must be practiced
              in a manner appropriate to the land and overall natural en-
              vironment in which the enterprise takes place.
                Tourism in the Northern Rockies and other areas has
              sometimes been pushed in the direction of economic devel-
              opment for its own sake. Most published data on tourism,
              for example, are based on the volume of people who visit the
              region,. Data on who spends what amount of money and for
              which services and commodities are known but not ac-
              corded much importance. Yet it is essential to ask which type
              of tourist should be targeted, given economic needs and the







                80                A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
                limitations of a fragile and delicate environment. Thus,
                planning for ecotourism in the West needs to address the im-
                pacts of the demand and what the appropriate response
                should be.


                CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PROVIDER

                The ecotourism industry is not a resource-based industrial
                endeavor producing a cash crop, but an economic activity in
                the service sector. The operator packages his or her own ex-
                periences on the farm or ranch in ways that will generate
                revenues. The success of this packaging is very much depen-
                dent on the personality of the provider. This must be clearly
                understood by the would-be provider if his or her business is
                to be enjoyable and successful.
                  In deciding whether a hospitality operation is appropriate
                for him or her, the potential provider should also consider
                whether the new economic activity will complement exist-
                ing farm and ranch operations or hinder them. What might
                the potential conflicts be? Will the family recreation season
                conflict with the haying or grain harvest? Does the usual
                cattle roundup conflict with the hunting season? Will the
                sincere nalvet6 on the part of the urban visitor conflict with
                the highly opinionated farmer or rancher?
                  Customers probably will have certain perspectives and
                opinions on issues such as meat, pesticides, animals, hunt-
                ing, basic farming and ranching practices, and the environ-
                ment. It will be essential for providers to understand and
                acknowledge these perspectives.
                  What about the neighbors-how will they feel about the
                venture next door and will they be involved? What about the
                surrounding community-how will they view such an en-
                deavor? Do all family members want to be involved in the
                new business?
                  These are the kinds of tough questions that must be asked
                before setting up a hospitality operation. Farm and ranch
                recreation should be an educational as well as a pleasurable
                experience. The best form of education is when both parties






                       Ecotourism on Family Farms and Ranches in the West    81
               learn from each other. Providers must ask themselves how
               well they can listen to both sides of an issue, share facts ver-
               sus opinions, and take constructive criticism. They must as-
               sess frankly their personalities in the area of communication
               and the handling of people. If strong, positive interaction
               with strangers is not a forte, then would-be providers should
               reconsider entering into the business.


               QUALITY OF THE LOCATION

               To be successful, a ranch or farm recreational provider must
               first invest time and money learning about what the nature
               tourist wants and expects on his or her visit, and then make
               sure he or she can meet those expectations.
                 In most cases, tourists will come from urban areas. They
               will require basic amenities, including clean water, electric-
               ity, heat, cleanliness, privacy, and good beds. They will ex-
               pect an accessible location, but one that is sufficiently rural.
               The yard, lawn, and buildings must be in good repair.
                 They will also expect to see wildlife and beautiful scenery,
               as well as have the opportunity to hike, ride, and partake in
               other recreational activities. The location of the ranch or
               farm should be able to meet these expectations.
                  Proximity to historical sites, natural areas, or cultural at-
               tractions is also important to visitors.


               APPROPRIATENESS OF LAND USE
               PRACTICES

               Many nature tourists are likely to view ranchers and farmers
               as land stewards-that their land should be managed based
               on the underlying principle that it is being held in trust for
               generations to come. It is therefore particularly important
               for those who want to be involved in farm/ranch recreation
               to practice sustainable and environmentally sound agricul-
               tural activities. Farmers should carefully assess how they







              82                  A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
              currently utilize the land and how those practices as well as
              family beliefs fit into an overall land ethic. Providers must
              consider issues such as the role of toxins, the concept of car-
              rying capacity, increasing soil productivity organically, and
              soil conservation.
                Many nature tourists see themselves as environmentalists.
              This is also the case for most farmers and ranchers. But, in
              practice, each applies their version of environmentalism dif-
              ferently. On the surface, there may be conflict and disagree-
              ment. As environmental issues become an even larger
              concern in the future, farm and ranch recreation can have
              enormous educational value. As never before, there is a need
              for people who work directly with the land to communicate
              with those who benefit from such efforts but are a step or
              two removed from the land base. Such conversations and the
              education that results for both parties is critical to the future
              of agriculture and for the future of the planet. Therefore,
              farm and ranch recreation is an extremely appropriate ven-
              ture for the long-term health of the land resource base.


              CONCLUSION

              Farm and ranch recreation can provide economic, educa-
              tional, and environmental benefits: however, it is not a quick
              economic fix and can dash just as many hopes and dreams
              in implementation as it creates in concept. Nevertheless, it
              is an exciting new trend that can contribute to the sustain-
              able development of rural communities, and offset pressure
              toward less environmentally sensitive alternatives such as
              agribusiness.










                                       Appendix

                        Farm/Ranch Hospitality Operation Checklist






              In order for a farm/ranch hospitality and/or recreation op-
              eration to prosper, it is essential for entrepreneurs to ap-
              proach the endeavor as a business. A great deal of work
              needs to be done prior to and after "hanging out a shingle"
              to ensure that the effort to supplement farm/ranch income
              will be successful.
                Following is a checklist that should provide some guid-
              ance for those who are just beginning to set up a business.
              The list is based on field research and interviews with sev-
              eral farmers and ranchers currently receiving guests.


                 I . Assess human and physical assets.
                 2.  Discuss realistic revenue expectations. Interview oth-
                     ers in the business to determine how much you might
                     expect to net.
                 3.  Prepare a business plan. This plan should include a
                     goal statement, expected revenues and expenses, and
                     a marketing plan. You will need to develop a rate
                     schedule, and,determine seasons and days of opera-
                     tion.
                 4.  Prepare a marketing plan and begin promoting your
                     business to potential clients. Identify the target audi-
                     ence, prepare sales materials, and work to attract cus-
                     tomers.
                 5.  Research zoning restrictions. Although zoning should
                     not. pose a problem for rural property owners, you'll

                                              83







             84                 A VISIT To KEY DESTINATIONS
                    want to be   sure your property is properly zoned for
                    farm/ranch recreations. You may. need to request a
                    variance, which can take extra time.
                 6. Contact key advisers. This list might include an attor-
                    ney, an accountant, and state travel officials. The pur-
                    pose of making these contacts is both to inform and to
                    solicit information and advice.
                 7. Contact your state health administrator. Rules and
                    regulations vis-A-vis farm/ranch recreation vary from
                    state to state. You will need to know at the outset what
                    is required in your state.
                 8. Research insurance. No industry standard exists;
                    therefore, it is essential to "comparison shop" for rea-
                    sonable insurance rates.
                 9. Learn tax procedures. Obtain a sales tax number (if
                    applicable in your state), learn lodging tax require-
                    ments.
                10. Register your business name with the secretary of
                    state in your state.
                11. Obtain a business license. The procedure and price
                    vary by state and county.
                12. Set house rules and develop guest procedures on the
                    following: reservation procedures, check-in hours,
                    checkout time, smoking policies, use of bathrooms,
                    use of other areas in house or on ranch, fire exit plan,
                    safety measures on the farm/ranch, use of alcohol,
                    meal hours, pets, behavior of children.
                      Guests should be informed of all pertinent policies
                    either when a deposit request is sent out or upon ar-
                    rival. A typed copy should be available in each guest
                    room or cabin.
                13. In-house policies. Just as there are rules for guests,
                    there should also be in-house rules for family, de-
                    signed to make guests comfortable and afford maxi-
                    mum privacy. An examplemight be: "Family is not
                    allowed to use the upstairs bathroom from 7:00 A.M.
                    to 10:00 A.M." Other issues may include mealtime
                    manners, household duties, attitude toward and rela-
                    tionships with guests.






                   Ecotourism on Family Farms and Ranches in the West     85
              14. Prepare menus. Because food and the presentation of
                  meals are so important to any hospitality operation,
                  care should be taken to develop a number of whole-
                  some, nutritious menus. Guests will not expect to be
                  served leftovers.
              15. Identify activities, recreational and otherwise, for
                  guests. Implicit in the farm/ranch recreation business
                  is the opportunity for guests to take part in some form
                  of activity. It will be helpful, in this initial phase, to
                  list every kind of activity available, from helping to
                  can vegetables to overnight horseback trips. You can
                  use this list to design a "guest activities calendar."
                  Such a calendar might change weekly, monthly, and
                  seasonally.




  I
  I
  I
  I             PART 11
  I
  I      The Nuts and Bolts of
  I    Successful Nature Tourism
  I
  I
  1.
  I
  I
  I
  I
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  I
  I
  I










                                       CHAPTER 6

                 The Economics of Nature Tourism:
                             Determining If It Pays


                        PAUL B. SHERMAN AND JO           HN A. DixoN






                C
                     onsider a tropical rain forest somewhere in Central
                    America. Though it is presently inaccessible, an exten-
                sion of a national highway will soon open up the area. Vari-
                ous potential users of the resource become in    terested in the
                possibilities. A campesino considers the areas potential for
                agricultural development and sees dollar signs. A logger
                looks at the timber resources and also sees money to be
                -Tnade. A nature tourism operator reaches the same conclu-
                sion. The government, on the other hand, sees a major quan-
                dary.
                  Each potential user of this previously inaccessible re-
                source seeks monetary benefits from its exploitation and use.
                Their different visions, however, are likely to conflict. Some
                uses will preclude others, though ce    rtain combinations of
                uses can coexist.
                  Governments face the difficult decision of how best to use
                these natural areas. Should they be preserved intact?
                Should they be exploited for short-term profits? Should they

                                                89






               90      THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
               be converted to another use such as agriculture? Should
               tourism be encouraged? How should decisions be made?
                 Keeping the natural area relatively intact, thus ensuring
               the survival of the plants and animals it contains, providing
               opportunities for recreation and tourism, and maintaining
               the other benefits such as watershed protection may sound
               reasonable to someone who has no economic stake in the
               alternatives.
                 However, as mentioned earlier, the campesino or logger
               may also have plans for the same site. These alternative uses
               of natural areas often appear extremely attractive in the
               short term. Many tropical forests, for example, contain large
               amounts of valuable timber. Other areas can be converted to
               uses such as agriculture, grazing, or tree crops. In many
               cases, a traditional economic analysis would find that some
               form of development would provide greater financial returns
               than the modest direct returns from maintaining an area in
               its natural state, even if the latter supports ecological func-
               tions and a small-scale nature tourism industry. As a result,
               there is often substantial pressure to convert and exploit
               natural areas.
                 In addition to pressure on natural areas from proposed de-
               velopment, projects, in many countries an even greater
               threat is gradual encroachment and resource extraction by
               nearby residents. These patterns of resource use, whether
               nonsustainable (a campesino clearing steep slopes for annual
               crop production) or sustainable (collection of various minor
               forest products in wooded areas), are not easily stopped by
               the mere creation of a protected area. The economic pres-
               sures on the resource users continue and, barring use of ex-
               treme regulatory measures, must be taken into account if
               effective protection is to be provided.
                 Thus economics, and the quest for financial returns, will
               most likely drive decision-making about the use of natural
               areas (though politics may also be a factor). The government
               must arbitrate and make decisions that will allow some uses
               and prohibit others. When deciding whether to allow the for-
               est or other natural resources to be used for nature tourism,
               the government should ask the following type of economi-
               cally driven questions.






                               The Economics of Nature Tourism              91
                 1 .Does nature tourism pay? That is, are the benefits from
                    nature tourism greater than the costs?
                 2. Which benefits are forgone if the site is not developed
                    for alternative uses? What are the total costs of protect-
                    ing a site for nature tourism?
                 3. Who owns the resource? Is it publicly or privately
                    owned?
                 4. What approach should be taken in carrying out an eco-
                    nomic analysis? Should the decision-making criterion
                    emphasize public gain or private financial benefit?
                 5. What are the total benefits from nature tourism, in-
                    cluding benefits that may not be translated directly
                    into tourist revenue dollars. Can these benefits be iden-
                    tified and quantified?
                 6. Is nature tourism an economically efficient way to gen-
                    erate income and help maintain and conserve natural
                    areas?


                 In reality, these economic questions must be framed at two
              levels: financial and social. We need to know if nature tour-
              ism will pay as a business venture, and if it will pay as a
              social investment, particularly if governments must protect
              natural areas to support it.
                 A financial analysis of the various alternative uses of an
              undeveloped natural area alone is often misleading. Such      an
              analysis is designed only to examine costs and benefits as
              measured by market prices-it leaves out many important
              factors that are not bought or sold. Many of the benefits of
              conserving natural areas are difficult to measure (e.g., bio-
              diversity, watershed protection, filtering of pollutants).
              These benefits are not exchanged in markets and, conse-
              quently, the value of conserving, rather than developing, an
              area is often underestimated in a financial analysis. This
              leads to a bias toward development and exploitive use of an
              area, with the end result being that fewer natural areas are
              protected than would be the case if all of the benefits of con-
              servation were acknowledged.
                 A social welfare analysis, on the other hand, will account
              for the social and intangible benefits and costs of an area,
              including conservation. This type of analysis can distinguish







              92      THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
              between private, financial benefits accruing to individuals
              or firms and public, social benefits (what economists call
              (d social welfare benefits"). It facilitates the decision-making
              process by providing three categories that describe the na-
              ture and scale of the economic benefits of the site and who
              receives them. The three categories are: privately beneficial,
              socially beneficial, or undetermined benefits.



              PRIVATELY BENEFICIAL


              In some areas, the economic benefits directly obtainable by
              individuals, groups, or firms are larger than the associated
              costs or the benefits of alternative uses. In these cases, the
              individual will provide the "service" (i.e., recreation and
              protection of a natural area) without government interven-
              tion. Examples of such cases are not uncommon, but the
              areas tend to be small and the nature of the service provided
              rather specific.
                Privately run recreational areas such as campgrounds, ski
              resorts, or game reserves, for example, often keep limited
              portions of an area in its natural state, in order to keep cus-
              tomers. Outstanding areas such as the Gala'pagos Islands or
              Yosemite National Park, though currently administered by
              national governments, are also examples of privately bene-
              ficial areas.
                Some natural areas, currently unprotected, may be con-
              sidered so important that private individuals or groups feel
              strongly enough to purchase them from their current own-
              ers. Conservation groups such as the Nature Conservancy in
              the United States have begun acquiring important natural
              areas threatened by development. These groups pool dona-
              tions from their members to acquire development rights or
              to buy areas that might not be protected otherwise. The con-
              tributors to such private conservation efforts perceive the
              benefits to outweigh the costs. In addition, the sites often
              become nature tourism destinations for the group's mem-
              bers.






                               The Economics of Nature Tourism              93
               SOCIALLY BENEFICIAL
               In this more common scenario, the net benefits to society at
               large are positive, but one individual or privately owned
               concern cannot capture all the benefits effectively and there-
               fore is not willing to provide protection or preservation. Pro-
               tection of upper watershed areas, for example, may be
               justified by their effects on the water supply and water qual-
               ity for a downstream area, more than for their tourism re-
               ceipts. In East Africa, government support of wildlife parks
               is usually socially beneficial in terms of attracting tourists
               and the wide range of associated tourist expenditures both
               within and outside protected areas.
                 Many nature tourism destinations fall in the socially ben-
               eficial category. Since these areas may not be capable of gen-
               erating direct revenues greater than their costs, some
               government support may be needed to maintain them.



               UNDETERMINED BENEFITS

               In some cases, it may be difficult to determine whether the
               net benefits of maintaining a natural area for tourism and
               other uses are positive or negative. The costs of protection
               may be known, but the benefits may be diffuse or difficult to
               measure. This is especially true of wilderness areas or re-
               mote locations where nature tourism may be sporadic or of
               very low intensity. Governments may well decide to protect
               some of these areas, but at what cost and to what extent?
               These are issues that need to be addressed.
                 Let us return to our initial scenario, where@ the campesino,
               the logger, and the nature tourism operator are eyeing the
               same piece of real estate. They will assess the economic ben-
               efits and costs differently, but will use a typical financial
               analysis model. It is the government's responsibility to con-
               duct a social welfare analysis that includes impacts of alter-
               native development options, regardless of whether or not
               these impacts occur on-site or elsewhere in the economy.





              94      THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                 In this chapter, we will demonstrate how to perform and
              implement a social welfare analysis for ecotourism projects.
              Our thesis is that ecotourism needs to be considered both as
              a business (and therefore subject to a financial profit/loss
              analysis) and as a type of resource use that helps ensure
              other, long-term social goals (such as protection of natural
              areas, biodiversity, or retaining options for the future).


              BENEFITS AND COSTS OF
              NATURE TOURISM

              In performing a social welfare analysis of nature tourism, we
              will need to weigh its costs and benefits. If the net benefits
              to society (total benefits minus total costs) are greater than
              zero, then nature tourism is a potentially desirable form of
              land use. However, even if these net benefits are positive, this
              does not imply that nature tourism is the best use; the net
              benefits of nature tourism must then be compared with the
              net benefits of other alternative forms of land use. Ideally,
              each piece of land should be used according to its "highest
              and best use," that is, the use that generates the greatest net
              benefits to society. In broad terms, there are three additional
              alternatives that should normally be considered: leaving the
              land in its natural state but not allowing nature tourism;
              developing resort tourism; or developing the land for other
              uses such as agriculture or housing that would normally pre-
              clude tourism.


              BENEFITS
              Table 6.1 shows the types of benefits that may accompany
              nature tourism: watershed protection, ecosystem preserva-
              tion, biodiversity, education and research, consumption,
              nonconsumptive benefits, and future values.
                While some benefits of nature tourism may be relatively
              easy to value (e.g., tourist receipts), others such as biodivers-
              ity, nonconsumptive benefits, and future values are more dif-
              ficult to analyze (Conrad 1980). Still, much can be done







                                   The Economics of Nature Tourism                 95
                      TABLE 6. 1. Benefits That Accompany Nature Tourism

                 1. Watershed values
                      Erosion control
                      Local flood reduction
                      Regulation of stream flows
                 2. Ecological processes
                      Fixing and cycling of nutrients
                      Soil formation
                      Circulation and cleansing of air and water
                      Global life support
                 3. Biodiversity
                      Gene resources
                      Species protection
                      Ecosystem diversity
                      Evolutionary processes
                 4. Education and research
                 5. Consumptive benefits
                      Timber
                      Wildlife products
                      Nontimber forest products (e.g., edible plants, herbs,
                      medicines, rattan, building materials, rubber)
                 6. Nonconsumptive benefits
                      Aesthetic
                      Spiritual
                      Cultural/historical
                      Existence value

                 7. Future values
                      Option value
                      Quasi-option value

                 Source: Dixon and Sherman 1990.



                 either to directly value. these benefits or at least to provide a
                 framework where choices can be made that explicitly con-
                 sider qualitative benefits.
                   Benefits from nature tourism can be analyzed in several
                 ways. Specific examples follow:







                96      THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                Spatial dimension. Benefits can be divided into local, re-
                gional, national, or global benefits. Local benefits accrue to
                the immediate area. They may include employment oppor-
                tunities, new markets for locally produced goods, and indi-
                rect benefits such as improved infrastructure associated
                with tourism development.
                 Regional benefits fall into the same categories, though
                their overall importance may be less due to the larger size of
                the region as compared with the local area. For example,
                creation of fifty jobs may be significant locally but relatively
                unimportant from a regional perspective.
                 The national benefits of tourism may include tax revenues
                collected from visitors, the additional foreign exchange
                earnings from international visitors to the country, and any
                capital investment from either domestic or foreign sources
                that might otherwise have been spent outside the country's
                borders. They may be larger or smaller than the local/re-
                gional benefits. If a new nature tourism development serves
                as a substitute for another, preexisting site within the coun-
                try, there may be no additional net benefits for the nation
                associated with the new site. Only to the extent that the new
                site attracts new visitors or increases the average length of
                stay will the benefits associated with the new site truly add
                to national benefits.
                 The global benefits of nature tourism stem from benefits
                such as watershed protection, ecosystem support, biodiver-
                sity, and consumption. Since nature tourism frequently re-
                quires the preservation of an area in a relatively pristine
                state, other benefits associated with this protection arise.
                For example, nature tourism may be consistent with species
                and habitat protection (though not necessarily so). There
                may also be existence and option values generated through-
                out the world. One problem with these global benefits, how-
                ever, is that they are freely provided-there is no obligation
                on the part of recipients to compensate the country of origin.


                Advate versus social benefits. The broad range of benefits
                associated with nature tourism can be divided further into
                private and social benefits. The private benefits associated






                                   The Economics of Nature Tourism              97
                  with nature tourism are the financial returns received         by
                  those providing tourism services. Tour operators, transpor-
                  tation companies, lodging operators, foo      'd and equipment
                  suppliers-all these groups receive financial remuneration
                  for services provided. These profits are what drive private
                  sector interest in nature tourism.
                     Social benefits can be described broadly as any gains in
                  social welfare, either direct or indirect, associated with na-
                  ture tourism. Such gains may be either financial in nature
                  or nonmonetary, such as ecological benefits. A number of
                  the benefits listed in table 6.1, for example, are primarily
                  social benefits: ecological processes, biodiversity, noncon-
                  sumptive benefits, and future values. Other benefits such as
                  watershed protection and education/research are partly pri-
                  vate, partly social benefits.
                    While government officials may be primarily interested in
                  the amount of expenditures and employment opportunities
                  generated, they also should be aware of the larger picture-
                  that is, the social benefits associated with nature tourism.
                  Most private sector interests will be interested only in finan-
                  cial aspects and specifically the profits they are able to earn.
                  Nonprofit organizations and educational groups often fall in
                  between-they may seek to earn at least a nominal profit but
                  also may consider other social benefits associated with na-
                  ture tourism.



                  Primazy versus secondazy benefits. Benefits can be divided
                  into primary and secondary tourism-related expenditures.
                  Primary expenditures are direct purchases by tourists of
                  goods and services. Secondary expenditures (sometimes
                  called "indirect benefits") occur when the recipients of the
                  primary expenditures spend the money they receive from
                  tourists. For example, when a native tour guide is paid and
                  then spends his salary on food and housing, these expendi-
                  tures are secondary expenditures. These secondary expendi-
                  tures often work their way through the system many timest
                  creating what is termed a "multiplier effect  "-the initial pri-
                  mary expenditures are multiplied as the money is spent and
                  then spent again.






                98      THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                  The extent of the multiplier effect depends on who is the
                recipient of, the direct expenditures. If the bulk of the pri-
                mary expenditures is for imported goods or services pro-
                vided by foreigners, who then take the money out of the
                country, then little of the money is respent and the multi-
                plier will be small. If the primary expenditures go to local
                entrepreneurs, who spend the money locally, and which then
                gets spent again locally, the multiplier will be much larger.
                  In each round of expenditures, the money respent is less
                than the amount spent in the previous round-some of the
                money will be saved, some will go to pay taxes, some will
                leave the area. The money that is not respent is known as
                "leakage"-it leaks out of the local economy.
                  The multiplier effect can also be applied to employment.
                The employment multiplier looks at how many jobs are in-
                directly created for each job directly created by the tourist
                operation.


                COSTS
                As with benefits, costs can be categorized in a number of
                ways and will be viewed differently from different perspec-
                tives. The following presents one potentially useful catego-
                rization of costs.

                Direct costs. Direct costs are financial outlays associated
                with the establishment and maintenance of a nature tourism
                site. These costs may be borne either by the government sec-
                tor, the tour operator, or, as is often the case, split between
                the two. In many cases, the highest single cost is developing
                access to the site. By its very nature, most forms of nature
                tourism take place off the beaten path. While remoteness is
                a draw for many people, access must be easy enough not to
                discourage potential visitors. Depending on the site and the
                activity involved, access may require upgrading or develop-
                ment of roads, airstrips, or boat docking facilities. Since
                these facilities may provide benefits in addition to access to
                nature tourism sites, governments may be willing to contrib-
                ute to their cost.







                                 The Economics of Nature Tourism               99
                   Other facilities for tourists can be developed and provided
                 either by governments or private operators. Lodging and
                 food service are more amenable to private development than
                 multipurpose items such as roads. Regardless of who devel-
                 ops the facilities, however, it is critical that ample attention
                 be paid to handling the wastes such as trash and sewage.
                 The full costs of dealing with these items must be considered
                 at the development stage. Similarly, the costs of maintaining
                 and- repairing all facilities must be accounted for.

                 Indirect costs. Certain types of nature tourism may be as-
                 sociated with damages indirectly caused by the existence of
                 the nature tourism industry. The most common example of
                 these indirect costs are damages caused by wildlife, either
                 inside or beyond the boundary of the tourist enterprise.
                 These damages may include crops trampled or eaten, as well
                 as harm to people, livestock, or materials. Examples include
                 damages to crops by elephants in Indonesia and Sri Lanka,
                 predation of livestock by lions in Africa, and problems with
                 tigers in India. These indirect costs can create local resent-
                 ment of plans to expand protected areas and associated na-
                 ture tourism activities.
                   Private operators usually will not consider these indirect
                 costs in their financial analysis of nature tourism. Govern-
                 ments, on the other hand, should anticipate such problems
                 and develop means of compensating those adversely af-
                 fected. Though not compelled to compensate for such dam-
                 ages, governments should realize that community attitudes
                 toward the success of nature tourism will be much more pos-
                 itive if nearby residents are reimbursed for any damages
                 they suffer. The costs of such compensation programs should
                 be considered a cost of doing business, and included in a
                 social welfare analysis.

                 Opportunity costs. The opportunity costs of nature tour-
                 ism are the benefits that society or individuals must give up
                 if nature tourism precludes other uses of an area. They may
                 include forgone resources from the area (such as timber, an-
                 imals, edible plants), as well as any resources that could







                100    THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCEMFUL NATURE TOURISM
                have been developed through more intensive exploitation or
                conversion to.some alternative use. The magnitude of the op-
                portunity costs will depend on the type of nature tourism
                and the potential alternative uses of the area. If no profitable
                alternative exists for the area, then the opportunity costs
                may be very low or even nonexistent.
                  Not all opportunity costs will be apparent in a standard
                financial analysis. Nature tourism may involve restrictions
                on local use of resources; for example, hunting is banned in
                many national parks, which means that local residents can
                no longer count on those resources for sustenance or liveli-
                hood. The value of products no longer available is also an
                opportunity cost and should be included in the analysis. As
                with the case of indirect costs, local residents should be com-
                pensated for any losses they suffer as a result of establishing
                a nature tourism site.


                COMPARING COSTS AND BENEFITS
                Comparing costs and benefits differs depending on whether
                one is using a financial or social welfare analysis. In the first
                case, it may try to determine the profitability of a nature
                tourism enterprise. Alternatively, a social welfare analysis
                may seek to determine whether nature tourism is socially
                desirable. The latter is much broader in scope, and often
                more difficult. While there are well-established methods of
                financial analysis based on market prices, social welfare
                analysis must consider a broader range of benefits than just
                financial returns. All e'ffects on individuals-whether mone-
                tary; environmental, cultural, or otherwise-must be in-
                cluded. Since many of these effects have no market prices,
                the task of placing values on them is a complex one, too com-
                plex to develop here. interested readers can find details on
                valuing environmental effects in Dixon et al. (1988), Huf-
                schmidt et al. (1983), or Dixon and Sherman (1990).

                Financial analysis. A private operator considering devel-
                opment of a nature tourism site or coordinating trips to an
                established site should perform a financial analysis to deter-







                                The Economics of Nature Tourism             101
                mine the profitability of the proposed inves tment. The finan-
                cial analysis begins with a list of the expected costs and
                benefits that will occur in each year. Capital costs can be
                entered in the year they are spent, spread over the life of the
                project (amortized) if internal funds are used, or spread over
                the loan period if costs are to be financed through debt.   . In
                addition to the initial capital costs, annual operating and
                maintenance costs are included, along with expected
                changes over time. The interest rate used will be either the
                market rate of interest (if funds are borrowed) or if internal
                funds are used, the opportunity cost of capital (the returns
                that these funds could generate if invested in another proj-
                ect). Revenues will be based on projections of number of vis-
                itors multiplied by the revenue per visitor.
                  Governments may also choose to perform a financial anal-
                ysis when considering nature tourism as a form of land use.
                This will show whether nature tourism will pay for itself, or
                whether a subsidy will be needed. In some situations, subsi-
                dies may be warranted-if, for example, nature tourism will
                achieve other national goals, such as increasing foreign ex-
                change receipts or developing employment opportunities in
                low-income regions.

                Social wellaz-e analysis. From a national perspective, the
                economic analysis should consider the social benefits, and
                social costs, of the proposed activity. The most common form
                of social welfare analysis is benefit-cost analysis (BCA). Like
                financial analysis, BCA involves the evaluation of a stream
                of benefits and costs over some chosen period of time. Here,
                however, the focus is not just on financial costs and benefits
                but on the social welfare of the community as well. The
                prices used are not always market prices; instead, what
                might be called "economic efficiency prices" are used. Dis-
                tortions such as those caused by taxes, subsidies, or regula-
                tory effects are removed so that prices reflect true resource
                commitments to society.
                  BCA may also include effects that are ignored in a finan-
                cial analysis. If tourism is accompanied by some undesirable
                environmental effects, the value of these effects is also con-







                102     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                sidered. This is true whether these effects occur at the tour-
                ism site or some distance away from it.
                  overall, there are a number of differences between a social
                BCA (sometimes referred to as a SBCA) and a financial anal-
                ysis (see table 6.2). Whereas a financial analysis includes
                subsidies, taxes, and interest payments, an SBCA considers
                these as transfer payments. A transfer payment is simply a
                transfer of resources between two different units within the
                economy; for example, income tax is a transfer from an in-
                dividual to the government. Transfer payments change the
                distribution of income but do not change the overall amount
                of income. Hence, a BCA does not include them in evaluat-
                ing overall social welfare changes.
                  A financial analysis usually uses market borrowing rates
                to determine the discount rate; a SBCA uses a social dis-
                count rate that is usually lower and reflects a number of so-
                cietal decisions. Prices may be similarly adjusted. Details of
                the differences between financial and SBCA can be found in
                Hufschmidt et al. (1983) and Dixon and Hufschmidt (1986).
                These references also discuss decision criteria such as net
                present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), and
                benefit-cost ratio (BCR).
                  While relatively straightforward in theory, preparing a
                BCA for a proposed nature tourism project is often difficult
                in practice. Evaluating the environmental and cultural ef-
                fects, both positive and negative, associated with nature
                tourism is particularly problematic. In most cases, at least a
                portion of these effects will remain unquantified. Therefore,
                the quantified net benefits will often be less than the actual
                total benefits from nature tourism.
                  if the quantifiable benefits alone are greater than the mea-
                sured costs (and also greater than the net benefits from al-
                ternative uses of the site), nature tourism is a viable option.
                When the quantifiable benefits associated with tourism are
                less than the costs, however, or when the net benefits are pos-
                itive but less than the" benefits associated with another alter-
                native use, the decision-making process becomes more
                difficult. In both these cases, governments must decide
                whether the nonquantified benefits associated with nature






                                       The Economics of Nature Tourism                        103
                               TABLE 6.2 A Compatison of Financial and
                                        Social Benefit-Cost Analysis

                                            Financial                          SBCA
                  Focus           Net returns to equity capital Net returns to society
                                  or to private group or indi-
                                  vidual
                  Purpose         Indication of incentive to       Determine if government in-
                                  adopt or implement               vestment is justified on eco-
                                                                   nomic efficiency basis
                  Prices          Markevor administered (may       May require "shadow prices"
                                  assume that markets are per-     (e.g., adjustments for monop-
                                  fect or that administered        oly in markets, external ef-
                                  prices have compensated for      fects, unemployed or
                                  imperfections)                   underemployed factors, over-
                                                                   valued currency)
                  Taxes           Cost of production               Transfer payments to govern-
                                                                   ments-deducted from costs
                                                                   of project inputs and outputs
                  Subsidies       Source of revenue                Transfer payments from gov-
                                                                   ernments-value of subsidies
                                                                   added to project costs of in-
                                                                   puts and outputs
                  Loans           Increase capital resources       A transfer payment; transfer
                                  available                        a claim to resource flow
                  Interest or     A financial cost; decreases      A transfer payment
                  loan repay-     capital resources available
                  ment
                  Discount rate   Marginal cost of money;          Opportunity cost of capital;
                                  market borrowing rate            social time preference rate
                  Income dis-     Can be measured by net re-       Is not considered in standard
                  tribution       turns to individual factors of   economic efficiency analysis;
                                  production such as land, la-     can be done as separate anal-
                                  bor, and capital                 ysis or as weighted efficiency
                                                                   analysis

                  SOURCE:. Dixon, James and Sherman 1989; adapted from Hitzhusen 1982.







               104    THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
               tourism justify either a subsidy or forgoing the additional
               benefits associated with the alternative land uses.
                The siting of major infrastructure facilities, such as dams,
               ports, or airports, may have potential direct or indirect im-
               pacts on areas used for or suitable for nature tourism. The
               social BCA of such projects must examine all the impacts as
               well as other possible alternatives. (The suggested project is
               assumed to pass a financial analysis-e.g., positive net ben-
               efits-or else it would not have been proposed.)
                A classic case in the United States occurred in Hell's Can-
               yon (Krutilla and Fisher 1985). In this case, a series of dams
               would have flooded Hell's Canyon and disrupted the last
               wild river in the area, a popular recreation site for residents
               and visitors. In an innovative study, Krutilla and Fisher ex-
               amined a number of aspects of the preservation-versus-
               development alternatives. In the end, the dams were not
               built and the canyon was left intact. This type of analysis is
               sometimes referred to as "opportunity cost analysis." Here,
               the analyst compares the net economic benefits of alterna-
               tive uses. While the net economic benefits of development
               usually can be monetized relatively precisely (in the case of
               Hell's Canyon, these were power generation benefits), nature
               tourism and the associated ecological protection often in-
               volve many nonquantifiable benefits. The net monetary ben-
               efits of development are first compared with the quantifiable
               benefits from nature tourism. If the former are larger than
               the latter, then the analyst looks at how large the nonquan-
               tifiable benefits would have to be to outweigh the total ben-
               efits of development. If it appears that the nonquantified
               benefits will be at least this large, then nature tourism
               would be the preferred option.
                 In addition to environmental and cultural effects, other
               nonquantifiable effects include job creation and foreign ex-
               change impacts. While these may be desirable, they are not
               easily converted to dollar terms. Moreover, these effects
               must be compared with other possibilities for the area-
               while creation of twenty jobs in a nature tourism enterprise
               might seem beneficial, it is not truly so if some alternative
               development would provide forty jobs. As discussed earlier,






                               The Economics of Nature Tourism                  105
              the benefits of nature tourism must be weighed against the
              best alternative use-only the difference between the two al-
              ternatives is actually a benefit.
                In some cases, a natural area may have been given pro-
              tected status already, and the analysis is being performed
              only to determine whether or not nature tourism should be
              allowed. In this case, the analysis is simpler, since develop-
              ment alternatives need not be evaluated. First, the financial
              costs and benefits of nature tourism are estimated. The net
              financial benefits are then compared with other effects, such
              as environmental impacts (which should also be monetized
              to the extent possible). All of this information is then used to
              determine if social welfare will be improved by allowing
              tourism.


              DISTRIBUTION OF BENEFITS AND COSTS
              The potential profitability of a nature tourism enterprise is
              only one of many factors used to determine whether or not
              it is desirable. While profitability may be the most impor-
              tant factor in a private operator's decision, governments
              may be more interested in how the benefits and costs will be
              distributed. If nature tourism will provide large profits to a
              foreign-owned company but adversely affect local residents,
              it may not be in the country's best interests to allow it. On
              the other hand, a locally owned company that makes an ef-
              fort to include nearby residents may be much more desir-
              able, even if the enterprise generates little or no profit.
                Consider a publicly owned site suitable for outdoor recre-
              ation and believed to be capable of supporting a profitable
              tourism operation. Three alternatives exist: selling the
              site to a private operator; leasing the use of the site to a
              private operator; or establishing a government-owned
              and -operated enterprise.
                If the government sells    .the site, it loses a great deal of con-
              trol over what type of development and management occurs.
              The buyer will probably attempt to maximize profits, possi-
              bly at the expense of social benefits. On the other hand, if the
              government leases the rights to use the site, it can establish







                   106     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                   conditions under which the leaseholder must operate. Under
                   this setup, the government can mandate conditions that are
                   more socially beneficial by, for example, establishing a min-
                   imum percentage of jobs that must go to local residents or
                   limiting the allowable number of visitors per year.
                     Governments can also choose to operate the tourism en-
                   terprise alone. While governments often may be less efficient
                   than the private sector, this option gives the government the
                   greatest leeway in operating the tourism enterprise in a
                   manner that maximizes local benefits. Such a policy may,
                   however, be at the expense of profits. Governments must
                   make a policy decision on this issue-does the increase in
                   local benefits outweigh the reduction in profits?
                     Private ownership of nature tourism sites may be a viable
                   option in some cases. While governments may have less over-
                   sight authority, a private owner will recognize that it is in
                   his own self-interest to maintain the site to ensure its contin-
                   ued attraction to visitors. Monteverde Reserve in Costa Rica
                   and the Community Baboon Sanctuary in Belize are but two
                   examples of successful privately owned nature tourism des-
                   tinations (Boo 1990).
                     Ideally, nature tourism should be beneficial for everyone
                   involved- tourism operators receive profits, governments
                   receive tax revenues and foreign exchange, visitors enjoy
                   their experience, and local residents receive jobs and in-
                   creased income from visitor expenditures. Too often, how-
                   ever, this is not the case for the latter. Unlike everyone else
                   whose participation is voluntary, local residents may be un-
                   willing participants and are the ones who lose.
                     Opening an area to tourism often means a dramatic
                   change in lifestyle for local residents. Depending on their
                   previous level of isolation, village life may be totally dis-
                   rupted by drastic cultural changes. The introduction of rel-
                   atively wealthy visitors may cause large price increases and
                   shortages of certain goods in local markets. While this may
                   mean profits for a few, the general population often suffers
                   ill effects. In some cases, markets in drugs and prostitution,
                   and adoption of other undesirable practices, may develop.






                              The Economics of Nature Tourism               107
                Such negative impacts need not always occur, however.
             With proper foresight', many can be avoided or minimized.
             Given the importance of this issue, special attention must be
             given to ways of maximizing local benefits; this topic is dis-
             cussed more fully in the next section.
                In addition to the effects on local people, the effects on the
             local environment must also be considered. These can arise
             either directly, as a result of tourism and the additional
             people using the area, or indirectly, from increased access
             associated with tourism development. Erosion from hiking
             trails, deforestation for firewood, increased trash and sew-
             age, clearing for accommodation facilities- these conse-
             quences and others can be severe in the absence of adequate
             regulatory and enforcement efforts by the authority respon-
             sible. And if a new road is built to ease access for tourists,
             for example, it also may make it easier for people to move
             into the area, with subsequent clearing of forests for farm-
             land. Governments should take measures to ensure that this
             secondary development does not unduly threaten the area.
                The adverse effects of these impacts are often felt hardest
             at the local level. If tourism is not to "destroy" itself, proper
             planning and management are critical at an early stage.
                Nature tourism can also bring about positive influences on
             the environment. Revenues collected through entrance fees,
             hotel taxes, sales tax, or other means can provide much
             needed funds for natural area protection and management.
             Properly allocated, these funds can be used to improve an
             area and minimize any negative environmental effects asso-
             ciiated with tourism.
                The distribution of benefits and costs can be considered
             within an economic analysis in two ways. The analysis could
             include only those benefits and costs that remain in the
             country (or region or village). This would eliminate opera-
             tions that primarily benefit outside interests at the expense
             of local residents. Alternatively, weights can be placed on
             benefits and costs that a   ccrue to different groups. For ex-
             ample, benefits that accrue to local residents in poor villages
             might be multiplied by a factor of two, while benefits to







               108     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
               wealthy developers might be weighted by only a fraction.
               Similarly, costs that adversely affect local residents might be
               given greater weight than those affecting the wealthy. (Use
               of weights in BCA is discussed extensively in sources such as
               Ray 1984 and Squire and van der Tak 1975).
                 It is also possible to set a constraint on the allowable dis-
               tribution of benefits. This involves setting targets that estab-
               lish a minimum acceptable distribution of benefits among a
               designated low-income group or area. Only projects that
               will provide a certain percentage of benefits to members of
               this group are given consideration under this scenario.


               NATURE TOURISM AND
               ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

               Properly implemented, nature tourism can integrate conser-
               vation and rural development by helping to protect valuable
               natural areas by providing revenues for planning and man-
               agement, stimulating economic development through tour-
               ism expenditures, and providing jobs and markets for local
               goods.
                 Nature tourism has the potential to help economic devel-
               opment at both the local and the national level. Depending
               on the scale of the nature tourism industry relative to the
               size of the local economy, the effect on the local level can be
               anywhere from minimal to substantial. At the national level,
               nature tourism is likely to have less impact, but it still may
               have significant influence in countries with small economies
               or where the potential size of the industry is very large. In
               Kenya, for example, the safari industry generates foreign ex-
               change earnings of some $350 million to $400 million per
               year and is Kenya's largest source of foreign exchange.
                 In this section, we will first look at how national and local
               governments can maximize the revenues they receive from
               nature tourism. Then we will discuss how to maximize ben-
               efits for local residents.






                               The Economics of Nature Tourism              109

               MAXIMIZING GoVERNMENT REVENUES
               While nature tourism has the potential to provide substan-
               tIial benefits to countries with outstanding nature tourism
               sites, this will not always be the case. Too often the majority
               of benefits accrue to the tour operator and little remainsin-
               country. Boo (1990) cites a World Bank study (Frueh 1988)
               that estimates that over one-half of gross tourism revenues
               in the developing countries leak back to developed countries.
               This is hypothesized to be even higher in the least-developed
               countries, where most of the goods used by tourists are im-
               ported (Mathieson and Wall 1982). Nevertheless, there are
               a number of mechanisms governments can put in place to
               increase the benefits their country receives from nature tour-
               ism.

               User fees. The easiest method of capturing benefits from
               nature tourism is to charge a fee to use the area. Though
               many countries already charge small fees at cultural sites
               and in national parks, few countries have instituted fed
               schedules that reflect consumers' willingness to pay. While a
               small, token payment is clearly better than no fee at all
               there is no reason for a country, especially a developing
               country, to subsidize the cost of foreigners' visits.
                 Developing countries should consider adopting a two-tier
               fee system, with a lower charge for domestic residents and a
               higher charge for international visitors. Some countries
               have already instituted such a system; China, for example,
               uges a two-tiered fee structure for most cultural and historic
               sites. Given the expense of international travel, even a rela-
               tively high fee of US $10 or more per day would probably
               have a negligible effect on the total number of visitors. This
               is especially true for unique areas that can handle only a
               limited number of visitors. In the Mountain Gorilla Project
               (MGP) in Rwanda, for example, foreigners are charged an
               entrance fee of $170 per day and yet demand has remained
               strong. It has been noted that this is among the highest such
               fee charged anywhere in the world and may be near the UP-
               per limit of visitor willingness-to-pay (Lindberg 1989).






                110     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE ToL RISM
                Figure 6.1 Mountain         bi Rwwzda,









                                                            7W
                                     J__



                                             e

                  1A
                             W&C





                  User fees help   to support the Saba Marine     Park in the
                Netherland Antilles. Since the main attraction of the park is
                its scuba diving and snorkeling, divers are charged S1 per
                dive, paid through the dive boat operators, to support con-
                servation activities. This modest fee provides valuable reve-
                nue and is unnoticed in the overall costs of divin2 (van't Hof
                1989).
                  Fees for government-owned accommodations near nature
                tourism sites should be priced at levels comparable to pri-
                vatelv owned accommodations. Camping fees could also be
                set on a two-tier system as suggested for entrance fees. At
                present, manv national parks charge very low accommoda-
                tion or camping fees, resulting in excess demand for these
                facilities and insufficient funds for operation and mainte-
                nance. Businesslike behavior can be as beneficial to public
                operations as It is to private ones.

                Concession fees. In addition to charging fees directl-v      to
                visitors, fees can also be charged to individuals or firms who
                provide services to these visitors. This would include licens-






                               The Economics of Nature Tourism             III
               ing of concessions for food, lodging, transportation, guide
               services, and retail stores. By auctioning or leasing the
               rights to operate such concessions, governments can control
               the types of development in and nearby nature tourism sites
               and simultaneously raise revenues to help maintain the
               area. Governments also can impose conditions on conces-
               sion leases to address other objectives such as hiring local
               employees or selling locally produced goods.


               Royalties. Establishment of royalty systems on activities
               and products in tourist areas is another potential source of
               revenue. For example, permission for books, photos, or films
               to be made at tourism sites could be exchanged for some
               percentage of the revenues made on these items. In the Saba
               Marine Park, sales of T-shirts and guidebooks are a major
               source of revenue. Such souvenir sales, either direct or via
               licensing, can be major revenue producers.


               Tax policies. Governments can enact tax policies to in-
               crease the revenues they receive from nature tourism. Per-
               haps the most common type of tax is a hotel room tax, which
               is also relatively popular among residents since it falls pri-
               marily on visitors. Hotel room taxes of 5 to 10 percent are
               found in many areas.
                Special taxes also can be enacted near popular tourist
               sites. In prewar Cambodia, for example, the famous complex
               of ruins associated with Angkor Wat was maintained by the
               government but was completely open to visitors without any
               formal payment. This enhanced the visitors' enjoyment of
               the site and allowed casual exploration. The government,
               however, collected a special tax on all hotel rooms in the
               nearby town of Siemr6ap to support its conservation and
               preservation efforts. Since virtually all visitors to Angkor
               stayed in these hotels (*and the ruins were the main reason
               for people coming to the town), this was an effective and un-
               obtrusive means of revenue collection.
                Other forms of taxes include sales or excise taxes on





                112     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                tourist-related goods and services. These might be levied on
                food bought in restaurants, specialized equipment, and tour
                guide services.


                Donation programs. Governments can take advantage of
                the increasing international awareness of the problems
                faced by important natural areas by establishing and pro-
                moting donation programs. Such programs can be geared
                toward both tourists and nontourists. For tourists, guides
                can point out the problems of protecting the area, and en-
                courage donations to help alleviate these pressures. To reach
                nontourists (and potential tourists), governments might join
                with conservation groups in a campaign to raise funds from
                interested individuals.


                MAXIMIZING LOCAL BENEFITS
                One of the critical issues concerning nature tourism is its
                impact on local residents, and especially rural villagers, in
                developing countries. Since much of the growth in nature
                tourism will take place in such areas, it is important that
                steps are taken at an early stage to ensure that local resi-
                dents benefit from the tourist industry.
                  The most direct way of benefiting local communities is to
                employ as many residents as possible in tourism-related ser-
                vices. This includes jobs in restaurants, accommodation fa-
                cilities, and as guides. Other employment possibilities
                include construction activities, helping to build trails, pro-
                viding daily maintenance, and retail sales. If local workers
                do not possess the skills needed, training programs should
                be considered before bringing in workers from other areas.
                  Use of locally produced goods will also benefit the com-
                munity. Governments and/or NGOs can help farmers grow
                crops and livestock to supply tourist facilities. Promotion of
                local handicrafts also provides income-earning opportuni-
                ties.
                  Local residents also will benefit if a portion of fees col-






                               The Economics of Nature Tourism            113
              lected from nature tourism is earmarked for them. This is
              especially important if local residents have had to give up
              use of an area to ensure its continued existence for tourism.
              For example, in many countries, collection of firewood, food,
              timber, or other products is not allowed in national parks.
              This loss of income may be devastating to people already
              living at or near subsistence levels.
                Using a portion of the fees collected to compensate local
              residents provides a means of offsetting these losses. In the
              Chitwan National Park in Nepal, for example, conservation
              of this important rhino habitat is promoted by allowing vil-
              lagers to harvest elephant grass periodically, thereby help-
              ing to meet their needs for income from this valuable thatch
              material while discouraging illegal harvest of park resources
              (MacKinnon et al. 1986).
                Compensation can be provided in a number of ways. One
              possibility is to develop alternative supplies of the resource
              outside the tourist destination, Woodlots for firewood, cap-
              tive breeding for wildlife, and farms or plantations for plant
              species are examples.
                Developing a substitute for the lost resource is another
              form of compensation. If the resource was used for food, for
              example, a different food crop could be substituted. If it was
              used to generate income, other types of income-generating
              activities can be used to offset losses to local residents.
                Fees collected from nature tourism also can be used for
              community development activities. Construction of schools,
              sanitation facilities, electricity, water systems, and health
              clinics are potential forms of compensation. Residents must
              be made aware, however, that the provision of these facili-
              ties are, at least in part, compensation for losses associated
              with tourism.
                Compensation. is also warranted in cases where there are
              indirect costs to local residents from nature tourism, for ex-
              ample, damage from wi    *Idlife. One example of compensation
              is the case of traditional Masai herders and Kenya's Ambo-
              seli National Park. Both the Masai cattle and the area's wild-
              life depend on water and pasturelands located within and







                114     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                outside the park; the needs and range of both cattle and
                wildlife change during the year depending on the amount of
                rainfall and pasture availability. Restricting wildlife to the
                park's boundaries and excluding all cattle would result in a
                decreased population of both.
                  A compromise solution between the local Masai and the
                park authorities resulted in substantial economic gains to
                both parties. The solution included payment of a grazing
                compensation to the Masai to cover their livestock losses to
                wildlife migrants. According to Western (1984), the net mon-
                etary gain to the park from use of Masai lands is about
                $500,000 per year and the benefits from the park to the Ma-
                sai result in an income 85 percent greater than from cattle
                herding alone. (There remain, however, significant conflicts
                between the park and the Masai; see chapter 2.)
                  Schemes such as those described in this section are vital if
                nature tourism is to benefit, rather than hurt, local commu-
                nities. They also help to discourage activities that may dam-
                age tourism by providing alternatives. An International
                Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) report dis-
                cusses a number of such schemes that have been successful
                at both benefiting local communities and protecting natural
                resources (McNeely 1988).


                EXAMPLES OF ECONOMIC ANALYSES OF
                NATURE TOURISM

                KHAO YAI NATIONALPARK, THAILAND
                Khao Yai, Thailand's first national park, is located about 160
                kilometers northeast of Bangkok (see figure 6.2). Covering
                2,168 square kilometers, Khao Yai has been one of Thai-
                land's most popular parks since its establishment in 1962
                and is one of ten ASEIAN Heritage Parks and Reserves (NPD
                1986).                                                  the sur-
                  Khao Yai provides a number of benefits both to
                rounding region and     to the nation. It is a premier tourist






                                                                                                                                                                          The Economics of Nature Tourism                                                                                                                                                                                                     115
                                                                      Figure 6.2 Khao Yai National Park, Thailand.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 N


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                2

                                                                            3



                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Psk Chong


                                                                                                                                                                         2                        tftsk Lek


                                                                                                                          som sun


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   KhaoYel


                                                                                     Aywth rhay.





                                                                                                                                                                                 Odayok
                                                                                                                                                                                                           33
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               K"        T
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               33
                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Pmehi. aud
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Ofth


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         ............




                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    0
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               30

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
                                                                                   Bangkok                                                          roll

                                                                      Source: Dixon and Sherman 1990.



                                                                      destination in the region, with between 250,000 and 400,000
                                                                      visits per year. Since it contains most of the remaining forest
                                                                      in the area, it is of critical importance for wildlife and also
                                                                      profoundly affects the hydrology of the region. Four river ba-
                                                                      sins have their headwaters in Khao Yai, and two major res-
                                                                      eiFvoirs are dependent on water from the park.
                                                                               In addition to being the oldest national park in Thailand,
                                                                      Khao Yai is also one of the most popular and well-developed
                                                                      parks for recreation. Located approximately three hours
                                                                      away from Bangkok by car, Khao Yai attracts large numbers
                                                                      of both Thais and foreigners. Visits to Khao Yai more than
                                                                      tripled between 1977 and 1987.
                                                                               A recent survey of Khao Yai visitors designed by the au-
                                                                      thors and members of the World Wide Fund for Nature Ben-
                                                                      eficial Use Project, and undertaken by the latter group






                 116     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                 between March and May 1988, found that the site was vis-
                 ited mainly as a nature tourism destination. For foreigners
                 visiting the park, more than 62 percent stated that wildlife
                 viewing was one of their three main reasons for coming to
                 Khao Yai. This was followed by scenery (58 percent), relax-
                 ation (43 percent), and hiking (41 percent).
                   Thai nationals overwhelmingly said that enjoying the sce-
                 nery (54 percent) was their main reason for visiting Khao
                 Yai. (Note that relaxation was not given as a separate choice
                 in the Thai-language version of the survey, so percentages
                 are not directly comparable.) Adding the percentage of
                 people indicating any specific ac  'tivity as one of their top
                 three reasons for coming to Khao Yai showed that viewing
                 scenery was still number one (86 percent), followed by
                 seeing the waterfalls (58 percent), wildlife viewing (36 per-
                 cent), picnicking (29 percent), and overnight camping (25
                 percent). (More detailed responses from this survey can be
                 found in Dobias et al. 1988).

                 Financial benefits. Both the National Parks Division (NPD)
                 and Tourist Authority of Thailand (TAT) operate lodging
                 facilities in Khao Yai. Revenues from NPD-operated accom-
                 modations were almost 1.5 million baht in 1987 (approxi-
                 mately 26 baht equals US $0. Dobias et al. (1988) report
                 that the TAT income from lodging in 1987 was almost 5 mil-
                 lion baht, while TAT-run restaurants received 4.2 million
                 baht in income. TAT also received 400,000. baht from golf
                 course fees, 318,000 baht from their souvenir shop, and
                 230,000 baht from nighttime excursions to view wildlife
                 with spotlights. Thus, TAT's gross income was more than 10
                 million baht in 1987, while its expenditures during that year
                 were approximately 3.3 million baht. While these figures do
                 not include prior capital expenditures to build facilities, it
                 is nonetheless clear that TAT's operations are profitable. Un-
                 fortunately, all profits from TAT's operations go to TAT and
                 not to the NPD and', therefore, they do not contribute to the
                 management and preservation of the park.
                   Gate fees from admission to the park in recent years
                 ranged from 1.6 to 2.4 million baht per year. Adding the gate






                               The Economics of Nature Tourism              117
              fees and NPD-operated accommodation charges, tourism di-
              -rectly contributed approximately 3 million baht in 1987. In
              addition, NPD received 150,000 baht in concession fees from
              the four restaurants/food stalls within park boundaries.
                The Beneficial Use Project (Dobias 1988; Dobias et al.
              1988) has generated some interesting data on the expendi-
              tures of both Thai and foreign visitors to the park. In gen-
              eral, foreign visitors spend more per person than do Thai
              visitors. Based on data from organized bus tours, average
              daily per person expenses for foreign visitors range from 500
              to 800 baht, of which the formal admission fee is less than I
              percent. Clearly, gate receipts are only a very small fraction
              of people's willingness-to-pay to visit Khao, Yai.
                With more than 400,000 visitors per year, the total expend-
              itures generated by Khao Yai tourism are large-from 40
              million to 200 million baht ($1.5 to $7.7 million) if per capita
              expenditures are 100 to 500 baht. These expenditures, of
              course, are not an economic measure of the value of the park.
              To determine the true economic (i.e., social welfare) gain
              from visiting Khao Yai, we would need to measure consum-
              er's surplus, that is, the maximum willingness-to-pay over
              and above the actual cash costs of visiting Khao Yai. This
              amount could be estimated by carrying out a travel-cost
              study, an approach widely used to value the nonpriced ben-
              efits enjoyed by visitors to parks and other recreational
              areas. By carefully controlling for origin, visitor back-
              ground, and other variables, the pattern of recreational use
              of a park provides the data from which a demand curve and,
              in turn, consumer's surplus can be estimated (see Huf-
              schmidt et al. 1983 for a more detailed description).
                In sum, the financial contribution of tourism is already
              substantial and can be expected to increase in the future.
              Bangkok is near Khao Yai and as incomes rise and fewer al-
              ternative open areas remain, Khao Yai will become increas-
              ingly valuable. Foreign tourism could also increase with
              improved facilities and- promotion. Furthermore, virtually
              All Khao Yai tourism activities are restricted to a very- small
              part of the park accessible from the one north-south road.
              More than 90 percent of the park is completely undeveloped






                118     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                and inaccessible, other than on foot. Future expansion of fa-
                cilities is likely. VALUE: Tourism-related expenditures are 100
                to 200 million baht (roughly US $4 to $8 million) per year,
                and estimates of consumer's surplus (an economic measure)
                are from 10 to 25 million baht per year.

                Blodiversitylecological benefits. Maintaining Khao Yai as
                a national park for nature tourism and other uses provides
                benefits by protecting biological diversity and maintaining
                ecological processes. Khao Yai's rich diversity of plants and
                animals makes it an important reserve for many species. Al-
                though most famous for its elephants, numerous other spe-
                cies contribute to its biological diversity. In addition to the
                pure "existence value" of species diversity, it also provides a
                powerful pull for tourists. We are not able, however, to place
                a monetary value on many aspects of the current and future
                values of the benefits of maintaining biodiversity.VALUE: Un-
                determined. Expenditures on research and education re-
                lated to species in Khao Yai total I to 2 million baht per year.
                Option/existence value based on Khao Yai's role as an ele-
                phant sanctuary is estimated at more than 120 million baht
                per year (see Dixon and Sherman 1990 for more information
                on how this figure was determined).

                Watershed protection. Khao Yai provides important water-
                shed benefits in terms of the quantity, quality, and timing of
                water flows. The reservoirs located downstream depend on
                Khao Yai's watershed protection function. Maintaining
                Khao Yai in its current state for nature tourism and other
                uses will preserve these benefits as Well. VALUE: Can be cal-
                culated but undetermined at present.

                Management costs. The present annual management bud-
                get for Khao Yai is about 3.4 million baht. Implementation
                of the Khao Yai Management Plan (NPD 1986) to meet pro-
                tection, interpretation, and development goals will result in
                increased annual budgets and large capital expenditures in
                the next few years. With its large area and closely settled
                borders, greater effort is needed to support programs that
                help improve the standard 'of living of nearby residents,






                               The Economics of Nature Tourism              119
               thereby reducing their dependence on illegal and unsustain-
               able uses of the park. COST: Current government manage-
               ment costs are 3 to 4 million baht per year but will rise
               significantly over the next few years.

               opportunity costs. A variety of development benefits are
               lost because of protection. Foremost are water resource de-
               velopment, timber harvesting, and agriculture. The poten-
               tial economic benefits from agriculture appear to be
               relatively small and high extraction costs for timber limit
               its profitability. Precise estimates of these opportunity costs
               require more data. Impacts on tourism, biodiversity, and
               ecological processes, if these activities were allowed, may be
               large.
                 Another major category of opportunity costs is the loss of
               income to local villagers due to prohibitions on the gather-
               ing and harvesting of plants and animals in the park. Note
               that the two categories are not cumulative since develop-
               ment of park resources would also result in a loss of oppor-
               tunity to collect plants and animals. VALUE: A rough
               "guesstimate" of the reduction in villager-derived income
               from park resources is 27 million baht per year, though this
               amount would probably not be sustainable and would result
               in significant damage to highly valued species (Dixon and
               Sherman 1990).
                 Overall, Khao Yai is a good example of a protected area
               that fits the socially beneficial category. It provides recrea-
               tional, wildlife habitat, and watershed benefits that are
               quantifiable in physical, and in some cases economic, terms.
               It also provides less tangible benefits in terms of preserva-
               tion of forest cover and associated biological diversity. With-
               out government intervention, however, such a large area
               could not exist. The benefits are too diffuse and the financial
               returns from preservation would be outweighed by the di-
               rect benefits from exploitation of Khao Yai's timber, land,
               and animal resources.   ,

               Management Issues. Many areas just inside the park are
               heavily degraded. These areas should be made into buffer
               zones and managed to provide benefits to nearby villagers.







                 120     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                 Programs should be developed in these areas to promote
                 production of plants that are currently being poached
                 within the park or to establish other opportunities to supple-
                 ment villager incomes. These programs could be paid for, at
                 least partially, with a percentage of tourism revenues. Once
                 established, penalties for poaching beyond the buffer zone
                 should be strictly enforced. However, limited hunting of cer-
                 tain species could be allowed in the buffer zones. Such a pol-
                 icy would have to be accompanied by a clear demarcation of
                 park boundaries -
                   Certain tourist development activities could also have sec-
                 ondary benefits. Development of organized multiday hikes
                 could provide employment opportunities for local villagers
                 as guides and support staff. One program of this type has
                 already begun at Ban Sap Tai village under the auspices of a
                 WWF project (Dobias et al. 1988). These hikes could also be
                 accompanied by guards who would help patrol forest areas
                 currently not guarded effectively.
                   In 1987, fees from concessions, accommodations, and en-
                 trance were almost equal to the budget allocated to Khao
                 Yai (3.18 million baht versus 3.38 million baht respectively).
                 If the NPD were allowed to take over facilities currently run
                 by the Tourist Authority of Thailand (TAT), it is likely that
                 Khao Yai could more than pay for itself with direct revenues
                 from tourism.
                   The NPD should also consider establishing a two-tier fee
                 system. Current entrance fees, though reasonable for Thais,
                 are extremely low by foreign standards. Fees probably could
                 be raised to ten times their current levels without signifi-
                 cantly reducing the number of foreign visitors.


                 WILDLIFE PARKS INEAST AFwCA
                 The wildlife parks of East Africa, particularly in Kenya and
                 Tanzania, are extremely popular nature tourism destina-
                 tions. Although both countries have spectacular scenery fea-
                 turing mountains (Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya), the Great
                 Rift Valley, and a tropical coast, it is the game parks that
                 attract visitors from around the world.






                                The Economics of Nature Tourism               121
                  Nature tourism in Kenya is big business-worth an esti-
                mated $350 to $400 million per year. It also provides a sub-
                stantial indirect demand for goods and services produced by
                the local economy and job opportunities for local residents.
                in addition, the foreign exchange brought in by visitors is
                important to the national economy. While these benefits are
                necessarilv strict financial benefits (large amounts do not ac-
                crue to inaividuals), they are important social benefits. As a
                result, these game parks can be considered to fit in the "so-
                cially beneficial" category.
                  Wildlife parks require large amounts of area but often oc-
                cupy land that is semiarid and has only limited alternative
                uses-usually grazing of livestock. A number of studies have
                compared the benefits from protection and its associated
                tourism with extensive agricultural use (grazing or crops).
                In one study, the estimated tourism value of protecting an
                area to maintain a big-animal population (e.g., lions, ele-
                phants) was over $40 per hectare versus $0.80 per hectare
                under "optimistic" agricultural returns from livestock graz-
                ing (Western and Thresher 1973). Even if these numbers are
                somewhat questionable from a technical economic view-
                point, it is clear that many areas yield much more revenue
                when managed for protection and nature tourism than they
                would under marginal agricultural development.
                  Western and Henry (1979) estimated the gross worth of
                lions in Amboseli National Park in Kenya, in terms of gen-
                erating tourism revenues, to be $27,000 each per year; an
                elephant herd was estimated to be worth $610,000 per year.
                These are social returns from tourism. Yet a poacher is not
                interested in the larger social benefits and will kill an animal
                to earn a few hundred dollars.
                  Thresher (198 1) also considered the economics of lions in
                Amboseli National Park in Kenya. Based on survey results,
                it was determined that the average visitor to Amboseli spent
                seventy minutes looking for and then viewing lions, or 30
                percent of the average'four hours spent on wildlife viewing
                per visit. Through a series of assumptions about Amboseli's
                lion population, the number of adult-maned lions, and av-
                erage success rate in viewing one, Thresher determined that







                 122     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                 an individual lion will draw $515,000 in foreign exchange
                 receipts over a fifteen-year period (with a 10 percent dis-
                 count rate). This social measure of the value of a lion as a
                 tourist attraction can be compared with the private returns
                 of a lion as a hunting resource: a twenty-one-day lion hunt
                 will cost a nonresident hunter about $8,500. The lowest
                 value for a lion is the retail price for a well-cured skin: some-
                 where between $960 and $1,325.
                   This example illustrates one approach to estimating the
                 varying direct values (both economic and financial) of the
                 lion as a natural resource. Tourism is clearly the most effi-
                 cient use of the lion-it generates a very large amount of
                 foreign exchange over time and does not require the death
                 of the animal. The lion is much less valuable as quarry or as
                 a cured skin (in many cases, the two are added: lion hunts
                 often result in lion skins).
                   The parallels with elephants are very close-they are
                 much more valuable as a tourism attraction than for their
                 ivory. Yet in the past decade, Africa's elephant population
                 has decreased by 50 percent from 1.2 million to just over
                 600,000 Wastri 1989). Kenya and Tanzania, both major na-
                 ture tourism destinations, have suffered major losses to
                 poachers-since 1981, Kenya has lost two-thirds of its ele-
                 phant population, with fewer than 20,000 remaining. The re-
                 cent ban on all international trade in elephant products
                 (including ivory) and enhanced antipoaching measures ap-
                 pear to be having some positive effect.
                   In a 1989 study, Brown and Henry surveyed tourists and
                 tour operators in Kenya to estimate the monetary value as-
                 signable to elephant viewing within the safari industry.
                 Using two different approaches, they estimated that ele-
                 phants contributed a consumer's surplus (an economic mea-
                 sure) of from $25 to $30 million annually. This was about 13
                 percent of the total consumer's surplus of $182 to $218 mil-
                 lion of the 300,000 or. so adults who went on safari.
                   The social benefits of nature tourism in these areas are
                 large. However, actions by individuals, either poachers or
                 farmers/pastoralists who are using the park's resources for
                 personal gain, threaten to destroy the nature tourism indus-






                                  The Economics of Nature Tourism               123
                try. A remote semiarid landscape without animals will have
                little appeal in the international nature tourism market.
                  A major management challenge, therefore, is to find ways
                to include the individuals who live adjacent to the parks in
                the economic benefits generated by tourism. The Amboseli/
                Masai case cited earlier in this chapter is one example. Com-
                munity involvement and support for developmen         't are essen-
                tial if the resource degradation presently found in many
                game parks is to be reduced.
                  Controlling poachers may be a bigger challenge. Animal
                poachers frequently come from some distance outside the
                area and are difficult to regulate. Efforts are needed both on
                the demand side (reducing worldwide demand for and trade
                in poached products, thereby reducing their value) and on
                the supply side (controlled harvesting of desired products on
                a sustainable basis). In many cases, regulation and police
                enforcement are also needed to control the killing of these
                animals.


                NATURE TouRism IN THE CARIBBEAN
                Tourism is the 'largest single industry in the Caribbean.
                Some countries are almost entirely dependent on tourism
                revenues while others have more mixed economies. One
                small but rapidly growing segment of the tourism industry
                is nature tourism.
                  Nature tourism is receiving increased attention now as a
                result of two important trends. One is the growing demand
                for " off- the-beaten-track " destinations within the interna-
                tional tourism industry. The second trend is the new empha-
                sis by park managers on increasing support (both political
                and financial) for protected area management through inte-
                grating economic components into conservation activities.
                As economic growth and development proceed, the number
                of "wild places" will decrease and their attractiveness will
                increase. As part of a mixed bundle of attractions, nature
                tourism can play an increasingly useful role as various coun-
                tries seek to differentiate their "product" in the world
                market..






                           124            THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TouRism
                           Figure 6.3. Saba Marine Park, Netherlands Antilles.


                                                 Saba Madne Park                                     43 14

                                                                                                                                           so@







                                                                                                                   to
                                                                                                         -VA


                                               Diamond


                                                                                                                      P  nt
                                                                      Torrwis Point
                                                                                                                  Cove fty
                                                          -7.         Welt's Day



                                                                                                                  swing say            @Qj


                                                                                                                                           7 39-
                                                                 Leddaw Say
                                                                                                                   Corme Gut Bay F.








                                                                                                              CarrW Point


                                                                 Tent Bay

                                      d"
                                                         Fort go  Q1
                                                                                 Q;                              ?
                                                                                               N,
                                                                       %bi
                                                                           Ci
                                                                                          Q2
                                   Anoxwep

                                   %cremicrai dl zone. no                           a
                                                                                           001-ni.aZ@
                                                                                                        14'

                           SOURCE: Saba Conservation Foundation.


                              The small island                   of Saba, part of the Netherland Antilles,
                           is a well-known nature tourism destination. Located in the
                           Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles (see figure 6.3), Saba
                           is a high volcanic island, with a population of some 1,200
                           people on its twelve and a half square kilometers.
                              The Saba Marine Park, established in June 1987, includes
                           the entire coastal environment. The primary emphasis is
                           marine tourism, in particular scuba diving and snorkeling
                           (van't Hof 1989). The park has used an innovative combina-
                           tion of user fees, donations, and souvenir sales to support its
                           activities.






                               The Economics of Nature Tourism             125
                 In 1989, for example, the operating budget for the park
               amounted to $42,000, of which the park will raise about
               $27,500, or 65 percent of the total, from fees, donations, and
               sales. User fees of $1 per dive are collected from scuba tour
               operators and are a major source of revenue. Present projec-
               tions are that the park will be self-sufficient by 1991, three
               years earlier than initially expected.
                 The Saba Marine Park is an excellent example of a mu-
               tually beneficial interaction of nature tourism and ecosys-
               tem protection. The revenues from tourism will soon be
               sufficient to cover management costs. Maximum carrying
               capacity is based more on spatial considerations than envi-
               ronmental concerns; crowding is likely to become a problem
               sooner than serious environmental impacts from visitation.
               Although van't Hof estimates the carrying capacity for div-
               ing in Saba Marine Park waters at about 80,000 dives per
               year (representing about 13,000 divers), financial self-suffi-
               ciency is reached at about 40,000 dives per year.
                 The Saba example is clearly a special case. With total
               Caribbean tourism counts of almost 10 million visitors a
               year (including both island and mainland destinations), this
               form of low-impact, nature tourism is not the solution to the
               economic development goals of many Caribbean Basin
               countries. Nevertheless, the lessons from Saba and other na-
               ture tourism (or scuba diving) destinations indicate how
               tourism and conservation can serve mutually complemen-
               tary purposes.


               LOGGING AND NATuRE TouRism IN THE PHILIPPINES

               Sometimes the threats to nature tourism are direct and
               readily measured-poaching of elephants for their ivory or
               encroachment of agricultural fields into protected areas are
               two examples. In other cases, a nature tourism industry may
               be harmed by actions that take place at some distance but
               have effects that are transmitted through the environment.
               These types of impacts can be just as costly.
                 One example of the latter, ecosystem-linked impact is oc-
               curring in the Bacuit Bay area of northern Palawan, an is-






                   126      THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                   Figure 6.4. Bacuit Bay, Palawan, and Surrounding Drainage
                   Basin.


                                               N


                                                                           vw.

                                10 PALAWAN[


                    Palawan
                                                                           N
                                                El               @V;
                                                                     .+
                                                               `0
                                               Nido


                                                                        ;t t
                                          9



                                                                 AIS
                                                                  eik Aii,
                                    T'
                                               'A Manlag
                                                  River.f
                        V
                                           Bacuit
                                             Bay
                         SOUTH
                       CHINA SEA

                                                         V
                                                                IYM
                     0       5 Krn
                     L       J
                                                                4W.-W.- -






                   t


                         Logging concession         A Diving  resort

                         Drainage basin                Coral reef

                   r mv
                   16 . J Logging

                   Source: Hodgson and Dixon 1988.

                   land in the Philippines (see figure 6.4). Long famous for its
                   beautiful scenery, abundant fish life, and clear water, Bacuit
                   Bay and the small town of El Nido were largely undeveloped
                   until recently. Access was difficult and costly.
                     Prior to 1979, there was little organized tourism in the
                   Bacuit Bay/El Nido region. Then a Philippine-Japanese joint
                   venture set up a scuba diving resort on a small island at the
                   mouth of the bay. This first resort catered to groups of Japa-
                   nese divers with smaller numbers of other local and foreign
                   divers. The success of this operation led to the establishment





                                The Economics of Nature Tourism              127
                of a second resort, located on an adjacent island, in 1984.
                Both resorts are selling a fragile, rare commodity: clear,
                warm waters, abundant coral and fish life, and spectacular
                scenery. The resorts charge top dollar for their services and
                have a major interest in preserving the bay's ecosystem.
                 Local artisanal fishermen share these concerns. The two
                groups have been working together to protect the bay's coral
                and fish population to their mutual benefit. Both groups also
                had an incentive to cooperate with the marine police to en-
                force the trawler ban in nearshore'areas.
                 -A third industry in the area, however, has caused a major
                resource use conflict. Most of the Bacuit Bay watershed is
                forested and a portion falls within a concession granted to a
                major logging firm. In this steep watershed with highly ero-
                sive soils, logging results in substantial erosion of that soil,
                which is deposited directly into the bay. The sediment kills
                the coral, thereby reducing biomass production and the de-
                pendent fishery, and clouds the water. Both the diving and
                fishing industry suffer as a result and incur major economic
                losses.
                 A detailed ecological-economic analysis of the three indus-
                tries examined the financial implications of continued log-
                ging versus a logging ban. Continued logging would result
                in a loss of a substantial part of the bay's coral ecosystem
                and the eventual closing of the dive resorts. Fish catch would
                also be reduced. A logging ban would avoid these costs but
                would deprive the firm of income from the timber located in
                the bay's watershed.
                 Gross revenues were examined for all three industries. A
                logging ban was estimated to produce over $75 million in
                revenues over a ten-year period from a thriving tourism ($47
                million) and fishing ($28 million) industry. Logging revenue
                would be zero. Continued logging, on the other hand, would
                generate $13 million in logging revenues over the same ten
                years but would result in major decreases in tourism reve-
                nue (to $8 million) and. fishery income (to $13 million). The
                "cost" of continued logging, therefore, was about $40 million
                in gross revenue over the ten-year period. Details of the anal-
                ysis are presented in Hodgson and Dixon (1988).
                 The biggest loser would be the nature tourism diving busi-






                 128    THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                 ness-not only would planned expansion plans be dropped,
                 but the major resorts would close. Divers would not want to
                 incur the expense and inconvenience of coming to El Nido if
                 the diving were not superb-other sites are available in the
                 Philippines and elsewhere.
                   The Bacuit Bay/El Nido case is still evolving. Because of
                 political factors, attempts to ban logging have failed to date,
                 but a marine park is being set up in the bay. Whether or not
                 less erosive logging practices can be introduced remains to
                 be seen. In the meantime, the bay ecosystem suffers and
                 tourism is hurt.




                 THE BOTTOM LINE

                 We began this chapter with a series of questions about the
                 economics of nature tourism and posed a leading question
                 about "determining if it pays." We believe the answer is that
                 nature tourism is potentially privately profitable as well as
                 socially beneficial. It has the desirable attribute of allowing
                 both conservation and economic development objectives to
                 be met simultaneously.
                   Nature tourism is not, however, the solution to all conser-
                 vation problems. Some protected areas cannot sustain any
                 direct use; others may yield larger social benefits when de-
                 veloped for other forms of tourism. Nature tourism will usu-
                 ally be most suitable when areas fall between these two
                 extremes. This includes fragile ecosystems that can accom-
                 modate limited numbers of visitors but cannot sustain high
                 use levels; for example, certain coral reef ecosystems or
                 moist tropical forests may not be able to sustain intensive
                 visitor use. This so-called low-impact tourism has important
                 conservation and protection benefits as compared with re-
                 sort tourism, which is usually more intrusive, even if it
                 yields greater financial benefits.
                   In other cases, demand, not carrying capacity, may be the
                 limiting factor. Nature tourism is suitable for places that are
                 very remote or difficult to reach, a characteristic that often






                                   The Economics of Nature Tourism                129
                  translates into fairly high costs per visit. Safaris in Africa, or
                  cruises to Alaska or the Galdpagos, come to mind.
                    INature tourism may also be a desirable alternative when
                  investment funds are limited. Nature tourism frequently
                  uses simpler facilities and has less expensive and less intru-
                  sive infrastructure. Thus, it may be practical in cases where
                  funds for large-scale development are not available.
                    Economic analysis of alternatives is helpful in identifying
                  likely benefits and costs, both private and social, of devel-
                  opment options. In some cases, large-scale resort tourism
                  will be the preferred option, in others, nature tourism, with
                  its associated environmental and conservation benefits, may
                  be better. In still other cases, more traditional development
                  or strict protection with no tourism will be the optimal
                  choice -An economic analysis as outlined in this chapter can
                  help clarify the issues, and help determine the potential ef-
                  fects of different alternatives.



                                           REFERENCES

                  Boo, E. 1990. Ecotourism: The Potentials and Pitfalls. Wash-
                    ington, D.C.: World Wildlife Fund.
                  Brown, G., and W Henry. 1989. The Economic Value of Ele-
                    phants. LEEC Discussion Paper 89-12. London: London
                    Environmental Economics Centre.
                  Cicchetti, C. J., and A.M. Freeman 111. 1971. "Option De-
                    mand and Consumer Surplus: Further Comment                Quar-
                    terly Journal of Economics 85.
                  Conrad, J. 1980. "Quasi-option Value and the Expected Value
                    of Information." Quarterly Journal of Economics 94.
                  Dixon, J. A., R. A. Carpenter, L. A. Fallon, P B. Sherman, and
                    S. Manopimoke. 1988. Economic Analysis of the Environ-
                    mental Impacts of Development Projects. London: Earths-
                    can Publications.
                  Dixon, J. A., and M. M. Hufschmidt, eds. 1986. Economic Val-
                    uation Techniques for the Environment: A Case Study Work-
                    book. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University
                    Press.






               130    THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
               Dixon, J. A., D. E. James, and R B. Sherman. 1989. The Eco-
                 nomics of Dryland Management. London: Earthscan Pub-
                 lications.
               Dixon, J. A., and R B. Sherman. 1990. Economics of Protected
                 Areas: A New Look at Benefits and Costs. Covelo, California:
                 Island Press.
               Dobias, R. J. 1988. WWF Contract 3757: Influencing Decision
                 Makers About Providing Enhanced Support for Protected
                 Areas in Thailand (Beneficial Use Project). Interim report.
                 Mimeo.
               Dobias, R. J., V Wangwacharakul, and N. Sangswang. 1988.
                 Beneficial Use Quantifications of Khao Yai National Park:
                 Executive Summary and Main Report. Bangkok: Thorani
                 Tech for World Wide Fund for Nature.
               Frueh, S. 1988. "Report to WWF on Tourism to Protected
                 Areas." Mimeo. Washington, D.C       World Wildlife Fund-
                 U.S.
               Hitzhusen, J. F. 1982. "The Economics of Biomass for En-
                 ergy." Mimeo. Ohio State University
               Hodgson, G., and J. A. Dixon. 1988. Logging versus Fisheries
                 and Tourism in Palawan: An Environmental and Economic
                 Analysis. EAPI Occasional Paper No. 7. Honolulu, Hawaii:
                 East-West Center.
               Hufschmidt, M. M., D. E. James, A. D. Meister, B. T. Bower,
                 and J. A. Dixon. 1983. Environment, Natural Systems and
                 Development: An Economic Valuation Guide. Baltimore,
                 Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press.
               Krutilla, J. V, and A. C. Fisher. 1985. The Economics of Nat-
                 ural Environments: Studies in the Valuation of Commodity
                 and Amenity Resources. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C.: Re-
                 sources for the Future.
               Lindberg, K. 1989. "Tourism as a Conservation Tool." Mimeo.
                 Washington, D.C.: Johns Hopkins University (SAIS).
               MacKinnon, J., K. MacKinnon, G. Child, and J. Thorsell.
                 1986. Managing Protected Areas in the Tropics. Gland,
                 Switzerland: International Union for the Conservation of
                 Nature.
               McNeely, J. A. 1988. Economics and Biological Diversity: De-
                 veloping and Using Incentives to Conserve Biological Re-






                               The Economics of Nature Tourism             131
                 sources. Gland, Switzerland: International Union for      the
                 Conservation of Nature.
               Mastri, M. 1989. "Dissension Looming over CITES Ban on
                 Elephant Products." Environment Bulletin 1, no. 5.
               Mathieson, A., and G. Wall. 1982. Tourism: Economic, Physi-
                 cal and Social Impacts. London and New York: Longman.
               National Parks Division (NPD). 1986. Khao Yai National Park
                 Management Plan 1987-1991. Bangkok: National Parks Di-
                 vision, Royal Forest Department.
               Posner, B., C. Cuthbertson, E. Towle, and C. Reeder. 198 1.
                 Economic Impact Analysis for the Virgin Islands National
                 Park. St. Thomas: Island Resources Foundation.
               Ray, A. 1984. Cost-Benefit Analysis: Issues and Methodologies.
                 Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press
                 for the World Bank.
               Squire, L., and H. G. van der Tak. 1975. Economic Analysis
                 of Projects. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins Univer-
                 sity Press.
               Thresher, R 1981. "The Economics of a Lion."   UNASYLVA 33,
                 no. 134.
               Touche Ross Services. 1984. Kangaroo Island National Parks
                 Cost-Benefit Study. Adelaide: Touche Ross Services.
               van't Hof, T. 1989. "Making Marine Parks Self-Sufficient: The
                 Case of Saba." Paper presented at the Conference on Eco-
                 nomics and the Environment, November 6-8, Barbados.
               Western, D. 1984. 'Amboseli National Park: Human Values
                 and the Conservation of a Savanna Ecosystem." In Na-
                 tional Parks, Conservation and Development: The Role of
                 Protected Areas in Sustaining Society, edited by, J. A. Mc-
                 Neely and K. R. Miller. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian In-
                 stitution Press.
               Western, D., and W Henry. 1979. "Economics and Conserva-
                 tion in Third World National Parks." Bioscience 29, no. 7.
               Western, D., and P Thresher. 1973. Development Plans for Am-
                 boseli. Nairobi: World Bank.











                                      CHAPTER 7

                             Local Participation in
                              Ecotourism Projects


                                     SUSANP. DRAKE






                L
                    ocal participation is a necessary component of sustain-
                    able development generally (meeting the needs of pre-
                sent and future generations while protecting the natural
                resource base) and ecotourism specifically. The term "local
                participation," as defined here, is the ability of local com-
                munities to influence the outcome of development projects
                such as ecotourism that have an impact on them.
                  There has been a gradual shift in attitudes of planners and
                decision-makers over the past two decades toward local
                participation in the development process. Governments,
                multilateral development banks, and nongovernmental or-
                ganizations are beginning to recognize that environmentally
                sustainable development, of which ecotourism is an ex-
                ample, rests on gaining local support for the project. The
                capacity of national and local governments to manage effec-
                tively the rapidly growing number of development projects
                and programs will be limited unless functions are decen-
                tralized and communities involved. It will be difficult for

                                               132






                           Local Participation in Ecotourism Projects      133
               multilateral development banks and nongovernmental or-
               ganizations to sustain projects and effectively channel ben-
               efits to the local population without the latter's involvement
               and support. And environmentalists will find it next to im-
               possible to conserve a resource without the commitment of
               the local population. Finally, pragmatic considerations
               aside, planners have a moral obligation to listen to the
               people whom their projects will affect.
                 There are few, if any, clearly defined approaches to plan-
               ning local participation for ecotourism projects. However,
               planners for national parks, wetlands, and river corridor
               management projects, among others, have obtained local in-
               put with varying degrees of success. We will look at a few of
               these case studies abroad and in the United States and then
               present a local participation plan for ecotourism projects.


               DEFINITION OF LOCAL PARTICIPATION

               Local communities can participate in ecotourism projects at
               the planning stage, during implementation, and can share
               the benefits. Participation in the planning process includes
               such tasks as identifying problems, formulating alterna-
               tives, planning activities, and allocating resources. Partici-
               pation in the implementation stage may include actions
               such as managing and operating a program. Sharing bene-
               fits means that the local communities will receive economic,
               social, political, cultural, and/or other benefits from the
               project either individually or collectively.
                 Sam Paul (1987), a World Bank expert on community par-
               ticipation, makes a useful distinction between four levels of
               intensity in local participation. Information sharing-proj-
               ect designers and managers share information with the pub-
               lic in order to facilitate collective or individual action-is
               the first level. The next level of participation is consulta-
               tion-the public is not only informed, but consulted on key
               issues at some or all stages in a project cycle. Decision-mak-
               ing is the third level-the public is involved in making deci-
               sions about project design and implementation. The highest







                134     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                level of intensity is called initiating action. This occurs when
                the public takes the initiative in terms of actions and deci-
                sions pertaining to the project.


                ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

                The advantages to incorporating local participation in an
                ecotourism project are many. First, local participation func-
                tions as an early warning system, helping managers to avoid
                or plan for decisions that might otherwise cause conflict
                with the local population. Also, including a participation
                program in the design stage of a project provides the oppor-
                tunity for the local community to become educated about
                the purpose and benefits of the project, thereby increasing
                support for the effort. When managers take the time to lis-
                ten, they can enlist confidence, trust, and support from the
                local population. In most cases, people will support a project
                they understand directly benefits them.
                   Second, local involvement fosters better planning and
                decision-making. Conflicts are brought out in the open and
                resolved during the planning process, additional informa-
                tion is provided that may quantify environmental values,
                persons previously unrecognized are given a chance to voice
                their opinion, a wider array of alternatives may be devel-
                oped from public opinions, and issues, impacts, and man-
                agement alternatives are better identified.
                   Third, ensuring local input legitimizes the decision-
                making process. Accountability of project managers (gov-
                ernment or nongovernmental) is reinforced, and local
                involvement is secured. Other benefits would include pos-
                sible cost sharing of projects, benefits channeled to the com-
                munity, and the protection of cultural norms (Hudspeth
                1982).
                   Sam Paul categor    *izes the benefits associated with local
                participation as follows:

                   1. Increasing project efficiency through consultation with
                      people during project planning or involving the public






                              Local Participation in Ecotourism Projects       135
                       in mana  gement of project implementation or opera-
                       tion.
                   2.  Increasing project effectiveness through greater local
                       involvement to help ensure that the project achieves its
                       objectives and that benefits go to the intended group.
                   3.  Building beneficiary capacity to understand sustain-
                       able development by ensuring that participants are
                       actively involved in project planning and implementa-
                       tion and through formal or informal training and con-
                       sciousness-raising activities.
                   4.  Increasing empowerment by seeking to give the under-
                       privileged sectors of society controfover the resources
                       and decisions affecting their lives. It also means ensur-
                       ing that they receive benefits from the use of the re-
                       sources.
                   5.  Sharing costs by facilitating a collective understanding
                       and agreement on cost sharing and its enforcement.
                       The public may contribute to labor, financing, or main-
                       tenance of the project.

                   Local participation should not be seen as a panacea for all
                 the socioeconomic costs of ecotourism projects, however. Ac-
                 cording to Goddard and Cotter (1986) (employees of the U.S.
                 Agency of International Development who have had exten-
                 sive experience with I   'ocal participation in development
                 projects), participatory approaches have several disadvan-
                 tages.
                   Managing local participation frequently increases the
                 number of managerial and administrative staff required.
                 Pressure is often exerted by the community to increase the
                 level or widen the range of services beyond those originally
                 planned, with consequent increases in project costs. Plan-
                 ners may lose control of a project to opposing forces who
                 seek to use the community organization to wrest control of
                 the project from the implementing agency. Benefits do not
                 always reach the intended target group. Informing local
                 people about a project could increase their frustration or
                 dissatisfaction if the project is delayed or delivers fewer ser-
                 vices than planned. In politically volatile areas, the attempt







              136     T14E NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
              to involve community organizations may create conflicts
              that either paralyze the project or create much wider prob-
              lems.
                Despite these potential disadvantages, however, the risk of
              creating an unsustainable ecotourism project-one not sup-
              ported by the local people, and perhaps destroyed by them-
              is great if there in no local participation in the project.
                The following are examples of different approaches to in-
              cluding public participation in project development.



              LOCAL PARTICIPATION IN AMBOSELI
              NATIONAL PARK IN KENYA

              Kenya's Amboseli National Park was one of the first to at-
              tempt to incorporate local participation into the implemen-
              tation of the project. The indigenous population of Masai
              was represented by the Kajiado District Council. The Coun-
              cil functioned as a channel for the disbursement of tourist
              revenues generated by the park to the Masai. The benefits to
              the Masai were to be in the form of management projects
              such as water wells.
                When the scheme was implemented, however, only some
              of the originally intended benefits from the park reached the
              Masai. Park revenues went directly to the national govern-
              ment. Funds were then allocated by the Kenyan government
              to the District Council for management and maintenance of
              the national reserve facilities. However, the allocated funds
              never met the amount originally agreed to by the District
              Council. The projects, therefore, were never funded. This
              problem could have been resolved, at least partially, by in-
              vestigating the national political and administrative struc-
              ture early on in the project as part of the local participation
              plan.
                Sociological and cultural issues such as the Masai's strat-
              egies for managing range resources were not thoroughly in-
              vestigated. In the early management stage of the project, it






                              Local Participation in Ecotourism Projects        137
                 was discovered @hat during periods of seasonal drought, the
                 only area with water and therefore wildlife was the area des-
                 ignated to be the reserve. The Masai tired of not receiving
                 benefits promised to them if they stayed o    ff the reserve, and
                 therefore defiantly and purposefully encroached on the re-
                 serve in order to @unt its wildlife and let their cattle drink.
                   other factors, such as the almost exclusive use of non-
                 Masai as project staff and a perception of the project mission
                 as reforming the cantankerous Masai, exacerbated the situ-
                 ation (Honadle 1985).
                   Had the Masai been directly involved in the early stages
                 of project planning, and a survey conducted on the social,
                 political, and economic situation of the area, certain as-
                 sumptions and decisions that negatively affected project
                 management could have been avoided.



                 COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN
                 GUANACASTE NATIONAL PARK IN
                 COSTA RICA

                 Costa Rica's dry tropical forests are being restored at the
                 75,000-hectare Guanacaste National Park (GNP) in the
                 northwest region of the country. One of the primary goals of
                 the project is to promote local involvement in the expansion
                 of the park in order to ensure its long-term viability.
                   This "enlightened" approach is at least partially due to les-
                 sons learned while establishing the Corcovado National
                 Park farther, down the coast. People who lived in or around
                 Corcovado were not involved in the formation of the park.
                 Subsequently, gold miners illegally invaded the park, cut-
                 ting trees, altering watercourses, and dumping sand wastes.
                 They were found to lack awareness that they were destroy-
                 ing the environment. The same people even stated that they
                 supported a strong national park system for Costa Rica.
                   In Guanacaste National Park, the idea of integrating the
                 local population into the park management system was de-







             138     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
             veloped and promoted by Dr. Dan Janzen, the park's found-
             ing father. According to Janzen, "It is simply not enough to
             raise the funds, put a fence around the forest, and call it pre-
             served. The economicand social pressures will inevitably
             unpreserve it. The challenge isn't what is going to be pre-
             served of tropical forests now, that has already been deter-
             mined, the challenge is what will be left of tropical forests
             100 years from now. It does not matter how much money is
             put into it, if the people do not understand it and want it,
             there will not be- any national parks 100 years from now. The
             survival of the forests can be realized only if the soil and its
             denizens become embedded in the consciousness of the hu-
             man inhabitants."
               Janzen's concept of local participation emphasizes paid or
             volunteer jobs in park management for local citizens. People
             from nearby towns live on the outer edges of the park on
             homesteads owned by the GNP where they can have their
             own gardens and cows. They are paid park managers and
             help to fight fires, stop poaching, and plant seeds. Local car-
             penters are also used to build any infrastructure needed
             (e.g., bunkhouses for visitors).
               Another form of local participation is locally oriented and
             generated forum discussions about the park and its impact
             on the local community. These forums are mainly atte       'nded
             by local businessmen and farmers. One, for example, fo-
             cused on the actions they would take to accommodate the
             expansion of the park.
               Also being pursued is the idea of using local biology teach-
             ers as liaisons between park managers and the fishermen on
             the village civic committees in order to improve the flow of
             information on relevant issues such as coastal degradation.
               Along with environmental restoration, Janzen promotes
             what he terms "biocultural restoration." The thrust is to
             embed biological understanding in the local culture by en-
             couraging interaction between the park and its nearly
             40,000 neighbors. His gbal is to "put biology back into the
             people's cultural repertoire-back on the same status with
             music, art, and religion." Toward this end, the regenerated
             forest is viewed as a library or museum. Plans are in the






                             Local Participation in Ecotourism Projects       139
                works to develop educational activities ranging from field
                trips for local schoolchildren to international symposia. Ac-
                tivities have included hiring a marine biologist to teach
                schoolchildren in the nearby fishing village about coastal is-
                sues, and drawing local people into the park by offer, i non-
                paying research technician apprenticeships for forest
                restoration and inventory projects.
                  The political, economic, and social environment in Costa
                Rica and in the Guanacaste region has been very supportive
                of this participatory approach. Politically, the project has
                been supported by all levels of government, including the
                president of Costa Rica and the National Parks Service di-
                rector.
                  Economically, few farmers and landholders in the area
                have resisted selling their land, since most of the farmland
                in the park is of poor quality. The population is literate, with
                a diverse lifestyle that includes farming, ranching, fishing,
                timber extraction, civil service, and small business. The lo-
                cal people are knowledgeable about aspects of park manage-
                ment such as fighting fires, maintaining trails and buildings,
                herding cattle, identifying and understanding vegetation
                and trees, and dealing with biotic challenges such as snakes.
                  According to Janzen, the following elements are essential
                to the success of sustainable development and ecotourism
                projects:


                  I .Base the development of the park on the kinds of habi-
                     tats that will make the park the most user-friendly
                     (community involvement value, recreational value,
                     interest-generating value, tourist income value, etc.).
                  2. Restore a tropical national park, because the process
                     itself facilitates community participation in the plan-
                     ning of the park and in the mechanics of its growth,
                     thereby engendering a desire to preserve it aside from
                     its innate or taught attractiveness.
                  3. Conservation must be based in education. Put natural
                     history back into the human repertoire.
                  4. Assist the intellectual development of the local people






              140     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                    and, increase their understanding of the biological
                    world beyond fields and pastures.



              LOCAL PARTICIPATION APPROACHES
              FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS IN
              THE UNITED STATES

              Local participation plans in the developing world will vary
              from those in the United States due to different relationships
              with government institutions, nongovernmental organiza-
              tions, and citizens. Nevertheless, the following approaches
              to local participation used in United States environmental
              planning can provide useful guidance in the development of
              a participation process for ecotourism projects around the
              world.


              LOCAL PARTICIPATION PROGRAM FOR WETLAND
              PROJECTS
              The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in conjunction
              with federal, state, and local agencies, conducts an Ad-
              vanced Identification of wetlands (ADID) process when it
              designates wetland areas as suitable or unsuitable for fill
              material. As part of the planning process, each ADID project
              manager is encouraged to develop a local participation plan.
                A guidance document on how to develop a community re-
              lations program for advanced identification efforts was de-
              veloped by EPA's Office of Wetlands Protection for use by
              EPA regional offices and local governments.
                 The objectives of the Advanced Identification Community
              Relations Program are to: (1) gather information about the
              community in which the wetlands are located; (2) give citi-
              zens the opportunity- to comment on and provide their
              knowledge on aspects of the project; (3) channel discussion
              or conflict into a forum; and (4) involve other federal, state,






                             Local Participation in Ecotourism Projects      141
                and local agencies in joint communications and education
                efforts -
                  There are three initial questions considered when an ADID
                community relations effort is launched. These are: (1) What
                is the community for the particular ADID project? (2) What
                are the best ways for learning more about these communi-
                ties? (3) What are the best routes for reaching the commu-
                nities with information and/or requests for assistance?
                  The diversity of communities, interests, ecosystems, and
                development patterns at different places around the country
                requires individual evaluations of appropriate community
                relations strategies for each new ADID project. No single ap-
                proach is appropriate to all regions, or even to all circum-
                stances in a single region.
                  There are three major tasks in developing an ADID plan
                that are closely related to the questions asked above: (1)
                identifying appropriate agencies, officials, and staff to serve
                on a coordinating committee for an interagency community
                relations effort; (2) learning about the community; and (3)
                identifying appropriate community relations activities and
                coordinating them with the expected steps in the project.
                  The program sets forth ways to identify appropriate agen-
                cies and officials, including querying state and local gov-
                ernment directories, universities, associations, business
                representatives, and following local press coverage of eco-
                nomic/development issues in the area.
                  The program recommends the development of a local
                needs-and-wants survey. Using the lists of identified agencies
                and individuals and information from the survey, activities
                and approaches to ensure good community relations are
                identified. The nature of community concern and the extent
                of community involvement in the past are also taken into
                account.
                  Community relations activities conducted under ADID
                projects range from briefing state and local officials during
                the project design stage, developing fact sheets describing
                the area, known values of the area, history of threats, and
                benefits from the project, conducting educational presenta-







             142    THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURF_ TouRism
             tions, developing and distributing press releases, conducting
             news conferences to more participatory activities such as
             holding public hearings, conducting small group meetings,
             and establishing informal advisory groups.

             ADVANCED IDENTIFICATION PROCESS FOR
             WEST KENTUCKY COALFIELD WETLANDS
             In 1989, EPA decided to conduct an Advanced Identification
             (ADID) study and related Public Involvement Plan for a four-
             county area in west Kentucky. The ADID was initiated due
             to the significant impact of coal mining on wetlands in the
             area. The project goals were to promote public and industry
             awareness of wetland values through public information
             dissemination and local participation in the ADID process.
             The ADID study team collected information on wetlands in
             the study area - Their preliminary findings were circulated to
             federal, state, and local agencies for their comments and rec-
             ommendations.
              EPA then developed a public participation and informa-
             tion process that began with a series of one-on-one meetings
             with key players such as the Kentucky Coal Association and
             political representatives. Here the parties discussed their
             concerns and needs, and a preliminary approach was nego-
             tiated. These discussions formed the basis for a larger com-
             munity meeting, which was publicized through the media.
             Key individuals were sent letters of invitation. At the meet-
             ing, the EPA informed the public of the initiation of the
             ADID study, and explained the ADID analysis and how it
             would affect the community.
              The Kentucky Coal Association helped EPA explain its
             goals to the community. This helped defuse the potential for
             individuals to be concerned that wetlands protection might
             decrease income related to coal.
               Some organization representatives gave prepared remarks
             and then answered questions. EPA responded to some ques-
             tions orally and others in writing at a later date. The entire
             meeting was videotaped to ensure all comments were incor-
             porated into the planning process.






                               Local Participation in Ecotourism Projects      143
                    EPA distributed three fact sheets: (1) general information
                  on wetlands, and the ADID process, (2) specific wetlands site
                  information, and (3) information aimed at the community
                  affected by wetlands regulation, explaining why wetlands
                  need to be protected. EPA and the Corps of Engineers pre-
                  sented information on the values of wetlands and the ADID
                  process. Both agencies conveyed what they were doing, what
                  and who were going to be involved, and how the community
                  was going to be affected by the effort.

                  RIVER CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT

                  The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act authorizes the National Park
                  Service (NPS) to protect free-flowing river  's in their natural
                  state. As an outgrowth of this effort, the NPS has developed
                  the riverwork process, which facilitates local planning and
                  implementation for the conservation of rivers. The public is
                  made a part of the planning process. The effort is initiated
                  by local citizens, nongovernmental or governmental organi-
                  zations, or by the National Park Service in conjunction with
                  the local or state government. A "greenway plan" or "river
                  corridor management plan" is created as a guide for achiev-
                  ing a desired future, indicating community recommenda-
                  tions for land and water use management within the river
                  area. It identifies the most important features of a corridor,
                  describes the ways in which it can be maintained, and as-
                  signs responsibility for its protection and use.
                    According to Glen Eugster (1988), director of the mid-
                  Atlantic region of the National Park Service, there are nine
                  elements or steps in the planning process:

                    I .Define the role and function of the river corridor. Bring
                       interests together to discuss the existing and future use
                       of the corridor. Build public and private support, help
                       obtain appropriate state and federal government funds,
                       and coordinate public and private interests.
                    2. Determine project goals. Seek public input to further
                       develop and refine the goals and objectives of the effort.
                       Public, support is seen as critical to the project's suc-







             144    THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE ToURISM
                  cess. The manager is required to inform the community
                  and build public consensus as early as possible.
               3. Initiate the greenway project. Enlist all constituencies
                  in an effort to garner support for the project. Develop a
                  project proposal and establish a project agreement de-
                  scribing project roles, tasks, products, time schedules,
                  and financial arrangements.
               4. involve the public. This step of the local participation
                  plan is designed to build support and develop a constit-
                  uency for the river project. By involving key area lead-
                  ers and a broad cross-section of interested individuals
                  and organizations, the manager can ensure that the
                  project goals are relevant to local needs.
               5. Assess resources and land use. Place a qualitative value
                  on resources in order to establish priorities for conser-
                  vation.
               6. Analyze local issues and concerns. Identify potential
                  conflicts and work to address local needs and concerns.
               7. Explore regulatory and administrative alternatives.
                  identify governmental programs and resources that
                  can be used to help protect the river corridors.
               8. Recruit community leaders. Identify key community
                  leaders such as elected public officials and civic groups
                  and get them involved in the project.
               9. Develop an implementation strategy. Using the above
                  information and contacts as a base, develop an action-
                  oriented strategy that will provide specific recommen-
                  dations on what needs to be done and how.


             THE RiVERWORK PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT PLAN
             The riverwork approach recommends a two-step process in
             developing a public involvement plan. The first step is to ad-
             dress the following questions: Who is the public? What do
             you want from the public? What will you give the public?
             How much do you want'to involve the public? When is pub-
             lic involvement appropriate or most effective?
               There are several ways in which the public and other in-
             terested groups can be identified (Hudspeth 1982): self-






                              Local Participation in Ecotourism Projects       145
                 identification, where plavers introduce themselves on
                 hearing about the project; @hird-party identification through
                 local citizen committees, environmental groups, or local
                 government agencies identify groups and individuals who
                 should be involved in planning or who are affected by the
                 proposed project; and staff identification through the anal-
                 ysis of associations, general lists, field interviews, affected
                 publics, and geographical information.
                   The second step in developing a public involvement plan
                 is to choose appropriate techniques for obtaining citizen
                 participation. The riverwork process approach recommends
                 the following techniques (other techniques that may be use-
                 ful are described in the Appendix):

                   I .Form an advisory committee or citizens' task force to
                      participate in and oversee the development of a river
                      conservation effort. All interested parties should be in-
                      cluded. Its role is to provide direction and information
                      to other. local groups and provide technical and politi-
                      cal expertise.
                   2. Conduct meetings (public hearings, workshops, for-
                      ums, committee meetings) to convey information, re-
                      port results, share and develop ideas, and help people
                      make decisions.
                   3. Conduct surveys to elicit ideas and concerns about the
                      river's resources.
                   4. Conduct personal interviews where issues are complex
                      and where many open-ended questions need to be
                      asked. Personal interviews are some of the best infor-
                      mation-gathering tools available, but they taketime.
                   5. Inform mass media of project.
                   6. Develop newsletters, posters, and other informational
                      materials .

                   After the key issues. and goals are identified and the public
                 involvement program initiated, the public is asked for input
                 on a spectrum of alternatives for resolving resource issues
                 and achieving their goals. Then they are involved in creating
                 an action agenda that determines who is responsible for ini-







                146     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                tiating and implementing each action, how each action will
                be taken, and when it will be taken.

                RiVERWORK CASE STUDY: THE LACKAWANNA RiVER
                CITIZENS'MASTER PLAN
                In 1989, the Lackawanna River Corridor Association
                (LRCA), founded by Len Altier, set out to restore the Lacka-
                wanna River by improving the management of its habitat
                and recreational opportunities. Altier discussed his board's
                goals with the National Park Service and decided that they
                should prepare a citizens'plan using the riverwork planning
                process.
                  Prior to the development of the master plan, Altier effected
                an informal media plan of action in order to build public
                consensus on the need to restore the river. He met with the
                managing editor of the largest newspaper in his area and
                explained the association's objective. The editor agreed to
                write an editorial on the subject. During the first year of the
                effort, the paper printed Altier's articles on the issue, Altier
                also organized weekly status meetings with the newspaper
                staff. It took one year for the public to become excited about
                the idea of restoring the river and for dialogue to begin
                among local citizens.
                  At that point, Altier sent advertisements to newspapers,
                TV and radio stations, requesting citizen attendance at a
                public meeting to discuss the future of the river. The meeting
                was held in a building close to the river (parking was avail-
                able!). An outside consultant, recommended by the National
                Park Service, attended the meeting to explain the value of
                the river and the need for a plan of action to restore it. Based
                on the riverwork process, citizens discussed issues such as
                water quality, habitat loss, and so forth. The National Park
                Service compiled all the comments into a document that
                was later used to develop the master plan.
                  Regular monthly public meetings were established and at-
                tended by key leaders from the community. Through this
                forum, it was decided to develop a citizens' master plan. The
                National Park Service sent in a professional outsider to as-
                sist with its development. After five months of meetings, the






                              Local Participation in Ecotourism Projects      147
                 Lackawanna River Association was formally established
                 under Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules. Following ad-
                 vice from professional river planners, the board of directors
                 of the LRCA recruited two lawyers, two real estate brokers,
                 two corporate executives, and a municipal representative for
                 a formal citizens' committee.
                   The Lackawanna River Citizens Master Plan was devel-
                 oped with a great deal of local participation. Several data-
                 gathering techniques were used to build an information base
                 for the master plan. The LRCA personnel and area volun-
                 teers organized focus groups, conducted individual inter-
                 views, played an integral role in public meetings, and
                 reviewed and approved all facets of the project.
                   LRCA also helped prepare a river and shoreline assess-
                 ment. The assessment divided the river into sections, each of
                 which was reviewed by a volunteer assessment team. Hun-
                 dreds of citizens from the community participated on these
                 teams. Each had a specific research responsibility.
                   Six months were spent conducting a series of focus groups
                 attended by teams of experts and citizens to discuss the is-
                 sue. These groups included representatives from organiza-
                 tions concerned with land use management, recreation and
                 open space, economic redevelopment, fish and wildlife,
                 water pollution and quality, education, and training. Ex-
                 perts were asked to identify the most important problems
                 facing the river valley and to recommend the most effective
                 programs for overcoming them. Consultants facilitated
                 group discussions, all of which were videotaped. A report on
                 the focus groups was compiled and sent to the press. Subse-
                 quently, several sections of the report were printed. It was
                 later used to develop the master plan.
                   The LCRA solicited additional comments and ideas from
                 the public by conducting a series of individual interviews
                 and holding a series of public meetings at three locations in
                 the river valley. The group presented its study plan and some
                 of its research findings to state and county officials as well
                 as bank presidents, union and commerce officials, and reli-
                 gious and civic groups. Many officials were skeptical of the
                 cost of implementing such a plan.
                   In response to the skepticism, Altier contacted a key offi-






              148     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
              cial in the State Department of Community Affairs. The re-
              gional director of the department became an adviser to the
              LRCA. He provided the association with information on
              available sources of funds for river projects. The association
              then prepared applications for funding activities along the
              river.
                In order to create public awareness and to continue to
              build consensus, the association produced a series of public
              service announcements for TV and radio. They also devel-
              oped a series of news shows on the river for their CBS affili-
              ate. In addition, they held a town meeting on the river at
              which experts discussed the issues. It was made into a one-
              hour live broadcast. The association also developed a
              twenty-two-minute video of a flyover of the river. This tape
              is used for on-the-road presentations to special- interest
              groups.
                The master plan is in the process of being implemented
              with the full support of almost every interest group in the
              surrounding community.




              PLANNING LOCAL PARTICIPATION IN
              ECOTOURISM PROJECTS

              As we have seen, local participation in environment and de-
              velopment projects can help to contribute to the success of
              the projects. Ecotourism projects are no exception. Eco-
              tourism is based on the conservation of natural resources,
              resources that are often utilized by the surrounding com-
              munities. In order for an ecotourism project to be successful,
              the local citizens must be made a part of it. They need to
              help preserve the natural resource for the tourist, and must
              see a benefit for themselves in doing so.
                Following is a new Approach to planning for local partici-
              pation in ecotourism projects. It is based on previously suc-
              cessful and nonsuccessful local participation projects and
              research into the field as outlined earlier in this chapter.






                           Loc al Participation in Ecotourism Projects     149

               PHASE 1: DETERMINE ROLE OF LOCAL PARTICIPATION
               IN PROJECT
               Examine the goals of the ecotourism project to determine
               how local participation can best assist the attainment of
               those goals through improving project efficiency, increasing
               project effectiveness, building beneficiary capacity, and
               sharing project costs. Identify local participation goals.

               PHASE II: CHOOSE RESEARCH TEAM
               A research team for the local participation component of the
               project should include people who have expertise in sociol-
               ogy and anthropology and who have experience in partici-
               patory approaches, as well as those with experience in
               media and survey research.


               PHASE III: CONDUCT PRELIMINARY STUDIES
               (PREDESIGN STAGE)
               Using existing documents, conduct preliminary studies of
               the political, economic, and social situation of the commu-
               nity and its surrounding environment. This can then be fol-
               lowed by surveys, interviews with families and community
               leaders, and discussion groups. A political analysis should
               determine whether there is political support for the demo-
               cratic principles upon which local participation is based.
                 The analysis could include any or all of the following com-
               ponents:


                  I .Assessment of the needs and wants of the community.
                  2. Identification of the key local leaders and key organi-
                     zations or groups (industry, environmental groups,
                     unions, etc.). Determine which groups are most pow-
                     erful within the community. Determine who can best
                     speak for the local citizens and who could be possible
                     participants, facilitators, or managers (of money and
                     land) in the participation process.





                150    THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                   3. Identification of major newspapers, TV and radio sta-
                      tions.
                   4. Assessment of the local community's view of partici-
                      pation in the project. (Is there a history of participa-
                      tion? If so, was the experience positive?)
                   5. Determination of the capacity and constraints of the
                      local government, village, and nongovernmental insti-
                      tutions in supporting local participation. Identify ex-
                      isting grass roots organizations and determine if there
                      is a need to strengthen existing institutions or to de-
                      velop new ones.
                   6. Assessment of the co   'mmunity's traditions (hunting,
                      etc.), including its view on the conservation and use of
                      natural resources, land use principles, water rights,
                      and management of the resources.
                   7. Identification of the type of people who are likely to
                      participate and why.
                   8. Assessment of the role of women in the community.
                      Determinations should be made about, for example,
                      their workload, whether they are able to be in leader-
                      ship positions, and if there is a stigma against men
                      and women being in the same room during an inter-
                      view.
                   9. Assessment of who manages the finances.
                   10. Assessment of who owns land. Distinguish between
                      landowners and squatters, rich and poor.
                   11. Assessment of cultural values. Determine what incen-
                      tives could be used to change attitudes about the en-
                      vironment, if necessary.


                PHASE IV: DETERMINE LEVEL OF LOCAL
                PARTICIPATION
                This phase should begin with a careful review of the infor-
                mation obtained about the political environment in which
                local participation will occur. If the local or national govern-
                ment is not supportive of local participation, then the proj-
                ect manager may wish to develop an alternative method to
                obtain public input, such as the use of intermediaries. This






                            Local Participation in Ecotourism Projects       151
               could mean using existing nongovernmental organizations
               to facilitate local participation or creating new ones.
                 Where there exists a political and social environment that
               encourages public participation, the project manager or
               team should determine the level of intensity needed, and at
               what stage within the project it should occur.
                 If the team decides that participation should occur at the
               lowest level of intensity, where participation is confined to
               information sharing, then the team need only proceed
               through phases V and VI as outlined below.
                 If consultation is the level to be used, where local people
               will provide feedback on key issues at some or all stages in a
               project cycle, again, phases V and VI need to be attained.
                 If the team decides that the local people should have a
               decision-making role in matters of project design and imple-
               mentation, the team would continue through all nine phases
               of this plan.


               PHASE V: DETERMINE APPROPRIATE PARTICIPATION
               MECHANISM
               The most appropriate participation mechanism will be de-
               termined by the level of intensity of the participation, the
               nature of existing institutions (governmental organizations,
               nongovernmental organizations, grass roots citizens'/user
               groups, district councils), and characteristics of local people
               (the degree to which they are accustomed to voicing their
               opinions, educational background, etc.).


               INFORMATION SHARING AND CONSULTATION
               If it is decided to promote information sharing or consulta-
               tion, and there does not already exist a participation mech-
               anism, the team could develop a citizens' committee,
               conduct public meetings, form discussion groups, or hold an
               educational workshop.'
                 The composition and role of a citizens' advisory commit-
               tee will differ depending on the project. In many cases, ad-
               visory committees will include representatives from all






                 152     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                 groups interested in the project and not just those directly
                 affected. Its tasks may include the following: establishing
                 and/or commenting on project goals and objectives to ensure
                 they are realistic and provide adequate direction; rec-
                 ommending the type of benefits accruing to the community;
                 educating the local population about the project; and pro-
                 viding technical and political expertise.
                   Other methods of participation, especially for the consul-
                 tative level and with an illiterate population, include the for-
                 mation of small discussion groups in which visual methods
                 such as problem trees (graphic representations of problems
                 with the project) and community maps (a map of the com-
                 munity's cultural, economic, political, and social situation)
                 are used.
                   At the - information-sharing level, popular theater and
                 video presentations can provide a dramatic representation
                 of the project, raising public awareness about the issues.


                 INVOLVEMENT IN DECISION-MAKING
                 In projects affecting indigenous people and/or an illiterate
                 population, the participation mechanisms chosen for the
                 "decision-making level" of participation could include using
                 an existing organization headed by a local representative, or
                 if one does not exist, creating one. The functions performed
                 by local councils vary, but they'usually include one or more
                 of the following: representing community concerns and pro-
                 viding input on cultural traditions (in the project design
                 stage), enforcing rules (in the implementation and manage-
                 ment stage), and distributing or implementing benefits on
                 behalf of the community (in the management stage).
                   Some project managers choose to develop a tiered partic-
                 ipation mechanism for fairly educated communities, such as
                 an advisory committee with a reporting citizens' sub-
                 committee. When this type of participation mechanism is
                 chosen, it is important to work with the appropriate orga-
                 nizations and appropriate levels within the organizations,
                 and ensure that local representatives are able to communi-







                           Local Participation in Ecotourism Projects        153
              cate their concerns to the upper-level committee decision-
              makers.
                If a new mechanism is being developed, the team will need
              to identify local leaders who can represent the various con-
              stituencies in the community. Nongovernmental organiza-
              tions can be used as a source of identifying local leaders,
              officials, and agency representatives. They also can be used
              as external investigators who can support the participa-
              tion process by facilitating discussion, helping to link the pro-
              ject to local needs, and providing knowledge at the local
              level.


              PHASE VI: INITIATING DIALOGUE AND
              EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS
              Before meeting with community leaders, a dialogue with the
              press should be initiated. As discussed earlier, building con-
              sensus requires a high degree of public awareness. Soliciting
              support from the press is therefore essential to the success of
              the ecotourism project, especially if there is no history of
              local participation.
                Interviews with key community representatives should be
              conducted prior to larger meetings with the general public
              in order to prepare all parties for their contact with the pub-
              lic, and to work out any problems that may exist.
                When interacting with key leaders, the press, or the gen-
              eral public, the ecotourism team should explain the reason
              for their presence, the goals and objectives of the ecotourism
              project, and the ways the project will affect the community.
              Fact sheets should be prepared that describe the project, the
              known values of the area, the history of threats, and the ben-
              efits from the project to the locality, region, and nation. In
              addition, films, videos, popular theater and other techniques
              described above and in the Appendix can be effective in
              building public consensus for the project.
                Facilitated by a project team or team leader, workshops or
              public meetings should be held to identify and prioritize po-
              tential problems associated with the ecotourism project, as







                154     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                well as to identify the community's economic and sociocul-
                tural needs.
                  The facilitators would then write a report on lessons
                learned and recommendations of the meeting and return it
                to the community for further discussion.

                PHASE VII: COLLECTIVE DECISION-MAKING
                This is the phase at which participation takes place at its
                highest level of intensity. All necessary research has been
                conducted, and the local people have voiced their concerns
                and wants. The team then presents the findings of the re-
                search and the possible recommendations for action and
                asks the local community for their reactions. If necessary, a
                negotiating process would begin in which the people and the
                team would come to a consensus on actions taken in re-
                sponse to the impacts of the ecotourism project.

                PHASE VIII: DEVELOPMENT OF AN ACTION PLAN AND
                IMPLEMENTATION SCHEME
                In this phase, the ecotourism team, together with the local
                community, develops an action plan for implementing solu-
                tions for the problems and needs identified by the commu-
                nity.
                  For example, the needs identified by the community may
                include increasing standards of living, alleviating cultural
                impacts, and educating communities about the value of
                their resources and their culture. Offers made by the team to
                address these needs might include: (1) purchasing agricul-
                tural produce from villages at market rates or on a contrac-
                tual basis; (2) developing rewards for villagers who donate
                or lend artifacts to museums developed for the project; (3)
                developing gift shops, which would be managed by village
                cooperatives; (4) developing other employment opportuni-
                ties for local people (e.g., park managers, tour guides, re-
                searchers); and (5) developing cultural guides to the host
                culture. Other actions could include local people developing
                rules for tourist visits to their village.






                         Local Participation in Ecotourism Projects    155
               The actions determined by consensus could become indi-
             vidual action plans or one action plan. These should then be
             integrated into the overall master plan for the ecotourism
             project.
               A plan may be needed to strengthen existing institutions
             or to create new ones for the purpose of implementing proj-
             ects, such as channeling funds from the ecotourism project
             to the beneficiaries. Such organizations should begin small
             and should act on behalf of the local community. The people
             who make up the organization should support a single style
             of accountability (financial and otherwise). One financial
             management style used by development organizations and
             applicable to local organizations channeling funds for eco-
             tourism projects is the "open management" style. All ex-
             penditures, income, receipts, and accounts are routinely
             published and posted before the community. The commu-
             nity is trained to understand the proceedings and records of
             the organization so that it can ensure the accountability of
             its representatives.

             PHASE IX: MONITORING AND EVALUATION
             Monitoring and evaluation, the final stage of the local par-
             ticipation plan, are often neglected and yet are very impor-
             tant to the success of an ecotourism project. Teams should
             monitor the implementation of the project and evaluate the
             effectiveness of its operation. An assessment should be made
             of how well objectives are being met, and the degree of par-
             ticipation of all groups, among other factors. Using these
             findings, adjustments can be made to address unforeseen
             problems or circumstances.






                   156      THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                                      Model Local Participation Plan

                   I.    Determine local participation goals
                   II.   Choose research team
                   111.  Conduct preliminary studies
                   IV    Determine level of local participation
                            If information sharing (go to V and VI and stop)
                            If consultation (go to V and VI and stop)
                            If decision-making (do all steps)
                   V     Determine appropriate participation mechanism
                   VI.   Initiate dialogue with press/local community
                   VII.  Collective decision-making
                   VIII. Develop action plan and implementation mechanism
                   IX.   Monitoring and evaluation of the project









                                            Appendix

                          Techniques for Ensuring Community,Parficipation






                   COMMUNITY MAPS
                   Participants from various parts of the community prepare a
                   graphic representation of the community or of specific as-
                   pects of it, such as the economy (production, marketing, con-
                   sumption, employment, etc.), health, housing, education,
                   recreation, religion, and culture. The goal is to uncover the
                   community's self-perceptions. The results can be used in the
                   planning process or to help evaluate the project. Because
                   participants do not need to be literate, the process can build
                   self-confidence and nurture the creativity of those who uti-
                   lize it, particularly if they are from the lower socioeconomic
                   end of the scale.


                   PROBLEM TREES
                   Especially appropriate with illiterate participants. Make a
                   list of principal problems identified with the project by the
                   community. Then choose a problem whose solution has been
                   identified as a top priority, and place it in the center of the
                   trunk of the tree. Through group discussion, identify the
                   most immediate causes of this problem and related short-
                   term impacts. Place the immediate causes in the shallow
                   roots of the tree and the short-term impacts in the first
                   branches. Then, identify the deeper causes of the problem
                   and place them at the bottom of the roots of tree and place
                   the longer-term consequences of the problem in the second-


                                                  157





               158     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
               ary branches. Make a list of elements that should be taken
               into account in preparing a plan of action to solve the prob-
               lems identified.


               GROUP DISCUSSION
               Bring small groups of people together for the general pur-
               pose of solving problems by sharing experiences, informa-
               tion, and support. The facilitator should help the group to
               pose problems, identify causes, discuss possible solutions,
               and evaluate actions.
                 The discussions will be most effective if the facilitator does
               the following: creates a situation in which people feel com-
               fortable and free to speak, sing, draw, or perform; builds a
               sense of trust, support, and solidarity among people who
               previously had no idea that they shared similar concerns
               and needs; records the discussion in notes, audiotape, or
               videotape; and breaks down large groups into small com-
               mittees that are responsible for specific tasks.

               PUBLIC MEETINGS
               Open meetings to which all members of a constituency are
               invited. They vary in terms of depth of discussion and the
               scope of involvement in decision-making.
                 This mechanism is useful for the following reasons: it in-
               forms the constituency at various stages in the project; it
               provides an opportunity for all members of the constituency
               to contribute to the design and implementation of the proj-
               ect; it can obtain and maintain constituency approval and
               support; and it can interest more constituency members in
               playing an active role in the research project (encouraging
               them to join small group discussions, to interview and be
               interviewed, and to contribute labor and know-how to par-
               ticular activities).


               RESEARCH TEAms
               Local representatives can participate in the research process
               by joining the research team. They can then ensure that the






                             Local Participation in Ecotourism Proiects    159
                local citizens are included in planning and that research is
                carried out democratically.

                OPEN-ENDED SURVEYS
                Open-ended surveys allow researchers to interview a fairly
                large number of people using a flexible format that allows
                the interview to follow the interests of the person being in-
                terviewed. The interview may also be conducted with small
                groups. These surveys help paint a picture of how a large
                number of people feel about the project and related prob-
                lems.

                COMMUNITY SEMINARS
                These are intensive study sessions held among members
                of one or several communities, and often including repre-
                sentatives from outside institutions such as government
                agencies, universities, and private community development
                organizations.
                  During these sessions, the participants can discuss and
                analyze the information obtained by the project's research-
                ers in order to plan the next steps. They are able to share
                information and plan research and action strategies with
                outside groups.

                FACT-FINDING MISSIONS
                Group of people from one constituency visit other groups or
                communities that have been working on similar projects or
                problems. They can learn about possible funding sources,
                what can be accomplished, what kind of political, social,
                and economic obstacles they are likely to face, and what
                type of time, financial, and community commitments will be
                needed to make the' project a success. In addition, they can
                exchange information and resources, building a support net-
                work across a region.or country or even internationally for
                future activities and for political action.







              160     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM

              COLLECTIVE PRODUCT        ION OF AUDIOVISUAL
              MATERIALS
              Groups produce audiovisual materials such as drawings,
              photo essays, videotapes, and slide shows that explain and/
              or analyze one or more aspects of the project or problem.
                 This approach provides a form of expression other than
              words when participants are uncomfortable with words, or
              when words do not seem to be advancing the research pro-
              cess. Participants learn that audiovisual skills can be ac-
              quired by and used by anybody, taking the ability to
              communicate to a broad audience out of exclusive domain
              of the mass media.
                 The shared work experience will often strengthen the
              group. Most important, it helps to develop a common under-
              standing of the problem through the planning, discussion,
              and production of a shared statement. Finally, it produces
              educational materials that can be used to reach out to a
              larger group

              POPULAR THEATER
              Popular theater can speak to people in their own language
              and deal with problems of direct relevance to their situation.
              It is an inexpensive method for raising public awareness and
              is accessible to all socioeconomic classes. As a collective
              expression and communal activity, it creates an environ-
              ment for cooperation rather than individual thinking and
              action. Participants learn from each other rather than from
              an expert.




                                      REFERENCES

              Allen, William. 1986. "'Biocultural Restoration of a Tropical
                 Forest  Bioscience 38, no. 3.
              Amaah-Ofosu, Waafas.       1989. "Hearings on the Food-
                 Population Equation.  ' U.S. House Committee on Science





                              Local Participation in Ecotourism Projects      161
                   and Technology, Subcommittee on Natural Resources, Ag-
                   ricultural Research and the Environment (February 28).
                Anderson, D., and R. Grove. 1987. Conservation in Africa:
                   People, Policies, and Practice. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge
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                Bamberger, Michael. 1986a. "The Role of Community Partic-
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                                      CHAPTER 8

                 Marketing Ecotourism: Attracting
                            the Elusive Ecotourist


                           RiCHARD RYEL ANDTom GRASSE






               I
                 n the travel industry, we define ecotourism as purposeful
                 travel that creates an understanding of cultural and natu-
               ral history, while safeguarding the integrity of the ecosystem
               and producing economic benefits that encourage conserva-
               tion.
                 The long-term survival of this special type of travel is inex-
               tricably linked to the existence of the natural resources that
               support it. Consequently, the travel companies that design,
               plan, and coordinate ecotourism programs, and the land op-
               erators and guides who control activities in the destinations,
               must share a conservation ethic. This shared ethic provides
               the framework within which all marketing and traveling
               should take place and includes several basic components:
               increasing public awareness of the environment, maximiz-
               ing economic benefits for local communities, fostering cul-
               tural sensitivity, and minimizing the negative impacts of
               travel on the environment.
                 Once the conservation ethic is internalized, an effective

                                               164






                                     Marketing Ecotourism                    165
              nature tour operator will develop a marketing plan that
              identifies potential clients and how best to reach them. At
              International Expeditions, we have had ten years of experi-
              ence in marketing ecotourism. Following are some of the
              highlights of the strategies and techniques we have found to
              be effective.



              A CONSERVATION ETHIC

              The key components of an ecotourism conservation ethic are
              as follows:


              1. Increase awareness of nature. Ecotourism should stim-
              ulate among travelers and among the inhabitants of the des-
              tination an awareness, appreciation, and understanding of
              the ecosystem and the need for preservation. Many nature-
              oriented travel programs tend to emphasize the overt spec-
              tacles of nature, such as a half-million wildebeest migrating
              across the Serengeti Plains, plunging cataracts fed by
              mighty rivers like the Zambezi and Iguassu, or a skin-
              cutting ceremony of the Ambonwari tribe of Papua New
              Guinea.
                But what of the less apparent, equally fascinating wonders
              of nature? Can a traveler fully appreciate the interdependent
              relationships in nature, including man's own vulnerable
              niche, without examining the environment more com-
              pletely? If the subtle beauty and balance of nature are not
              revealed to travelers, how can their experience in the wilder-
              ness promote understanding and appreciation of wildlife?
                Ecotourism should redefine for the traveler what is sensa-
              tional. Colonies of 'leaf-cutter ants marching across the
              jungle floor holding high their leaf fragment as though it
              were a green parasol, an unfolding drama in a spider's web,
              or a flowering epiphyte precariously suspended from a tow-
              ering mahogany tree should command equal time with vast
              herds of large mammals and thundering waterfalls.
                Ecotourism also should aim to stimulate an appreciation
              of nature among the local people - They may take for granted







                166    THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE ToURIS.M
                FiLyure 8.1 Ecotourists on an expedition to Autarctica ivatch a
                oroup ot pe@zoubis march across the dramatic landscape ol'the pilal-
                habitat.






                         --WA   gin




                                                                    7::
                     0







                the marvels of nature that have been a part of their dalk
                lives, yet the preservation of these vital habitats ultimatelv
                rests i-n their hands.


                2. Maximize economic benefits for local people. The prefix
                il eco" should refer to economics as well as ecology. One of the
                greatest incentives for conservation among local peoples is
                to establish tourism as a primary revenue source for the
                countrv and local economv, through utilizing the services
                provided bv the host country whenever possible.
                 At the local level, direct financial awards to the individu-
                als xho provide food and accommodations, who share their
                knowledge of local flora and fauna, and who produce souve-
                nirs and handicrafts are essential. If their livelihoods are
                based on, or to some  degree dependent on, the preservation
                of habitat, thev will be able to avoid other, less sustainable
                forms of support.
                 At the national level, government needs to be convinced






                                     Marketing Ecotourism                   167
               that ecotourism will supply a significant amount of foreign
               exchange in order for them to provide technical and finan-
               cial support for the protection of parks and reserves. The use
               of host country airlines, goods, and'services will help in this
               regard.


               3. Encourage cultural sensitivity- The preservation of a na-
               tion's cultural heritage, appreciation for the customs and
               traditions of native peoples and respect for their privacy and
               dignity, are also essential fundamentals of ecotourism. The
               presence of tourists is inevitably intrusive to local inhabi-
               tants. Fortunately, travelers visiting remote communities
               are almost always greeted by the warm smiles and the
               friendly curiosity of the residents. Nevertheless, travelers
               should be encouraged to be mindful of their status as inter-
               lopers. If a group of Masai came wandering down the street
               of a typical American neighborhood, stopping frequently to
               stare in awe at people mowing their lawns, washing their
               cars, playing badminton with their kids ... how might these
               residents react?
                 Ecotourism strives to make travelers aware that trade
               with local inhabitants represents an opportunity to learn
               about their traditions and creative skills. Straw market
               barter may be fun and harmless in Cancun or Freeport, but
               it is not productive in undeveloped areas or those less fre-
               quented by tourists. Ecotourism should endeavor to control
               the spirit in which the trade of goods is handled by educat-
               ing tourists regarding the potentially corrupting impact
               pure barter can have on traditional economies that are
               based in communal sharing.

               4. Minimize negative Impacts on the environment. Though
               the intended outcome of ecotourism is the development of
               tourism as a sustainable economic resource for the destina-
               tion, it has a negative impact on the immediate environ-
               ment. Tourism support facilities translate into hotels and
               lodges, airports, roads, and waste disposal. Even the seem-
               ingly harmless observation of wildlife can have grave impli-







              168    THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
              cations and must be approached with care by tour operators
              and their travelers.
                Ecotourism must minimize negative impacts on the envi-
              ronment visited while enlightening travelers regarding each
              habitat's vital role in the balance of nature. For instance,
              tour operators should not blaze a new trail in the wilderness
              in order to provide access to an interesting or rare occur-
              rence of nature when existing paths already allow travelers
              to observe a broad spectrum of wildlife elsewhere.
                Many tour operators realize the effects visitation can have
              on the ecosystem. They know how to minimize the detrimen-
              tal impact tourism has on wildlife and they maintain rigor-
              ous standards as a result of their love and respect for nature;
              if they do not, they should not operate tours in these areas.
                Ecotourism operators often are learned naturalists either
              through formal education or through field experience. It
              does not require a great deal of insight on their part to real-
              ize that their immediate prosperity and future rely on the
              preservation of the natural wonders that lure travelers in the
              first place.
                The travel company contemplating an exceptionally deli-
              cate area as a destination may determine that a particularly
              fragile condition exists either in terms of the wildlife popu-
              lation or the indigenous human population that would make
              visitation too harmful or corruptive. Regardless of accessi-
              bility for tourism and its potential value to a travel company
              or local economy, attracting travelers to such a destination
              would be irresponsible.



              MARKETING ECOTOURISM

              DETERMINING MARKETABILITY
              What makes a potential. ecotourism destination marketable?
              Destinations can be evaluated on two basic levels: the at-
              traction for travelers and the tourism infrastructure.
                Biodiversity is the most important attribute of an ecotour-
              ism destination in terms of its attraction for travelers. Areas
              with an abundance and variety of flora and fauna are allur-






                                     Marketing Ecotourism                   169
               ing subjects for prospective ecotourists. Environments such
               as the tropical jungles of the Amazon hold the promise of an
               unforgettable adventure. Prolific biodiversity is not limited
               to the tropics, however. It can also be discovered in the ex-
               treme northern and southern latitudes from Alaska to Pata-
               gonia.
                 Unique geography can also attract tourism to remote and
               delicate environments. Amid the breathtaking Himalaya
               Mountains, Nepal beckons tens of thousands of travelers
               each year. Aver's Rock, the mammoth sandstone monolith in
               Australia's @esert outback, has been an object of admiration
               since first encountered by aborigines some 40,000 years ago.
                 Cultural history is an important factor in a destination's
               marketability. The opportunity for travelers to experience
               cultural traditions will increase greatly their enjoyment of
               the destination. In Papua New Guinea, for example, the vis-
               itor will find a myriad of tribal cultures, customs, and arti-
               facts, in addition to the island's beautiful rain forests and
               wildlife. The Pet4@n in Guatemala boasts a treasure trove of
               ancient Mayan ruins, and rich Indian culture, amid a unique
               tropical environment.
                 A tourism infrastructure must be in place, or put into
               place, if visitation is to occur. A destination cannot be mar-
               keted by an environmentally conscious travel company
               unless it has adequate accommodations and ground trans-
               portation, guides who are able to interpret natural and cul-
               tural history, proper access to natural habitats, and
               cooperative local or national governments. The area must
               also have tour operators who are receptive to the fundamen-
               tals of ecotourism.


               A MARKETING STRATEGY
               A deep understanding and acceptance of the conservation
               ethic described earlier is essential when developing market-
               ing initiatives such as those that follow.

               Group travel. Most ecotourism expeditions are conducted
               in small groups consisting of five to thirty participants. This
               type of travel allows operators to establish an annual travel






              170     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
              calendar through negotiations with airlines and hotels to
              block space for the tour dates. This provides prospective
              travelers with a varied choice of guaranteed departure dates
              and reasonablv priced packages. A predetermined schedule
              of trip departures permits the operator to offer complete trip
              packages at set, all-inclusive prices and arrange outstanding
              itineraries designed to address the fundamentals of ecotour-
              ism. Thus, from the standpoint of both the traveler and the
              ecotourism operator, this represents the best approach to of-
              fering a superior nature travel product.
                The advantages of marketing ecotourism in the format of
              group travel positively outweigh any alternative, despite the
              rare but inevitable displeasure experienced by the mis-
              placed traveler who becomes uncomfortable amid the en-
              chanting rusticity and unpredictability of an ideal nature
              travel destination.

              Defining the market. Because ecotourism programs are
              conducted in small groups, it is important to attract people
              who will enjoy the product after it is purchased. The attitude
              of one traveler in a small group can significantly influence
              its other members, and repeat travelers are an important
              source of income.
                Who are these so-called right people? Are these key pros-
              pects for ecotourism "born" or "made"?
                The answer is both. To narrow the target only to those
              people predisposed to nature travel ("born" ecotourists)
              would not be fully productive. These individuals already
              have a strong interest in exploring the natural wonders of
              the world. They possess a built-in appreciation for natural
              history and the desire to preserve wildlife and traditional
              culture. Certainly, a nature travel experience would serve to
              nurture this attitude and further the aim of ecotourism. But,
              in order to fulfill its mission and to achieve business success,
              ecotourism must also reach out to potential consumers un-
              familiar with the conce  pt. Therefore, the ecotourist must be
              made as well as born.
                Potential ecotourists are identified and wooed through a
              marketing strategy that limits the advertising and commu-
              nications to a qualified target market in order to achieve






                                  Marketing Ecotourism                   171
             cost effectiveness and profitability. Travel companies cannot
             waste scarce dollars and valuable time communicating the
             benefits of ecotourism to unqualified consumers.
               First, the ecotourism company will    'need to identify the
             demographic, psychographic, and geographic characteris-
             tics of the desired group. Demographics are factors such as
             age, sex, race, household income, education, occupation, and
             familv size. Psvchographics are lifestyles, beliefs, and other
             cultural varia@les. The geographic characteristics of the tar-
             get market refer to the areas of the country in which there
             are concentrations of qualified prospects.
               Demographically, the key prospects for ecotourism are
             men and women forty-five to sixty-five years of age; some 58
             million Americans age fifty-plus dominate pleasure travel
             and tourism. They travel more frequently, go longer dis-
             tances, and stay longer than other groups. The majority have
             obtained a college degree and many have a postgraduate de-
             gree. The occupations of these key prospects range greatly,
             though most are professional, and their household income
             and buying power is high. The amount of leisure time at
             their disposal is great, as many are financially independent
             and retired.
               The vast majority of international ecotourism consumers
             are North American, European, and Japanese. However, the
             correlation between ethnic origin and the propensity toward
             environmentally sensitive travel is more a function of econ-
             omy than anything else. Citizens of the modern industrial-
             ized world have more time, money, and freedom to travel
             than other cultures.
               Psychographic descriptions of purchasers are useful be-
             cause demographic descriptions do not discriminate well
             enough between consumers. For example, an electrician
             may be reported in the same income class as a college pro-
             fessor, but their lives and purchasing habits may be vastly
             different. Therefore, it is important to go beyond demo-
             graphics, especially when' it comes to making marketing de-
             cisions.                                I
               The psychographic characteristics among the target mar-
             ket for ecotourism are quite distinctive. The Axiom Market
             Research Bureau, Inc., has developed a series of twenty ad-






              172    THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURF_ TOURISM
              jectives designed to elicit the self-conceptions of respondents
              in surveys, which can be helpful when identifying a mar-
              ket. Those adjectives that describe the ecotourist include
              dd amicable" (amiable, affable, and benevolent), "broad-
              minded" (open-minded, liberal, and tolerant), "intelligent"
              (smart, bright, well-informed), "self-assured" (confident,
              self-sufficient, secure), and "sociable" (friendly, cheerful,
              likable). By now, anyone reading this who has ever parti-
              cipated in an ecotourism expedition should be sufficiently
              flattered!
               Though more and more magazines, newspapers, and
              broadcast media are providing prospective advertisers with
              psychographic profiles of their audiences in addition to de-
              tailed demographic information, the marketers of ecotour-
              ism must often rely on experience and intuition when
              making a decision to purchase advertising space in a previ-
              ously untried medium.
               Geographically, concentrations of key nature travel pros-
              pects are found in the northeast United States (New York,
              Boston, Washington, D.C., etc.) the West Coast (Seattle, San
              Francisco, Los Angeles, etc.), and in major cities elsewhere
              like Chicago, Dallas, and Denver. These are prosperous areas
              that attract and support the greatest number of professional
              occupations. They also support educational institutions
              such as colleges and universities, museums, zoos, aquari-
              ums, planetariums, botanical gardens, and libraries that
              nurture a curiosity about the natural and cultural history of
              the world.

              Advertising: getting the message out. Once the demo-
              graphics, psychographics, and geography of the target audi-
              ence are defined, the company should determine which
              advertising media to utilize. A company and its product will
              immediately inherit a measurable degree of trust and ac-
              ceptance among consumers simply by virtue of their pres-
              ence in the right advertising medium.
               Specialized magazines that are well established and affil-
              iated with highly respected, internationally recognized or-
              ganizations such as the National Audubon Society, the






                                   Marketing Ecotourism                   173
             Sierra Club, American Museum of Natural History, the
             Smithsonian Institution, and the Archaeological Institute of
             America are a prime source of advertising. Other magazines
             such as E Magazine, Buzzworm, and Geo, which are not affil-
             iated with special institutions, can also target ecotourism
             prospects effectively. Upscale travel magazines like The Na-
             tional Geographic Traveler or Con& Nast's Traveler can be
             useful if the budget allows. The newspapers of most major
             cities publish special travel supplements each spring and
             fall; these too should be considered.
                Identifying a key interest common to most ecotourism
             prospects can help a travel company find effective advertis-
             ing channels. For example, most nature tourists are active
             amateur photographers. Therefore, a publication such          as
             Outdoor Travel & Photography could prove worthwhile.
                In addition to the primary advertising vehicles described
             above positive results also can be obtained through the use
             of supplemental media. Special travel itineraries offered by
             the company may require targeting advertising to special-
             interest magazines, for example. A coral reef diving expedi-
             tion to Belize could be effectively advertised in Skin Diver
             magazine. A different itinerary to Belize, coinciding with
             Garifuna Day (celebrating a specific ethnic group and its his-
             tory), could solicit response if advertised in Native Peoples
             magazine. Exploring the archaeological sites of Cuzco and
             Machu Picchu would certainly appeal to readers of Archae-
             ology magazine, while attending the Pushkar camel fair in
             India might excite the readers of the New York Times Sophis-
             ticated Traveler
                Ecotourism companies realize maximum results by main-
             taining a constant presence in the primary media they use.
             Frequency leads to recognition and top-of-mind awareness.
             Nature travel companies should therefore invest in repeated
             advertising with their most productive advertising media.
             Frequency contracts with media earn special discount rates.
                However, an ecotourism operator can rarely afford a
             schedule of full-page ads in national magazines, which, even
             in specialized publications having a circulation of only
             400,000 to 500,000, can cost more than $ 10,000 an issue.






              174     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                There are certain months of the year when people are less
              likely to travel and response to advertising drops dramati-
              cally. During these "down" periods, ecotourism advertisers
              might consider taking a brief hiatus from advertising in one
              or two of their primary media.
                Ecotourism operators do not always have to carry the full
              burden of advertising costs. Most airlines and manv of the
              more established lodge operators will provide coop @dvertis-
              ing funds to travel companies that feature their services in
              the ad.
                Advertising that complements editorial content also en-
              hances the effectiveness of advertising. Many of the maga-
              zines used by nature travel advertisers feature natural
              history or travel subjects. Operators can thereby reach pros-
              pects while their interest is piqued. Ecotourism companies
              should keep abreast of upcoming editorial coverage in order
              to take advantage of special features that focus on their des-
              tinations. Newspaper travel supplements, magazines, and
              other media can provide advertisers with editorial calen-
              dars.

              Crafting the message. Financial constraints often limit na-
              ture travel companies to a relatively subtle presence in ad-
              vertising media. In order to capture attention and induce
              action, they must ensure that their advertisements are stra-
              tegically placed both within the magazine and on the page,
              and that it is creatively designed and written. They should
              try to maintain a consistent positioning strategy, ad design,
              use of color, and photographic or illustrative mood in order
              to draw attention and establish recognition.
                The most difficult challenge of advertising ecotourism is
              the development of effective copy. This is difficult to do
              within the confines of a tiny display ad, particularly because
              the inclusion of mandatory information such as the com-
              pany name, address, and telephone number, the destination
              or destinations being promoted, the trip price and items not
              included in that price, often leave little room for enticing
              prose.
                Consequently, the primary advertising objective of most







                                      Marketing Ecotourism                    175
                 nature travel companies is to encourage their audience to
                 request additional information about the featured destina-
                 tion by telephone. If the ad successfully accomplishes that
                 objective, captivating brochures describing the destination
                 in detail, projecting vivid images of the wildlife and culture
                 of the habitat, and expressly or implicitly addressing the
                 concept of ecotourism can be-mailed to the inquirer.

                 Creating a mailing list. A valuable outcome of well-
                 targeted, direct response advertising is the creation of a
                 strong mailing list. Mailing lists generated from response to
                 the ecotourism company's own advertising generally means
                 the names and addresses obtained are those of qualified eco-
                 tourism prospects. The respondents read the publication in
                 which the company advertises, so the likelihood is great that
                 their demographic and psychographic profiles complement
                 those of the company's target market. They are at least con-
                 templating a nature travel vacation. And if the ad was clas-
                 sified, or positioned in the travel section of the publication,
                 the respondent might be actively planning a trip. Finally, the
                 price of the trip, if it was advertised, did not discourage re-
                 sponse.
                   The resulting mailing list becomes a powerful marketing
                 tool. It allows the company to provide key prospects and
                 past travelers with brochures, newsletters, updates on new
                 destinations, even Christmas cards, the vast majority of
                 which will be examined thoroughly and appreciatively by
                 the recipients. A high-quality assortment of travel brochures
                 provides the operator with an important competitive advan-
                 tage.
                   Most traditional travel brochures are designed to fanta-
                 size, romanticize, and aggrandize to the point where the
                 reader is mesmerized and hypnotized. They'can be bril-
                 liantly contrived fables of lavish detail depicting opulent
                 quarters, omnipresent. valets, sumptuous feasts, breathtak-
                 ing panoramas, torrid love affairs, and deep-brown tans.
                   Ecotourism takes a very different angle toward promo-
                 tion. To appeal to their most desired prospects, ecotourism
                 marketers present the inherently astounding facts about the







               176     T14E NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
               destinations they offer. The visual images within the bro-
               chures are never meticulously staged shots featuring volup-
               tuous models and caviar molds; instead, they are peeps at
               nature frozen in time, such as a newly hatched lotus bird
               testing its gangling legs for the first time or a traveler on an
               elephant's back within a few feet of a grazing rhinoceros.
                 Ecotourism operators use brochures in a variety of ways.
               The most effective method is to offer travel prospects a visu-
               ally attractive annual travel catalog or digest supplemented
               by more detailed, destination-specific brochures. The cata-
               log features all of the company's current destinations with a
               broad description of sights and activities. Prices and a cal-
               endar of departure dates are included in the digest. Often, it
               is produced in an elaborate magazine format with a capti-
               vating photographic cover design. A catalog that earns a
               place on someone's coffee table or an equally accessible and
               conspicuous place is infinitely more effective than a bro-
               chure placed in the trash after a cursory examination.
                 Brochures specific to each destination offered by the eco-
               tourism operator can greatly enhance and supplement the
               annual catalog. Smaller operators may use these more de-
               scriptive brochures exclusively. The travel brochure often
               represents the first opportunity the ecotourism operator has
               to educate the prospective traveler. It is here that the travel
               company enjoys an ample quantity of time and space to
               communicate its purpose and the unique qualities of its des-
               tinations. In the following excerpt from an ecotourism bro-
               chure for Venezuela, it is an inspired naturalist who
               promises an unforgettable experience in this South Ameri-
               can paradise.

                 Crossing the heart of Venezuela from the Orinoco Delta to
                 the Andes Mountains is a vast grassland prairie known as
                 the Llanos. Representing about one-third of the total area
                 of Venezuela, this region abounds with the most spectac-
                 ular wildlife found in South America. Geologically, the
                 Llanos is the bed of an ancient inland sea. The soils are
                 relatively poor and support little vegetation other than
                 grasses-except along the many streams and rivers where






                                     Marketing Ecotourism                   177
                  a distinctive type of growth, known as gallery forest, forms
                  dense thickets. Traditionally used as grazing land, the
                  Llanos has a very low population density that contributes
                  to the incredible abundance of wildlif@. During the dry
                  season (November-May), the shrinking waterholes attract
                  thousands of animals, including those normally difficult
                  to observe like the Capybara, Giant Anteater and Spec-
                  tacled Caiman. The number of birds is simply mind-
                  boggling. Within one's field of view it is possible to see,
                  simultaneously, all three New World Storks, eight species
                  of Ibis, Rufescent Tiger Heron, White-faced Whistling
                  Duck and Black-collared Hawk, while smaller birds flit in
                  and out of the scene....


                  It does not matter whether or not the reader has ever
                heard of a white-faced whistling duck or a spectacled cai-
                man, only that he or she becomes interested in the prospect
                of traveling to this remarkable habitat to see such wonders.
                This ecotourism brochure describes the trip, beginning with
                an introductory paragraph on the country. It proceeds to dis-
                cuss each unique habitat to be encountered on the expedi-
                tion; the Caribbean coastal region, the Llanos, the Guayana
                Highlands, the Andes Mountains, and the Orinoco Basin.
                Conspicuously positioned on the back cover is the company    P s
                long-standing purpose: "to stimulate an interest in, develop
                an understanding of, and create an appreciation for the
                great natural wonders of our Earth.'
                  Dominating the visual aspect of the brochure is a pictorial
                of Venezuela that includes a wedge-headed capuchin mon-
                key perched on a high limb, a close-up of an exotic rat's tail
                orchid, and an almost surreal wide-angle view of La Gran
                Sabana.
                  Details regarding meals and accommodations are seldom
                given in these brochures (unlike more traditional tourism
                materials), although such information is covered thoroughly
                in other predeparture materials. Lodging on ecotourism ex-
                peditions is usually simple and always pleasantly adven-
                turesome. Meals are almost exclusively of the local cuisine.
                  The travel company- wants to prepare travelers fully for






              178     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
              the ecotourism experience, in part because a dissatisfied
              traveler is bad for business. To this end, the operator will
              supply a great deal of additional information beyond the
              destination brochure.


              A HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE
              In order to understand the sequence of events leading to the
              selling of the nature travel product, let us examine the pro-
              cess through a light-hearted, hypothetical example.
                Winston DeBardelben is a forty-eight-year-old lawyer who
              lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. One of his hobbies is
              bird-watching; he even owns a pair of Bausch & Lomb 8 X
              42 Black Armored binoculars that he stores under the seat of
              the Jeep Wagoneer he bought before the kids went off to col-
              lege. He keeps a stack of magazines on his bedside table and
              browses through one or two every night before going to
              sleep. One of his favorite magazines is Audubon. While flip-
              ping its pages one evening, he notices an attractive, four-
              color ad with the headline "World Leader in Nature Travel."
              The long, skinny ad on the left-hand column of the left-hand
              page features an intriguing photograph-the silhouette of
              an exotic creature with spiraling antlers, set against a strik-
              ing orange sunset. "Isn't that a black buck?" he asks himself,
              recalling a program on India he had seen recently on public
              television.
                As Winston gazed over the dozen or so destinations listed
              in the ad, he realized that a few of the trips cost about the
              same as his binoculars. Then he began to imagine himself
              somewhere in India, peering at a distant stork rookery.
              Glancing at his sleeping wife, he remembered that she had
              threatened to take a week's vacation to the Sierra Nevadas
              with her friends if he didn't come up with a better alterna-
              tive. She even figured out how much it would cost; all he
              could recall was that it was four figures. "That 'settles it:' he
              decided silently. "I'm going to look into this."
                The next morning, he called the toll-free number in the ad.
              His first conversation with the travel company representa-
              tive was brief. She took his name, address, work and home






                                       Marketing Ecotourism                    179
                 phone number. She asked where he had seen the ad and
                 whether or not he had ever requested information from the
                 company before. When he replied "No, I haven't," she told
                 him he would be sent a complete catalog of all the destina-
                 tions available, as well as a brochure on the India expedi-
                 tion.
                   Less than a week later, Winston received the materials.
                 The fifty-two-page catalog reminded him of some of the mag-
                 azines he received. With great yearning, he studied the cat-
                 alog page by page. Then he picked up the eighteen-page,
                 four-color brochure devoted entirely to the company's India
                 expedition. It provided him with facts about the country
                 that piqued his interest and the vivid wildlife photographs
                 appealed to more than just his sense of sight. A day-to-day
                 itinerary, general information and conditions, and a reser-
                 vation certificate were included as well. The impressive ma-
                 terials gave him a sense that he had contacted a very able
                 company.
                   When his wife reminded him that it was 7:00 and they
                 were to meet their friends at a local bistro at 7:30, Winston
                 realized that he had spent the better part of an hour gazing
                 at the brochures and daydreaming about a trip to India.
                 Finding it impossible to contain his excitement any longer,
                 he walked over to his closet, hung up his suit, put on a pair
                 of khaki trousers, slipped on his beloved but abused eleven-
                 year-old Sperry Topsiders, walked out into the bedroom,
                 stood before his wife, and announced "Honey, we're going
                 to India this fall!" They celebrated with champagne at the
                 bistro.
                   As soon as they got home, Winston filled out the reserva-
                 tion certificate and stuck it in an envelope with a deposit
                 check to reserve space on the departure date he had selected.
                   The next day, Winston called the travel company with a
                 few specific questions. He was impressed by the young
                 woman with whom he spoke. She was a "destination coor-
                 dinator," and India wa's her specialty. He was struck by the
                 breadth of her knowledge regarding the natural and cultural
                 history of the country and the fact that she had done archae-
                 ology fieldwork in Central America. She recommended that







             180    THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
             he read a few books on India, particularly one on *India's ti-
             ger preserves written by a renowned Indian naturalist with
             whom, he was told, he would meet on his trip. The destina-
             tion coordinator described some of the remote lodges where
             he and his wife would stay and what to expect in general.
               On receipt of his reservation form, the company mailed
             Winston a confirmation package consisting of a welcome let-
             ter from the company founders and a booklet on the desti-
             nation featuring historic background, customs, description
             of habitats, geography and wildlife, information about local
             currency, shopping tips, and more. The package contained
             visa applications and a personal health form. There was also
             a form for him to complete regarding his special interests
             and a list of suggested readings. Next, Winston received his
             invoice for the trip. Approximately thirty days prior to leav-
             ing for India, the DeBardelbens received their predeparture
             package. It contained a personal letter telling wh  'o would
             greet them at the destination and other final details. Their
             airplane tickets were enclosed along with a brief itinerary,.
             customs information, and the names, addresses, and phone
             listing of their fellow passengers (some of whom would be-
             come close friends). An embossed suede passport holder,
             ticket holder, and leather luggage tags were included, the
             latter so their bags could be easily identified by porters.

             ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS IN A MARKETING STRATEGY
             This example has demonstrated that good advertising, effec-
             tive collateral material, expert personal communication,
             and thorough procedures can go a long way toward making
             a marketing effort successful. However, there are additional
             factors in the total marketing "mix" that contribute to
             awareness and promote participation in ecotourism.

             Special gz-oup travel. Ecotourism has a special appeal for
             zoos, museums, aquariums, nature centers, and environ-
             mental organizations. These institutions have begun to rec-
             ognize the potential for educating their members about
             conservation issues through nature travel, and many of them





                                        Marketing Ecotourism                    181
                  have full-time travel coordinators on staff. The National Au-
                  dubon Society, for example, employs a staff of professionals
                  that works closely with nature travel companies in arrang-
                  ing trips for their membership. They use the travel opportu-
                  nities to educate their members about environmental issues
                  worldwide, and have produced a 'set of guidelines for envi-
                  ronmentally sensitive travel.
                    The trave@l company can best demonstrate its overall qual-
                  ity and its commitment to environmentally sensitive
                  ecotourism by offering familiarization tours to group repre-
                  sentatives, with the hope that their institutions will choose
                  to travel with the company in the future.
                    Once a group and an ecotourism operator agree to work
                  together, the operator can provide many forms of marketing
                  support, such as high-quality audiovisual presentations for
                  the group's members and the public. People are encouraged
                  to attend these previews through announcements in the or-
                  ganization's newsletter, special invitation, or a brief note in
                  the local newspaper, perhaps in a calendar of upcoming cul-
                  tural events. The ecotourism operator may also produce di-
                  rect mail fliers for the institution to mail to its membership
                  list. Some groups manage to realize additional financial
                  benefits by structuring donations into the price of the trip.

                  Media coverage. The 1990s have been dubbed "The Decade
                  of the Environment," and there is growing interest among
                  media in conservation issues. The subject of nature travel
                  alone has an enormous degree of human interest; combined
                  with public concern for the global environment, ecotourism
                  has extraordinarily strong media appeal. Ecotourism oper-
                  ators must treat opportunities for editorial exposure with
                  careful thought and preparedness.
                    Publicity can result in valuable commercial exposure at
                  little or no cost. But the ecotourism operator must be able
                  to communicate to the media a precise meaning of ecotour-
                  ism. Reporters are human and may misconstrue ideas if not
                  presented in a clear and concise fashion. To assure that the
                  ecotourism "story" is communicated with accuracy, a public
                  relations plan is essential.






              182     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                The formulation of a purpose statement is the first step.
              The purpose statement upon which International Expedi-
              tions, Inc., was founded has played an important role in its
              initial decade of operating ecotourism programs, and has
              helped it attain a credible image with the news media. Its
              purpose "is to stimulate an interest in, develop an under-
              standing of, and create an appreciation for the great natural
              wonders of our Earth."
                Travel to exotic locales is a powerful leveraging tool with
              the media and prospective promotion partners. Trading
              trips for valuable media can gain exposure for the ecotour-
              ism operator that it might otherwise be unable to afford.

              Special promotional events. Promotions such as radio-
              thons, workshops, and competitions are a unique, cost-
              effective way to generate consumer excitement and expand
              the message of ecotourism to a wider audience. Ecotourism
              operators should select high-profile partners that have
              clients with similar demographics (for instance, a popular
              sport optics manufacturer). Through this cooperation, the
              ecotourism operator can gain credibility, enhance its image,
              and broaden awareness for its travel products.
                For example, an ecotourism operator and a major rain for-
              est conservation organization recently launched a - produc-
              tive promotional effort in the form of a radio raffle. The top
              prizes were free expeditions to the Amazon rain forest. An
              investment of trip costs on the part of the nature travel op-
              erator translated into print and broadcast exposure in five
              major cities and donations in excess of $400,000 for rain for-
              est ecology.
                Conscientious support of environmental causes almost al-
              wavs enhances a travel company's image. While profit is not
              the primary motive, this support sometimes results in im-
              mediate response and increased sales.
                International Expeditions has been involved with a coop-
              erative promotional effort entitled the "International Rain-
              forest Workshop." Participants in the workshop will travel to
              the Amazon and Napo rivers, where some of the foremost
              experts on rain forest ecology guide travelers through an in-







                                      Marketing Ecotourism                   183
                tensive, week-long exploration of the forest. The tour 'com-
                pany's partners include the Peruvian Foundation for the
                Conservation of Nature (FPCN), the Nature Conservancy,
                and Exploraciones Amazonicas, an environmentally sensi-
                tive lodging operator that will host the annual event. There
                are no prerequisites for participation besides a love and
                enthusiasm for the rain forest. A major portion of the
                funds generated will be used for the development of the
                Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research
                (ACEER). The center will provide environmental education
                and a study area for researchers, who will in turn share their
                knowledge and experience with visitors.
                  Special projects like this accomplish many objectives.
                First, the experience will change the lives of over 100 partic-
                ipants to some degree. Appreciation and understanding even
                beyond that normally associated with an ecotourism expe-
                rience will be realized among these travelers.
                  The local community will benefit as well. They will learn
                more about their environment and nature tourism. Money
                will be generated by the event, profiting local interests and
                leading to the development of the research center, which will
                be utilized by many scientists and ecotourists who will
                spend money in the community.


                BELIZE: A CASE STUDY
                In 1980, the year International Expeditions was founded, the
                Caribbean country of Belize situated on the northeast coast
                of Central America was mostly virgin territory. Only its out-
                lying coral islands supported tourism, attracting divers and
                sport fishermen. Soon after International Expeditions began
                operations, Belize was selected as a potential ecotourism
                destination for the company. Steve Cox, one of the com-
                pany's founders, traveled to Belize in order to evaluate the
                tourism infrastructure. and examine the marketing viability
                of the destination, particularly the country's interior.
                  At that time, roads were bad and Land Rovers were
                needed to access most areas. Ecotourism lodging on the
                mainland was extremely limited and unable to accommo-






               184     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
               date more than a few dozen intrepid travelers. There were
               few trained guides. Yet the essential elements of a wonderful
               nature travel destination  'were there- biodi versi ty and the
               potential to develop an acceptable tourism infrastructure. It
               also seemed apparent that ecotourism would be able to safe-
               guard this unspoiled paradise.
                 International Expeditions set out to improve or help es-
               tablish adequate infrastructure in such ecologically diverse
               areas as Crooked Tree and Mountain Pine Ridge in the north-
               western and central parts of Belize. Gradually, more travel-
               ers were brought to natural history sites in Belize, but only
               as many as the current tourist infrastructure could comfort-
               ably support.
                 As the few existing lodge owners realized the great reve-
               nue potential represented by International Expeditions and
               nature travel in general, plans were set into motion for the
               expansion of existing accommodations, construction of new
               lodges, and the advancement of environmentally sensitive
               tourism. Chaa Creek, located on the Macal River in the foot-
               hills of Mountain Pine Ridge, was just a simple two-room
               facility in 1980. Today, it has grown to become a prosperous
               resort of fourteen thatched-roof cabanas, a relaxing open-air
               bar, a quaint little gift shop featuring local arts and crafts,
               and a spacious dining terrace serving local cuisine.
                 Once a one-dimensional travel destination that focused on
               diving and fishing, Belize has become recognized as a mul-
               tifaceted paradise, and the tourism industry is growing rap-
               idly. The government has recognized the importance of this
               revenue source through establishing a Ministry of Tourism
               and the Environment, which is promulgating a policy of
               conservation and controlled tourism development.
                 In addition to governmental support of ecotourism, local
               inhabitants are beginning to realize benefits from nature
               travel. The population of Belize is small, approximately
               170,000, so even the relatively modest revenue that ecotour-
               ism currently represents is felt among all levels of society.
                 The Community Baboon Sanctuary ("baboon" is the local
               name for the black howler monkey) is an inspiring example
               of how ecotourism. can work to the benefit of nature, local






                                      Marketing Ecotourism                   185
                communities, and private interests. The black howler mon-
                key has been threatened by loss of its forest habitat to slash-
                and-burn agriculture. To combat this problem, local farmers
                and landowners started a grass roots conservation effort in
                the form of a Community Baboon Sanctuary at Bermudian
                Landing, with help from the Belize Audubon Society, the
                World Wildlife Fund, and others. The sanctuary attracts a
                significant volume of travelers, and the monetary benefits
                accrue to both the sanctuary and the community. For ex-
                ample, a group of local women is paid to prepare meals for
                travelers visiting the banctuary by companies like Interna-
                tional Expeditions.
                  Belizians see ecotourism as the wave of the future. Meb
                Cutlack, editor of the Belize Review, wrote this about it:

                  The key word for Belize's future is ECOTOURism because
                  not only is ecotourism the world's fastest growing area of
                  the tourism industry but it is essentially the way in which
                  Belize can earn enormous revenue from her natural re-
                  sources and simultaneously husband and care for those re-
                  sources ... her reef, cays, rain forest, rivers, streams,
                  Mayan ruins, wildlands and wildlife. There are times
                  when infrastructure development, the building of hotels,
                  roads, boat docks, and other essentials for tourism will
                  challenge the concept of pure conservation-just as essen-
                  tial agricultural development will at times present a chal-
                  lenge. But such conflicts are surmountable with wisdom
                  and goodwill. It is not a matter of "development at any
                  cost" but "sustainable development which respects man
                  and nature." (Cutlack 1990)


                CONCLUSION

                The marketing of ecotourism is a complex challenge. Suc-
                cess is not measured simply by company profits. It relies on
                a much greater efficiency of resource use. The ecotourism
                operator must consider variables that transcend purely
                monetary concerns.







               186     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                 Education of travelers by both instruction and example
               is as critical to success as providing a comfortable, fun, and
               hassle-free experience. Generating revenues for the country
               and local communities is also essential. And, finally, the
               highest goal must be the conservation of the fragile ecosys-
               tems that comprise the nature tour experience.



                                        REFERENCE

               Cutlack, M. 1990. Belize Review (May).











                                  CHAPTER 9

               Making Ecotourism Sustainable:
                Recommendations for Planning,
                Development, and Management


                                  ELIZABETH Boo




            W     orld Wildlife Fund (WWF) recently completed an eval-
                  uation of the current status of ecotourism worldwide,
            and its economic and environmental impacts (Boo 1990).
            The research focused on Latin America and the Caribbean,
            with case studies in Belize, Costa Rica, Dominica, Ecuador,
            and Mexico, though the findings are likely to be applicable
            elsewhere.
               The study confirmed the presence of a growing demand for
            ecotourism. Where data were available, records of visitor
            counts were collected at case study sites. Almost invariably,
            numbers of domestic and international ecotourists were
            seen to be rising rapidly., Tour operators and travel agents
            were interviewed about travel trends. All reported a great
            shift in client demand toward nature tours, despite a mini-
            mum of marketing and promotion. In addition, surveys con-

                                          187






              188     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
              ducted at airports showed a large percentage of randomly
              interviewed tourists were there for the nature. Some 46 per-
              cent cited natural areas as the primary or very impor-
              tant reason for their decision to travel. Six in ten (57 per-
              cent) stated that they visited at least one park during their
              stay.
                We concluded, however, that the potential benefits of eco-
              tourism, both economic and environmental, are yet to be re-
              alized. The vast majority of parks are not in a position to
              gain financially from tourism because they do not provide
              adequate means for tourists to spend mone    .y. Most parks lack
              trained guides, interpretive information, entrance fee sys-
              tems, and basic infrastructure such as visitor centers. Sig-
              nificant opportunities to bring money into the park and to
              provide employment for local populations are missed.
                Another lost opportunity is the education of visitors. Tour-
              ists experiencing a natural area directly are more apt to be-
              come involved in conservation if informed about the issues.
              Unfortunately, most parks do not have the personnel or pro-
              grams available to educate tourists.
                At the same time that the benefits of ecotourism are un-
              tapped, the potential economic and environmental costs
              have not been fully understood or monitored. Most interna-
              tional travel agents and tour operators have yet to establish
              relations with local counterparts, and there is no assurance
              that a portion of the financial gains from ecotourism benefits
              the local community. Also, mechanisms are not in place to
              thoroughly evaluate the environmental consequences of
              tourism. Few studies have been done to monitor changes and
              to determine carrying capacities for parks. Yet this informa-
              tion is critical to the healthy growth of the ecotourism busi-
              ness.
                The study clearly highlights the importance of including
              local people in the planning, development, and management
              of ecotourism. Many of the parks and reserves in developing
              countries being discovered by nature travelers are sur-
              rounded by native populations who are dependent on the
              natural resources of the area for their livelihood. In order to






                               Making Ecotourism Sustainable              189
             stem the growing pressure from development activities and
             conserve the natural resources, the native populations must.
             be offered viable alternatives to use the resources in sustain-
             able wavs. Ecotourism is one such option.
               The process of involving local communities in ecotourism
             projects and simultaneously protecting natural resources is
             not easy. Local people are often widely distributed over a
             large geographic area and- are not part of any established
             organization. They are therefore difficult to reach. Local res-
             idents also need to be given a great deal of information
             about proposed tourism development so they can evaluate
             tourism among their other employment options and decide
             how they want to interact with tourists. This evaluation may
             take time, but it is essential to the process.
               Aside from ethical or moral considerations, it is important
             to incorporate local communities into ecotourism planning
             because not doing so may prove disastrous for the tourism
             industry. If local populations do not participate actively in
             all aspects of developing and managing natural resources for
             tourism and benefit from this enterprise, they may choose to
             use the natural resources in other, perhaps less sustainable
             ways. These alternative land uses, such as logging, mining,
             slash-and-burn agriculture, or poaching may threaten the
             integrity of the resources, and thereby the ecotourism
             product.
               The ecotourism business is in its infancy. Individuals,
             agencies, and organizations across the public and private
             sectors are analyzing, promoting, controlling, and investing
             in this industry. They must be encouraged to work together
             if ecotourism is to be beneficial for both conservation and
             economic development. Otherwise, the current wave of en-
             thusiasm for ecotourism. will die for lack of beautiful places
             to visit.
               A comprehensive framework for planning ecotourism
             needs to be put in place to both maximize potential benefits
             and minimize the potential costs for people and the environ-
             ment. Following is a description of the framework we devel-
             oped based on the study.






              190    THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
              FRAMEWORK FOR PLANNING,
             .DEVELOP       'ING, AND MANAGING
              ECOTOURISM

              PREPLANNING
              Before the planning process begins, representatives from
              various governmental ministries (planning, public works, fi-
              nance, budget, tourism, agriculture, forestry, parks, environ-
              ment, education) should meet to discuss how ecotourism fits
              into the nation's development goals. This judgment is based
              on a preliminary assessment of the country's ecotourism
              product, specifically the attractiveness and special features
              of its natural areas and carrying capacities, and the demand
              for ecotourism. Input should be solicited from park manag-
              ers, the private sector, international funding agencies, local
              conservation groups, and native communities. If the govern-
              ment representatives agree that ecotourism ought to be in-
              cluded as a component of the national development plan, an
              Ecotourism Board should be created to further investigate
              the status and potential of nature tourism. The board should
              consist of members from government, park managers, tour
              operators, the private sector, local conservation organiza-
              tions, and native co mmunities. International development
              and conservation organizations may be invited to provide
              financial and technical assistance.
               The role of the Ecotourism Board is to create a strategy for
              ecotourism growth. The board will oversee planning, devel-
              opment, and management functions.

              EcOTOURISM PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT9 AND
              MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
              Environmentally sound ecotourism growth must be seen as
              a long-term activity. While many natural areas already
              attract tourists and need to respond immediately with a
              short-term plan, it is essential that every natural area have
              a documented strategy of how tourism will be promoted and
              controlled over the long term.






                                  Making Ecotourism Sustainable              191
                   In the following recommendations, native communities
                 are recognized as a key component to success. However,
                 given the difficulties of identifying each group, they are not
                 singled out as.a target group. @he responsibility for includ-
                 ing native communities in ecotourism growth is placed with
                 local conservation organizations. These organizations are
                 generally familiar with native groups in the areas where
                 thev work and can solicit representation or interaction as
                 needed.
                   Many of the recommendations are repeated under several
                 target groups. These groups need to work together on a par-
                 ticular task or step. Collaboration among all groups is criti-
                 cal at each stage.


                 PLANNING
                 At this stage in the process, the current and projected status
                 of the country's natural resources and ecotourism industry
                 is assessed. It is important to remember that most ecotour-
                 ism so far has occurred spontaneously with little encourage-
                 ment; however, with proper planning, the benefits of
                 ecotourism can be maximized and the drawbacks mini-
                 mized.



                 Recommendations for Ministzles
                 Ministry of Tourism
                   - Allocate a portion of the budget for nature tourism de-
                     velopment.
                   - Work with other ministries to develop an entrance fee
                     system for parks and reserves. Use differential fee struc-
                     tures for foreigners and nationals when appropriate.
                   - Work with other ministries to design a financial mecha-
                     nism to channel a portion of entrance fee revenue back
                     into the maintenance and protection of the protected
                     area.
                     Change tourism laws and policies as needed to include
                     environmental protection clauses for natural areas.







               192    THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                 ï¿½ Design visitor surveys to collect statistical information
                   on current status of tourists.
                 ï¿½ Develop visitor count mechanisms to record tourist data
                   at park sites.

               Ministrv of Planning, Public Works
               Evaluate nature tourism development within context of
               other development plans for the country.

               Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Parks, Environment
               These ministries are listed together because in most coun-
               tries several are responsible for the management of natural
               areas.
                 ï¿½ In the national protected area system plan, identify
                   those wildland units where nature tourism will be de-
                   veloped and those where it will be discouraged.
                 ï¿½ Create management plans for each protected area. In-
                   clude tourism components for those areas with visitors
                   (present or potential).
                 ï¿½ In individual park budgets, take into consideration
                   those parks that have tourists and need additional funds
                   to cover personnel and tourist management training.
                 ï¿½ Change protected area legislation as necessary to reflect
                   ecotourism. requirements.
                 ï¿½ Work with park managers to create a data base of natu-
                   ral resources for each protected area.

               Ministry of Budget, Finance
                 ï¿½ Increase budgets of protected areas attracting tourists to
                   enable these sites to control and provide for visitors.
                 ï¿½ Participate in establishing the entrance fee collection
                   scheme and rechanneling money back into parks.
                 ï¿½ Design self-financing mechanisms for parks and reserves
                   based on tourism revenues.
                 ï¿½ Create tax and import exemptions to encourage private
                   sector involvement in tourism development.







                                Making Ecotourism Sustainable               193
              Recommendations for Park Managers
                  Conduct full inventory of each protected area that        re-
                  ceives tourists now or in the future. Inventory should in-
                  clude biological information about natural resources,
                  statistics on current level of tourism, the present level of
                  infrastructure development, the level of interaction be-
                  tween local residents and park facilities, the fragility of
                  the ecosystem, and the ecological constraints to tourism
                  development.
                  Include nature tourism plans in operational, manage-
                  ment, or master plans for individual protected areas.
                  Ensure that nature tourism plans comply with park
                  management objectives, guidelines, and zoning.
                  Work with other ministries to develop mechanisms for
                  entrance fees and for channeling money back to the
                  parks

              Recommendations for Tour Operators and the FWvate
              Sector
                - Evaluate the current and potential tourism market
                  through surveys and other information sources.
                - Design mechanisms for channeling a portion of nature
                  tourism profits back into park maintenance.
                - Participate in design of guidelines for "environmentally
                  sound" tour operators and tourists.

              Recommendations for Local Conservation Organizations
                ï¿½ Decide if tourism development and management is part
                  of the organization's mission and how this fits with the
                  other objectives of the organization.
                ï¿½ Solicit the participation of native communities sur-
                  rounding natural areas to determine the extent to which
                  they want to becom    'e involved with tourism develop-
                  ment and management.
                - Select local representatives to be included in every step
                  of tourism planning.





                  194    THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                    - Solicit financial and technical assistance from interna-
                     tional conservation and funding organizations for tour-
                     ism development and management as necessary.

                  Recommendations for International Development and Con.
                  servation Organizations
                    ï¿½Develop a roster of international nature tourism con-
                     sultants with expertise in various angles of tourism
                     development and management, such as ecological archi-
                     tecture, community participation in tourism, wildland
                     management and tourism, etc.
                    ï¿½ Develop a set of guidelines for "environmentally sound"
                     tour operators and tourists.

                  DEVELOPMENT


                  Recommendations for Ministiles
                  Ministry of Tourism
                    -Work with private sector and international funding
                     agencies to develop appropriate tourism infrastructure
                     at each site. Keep in mind the importance of offering op-
                     portunities for tourists to spend money so that there is a
                     benefit to the park and local people.
                    -Work with the park service and tour operators to create
                     training programs for park personnel and tour guides.
                     Training should include natural resource education and
                     tourism management skills.
                  Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Parks, Environment
                    ï¿½Develop environmental impact studies and mechanisms
                     to determine carrying capacity limits for each protected
                     area.
                    ï¿½Hire adequate park personnel to maintain parks and to
                     control tourists.
                    ï¿½Work with the Ministry of Education to develop environ-
                     mental education materials for park sites and to create







                                  Making Ecotourism Sustainable                195
                    information about ecotourism for schools.
                    Set up mechanisms for entrance fee collections and for
                    channeling the income back to parks.

               Ministry of Budget, Finance
                        I
                    Set up mechanisms for channeling income from tourism
                    revenues into park maintenance.

               Ministry of Education
                        I
                  - Create a training program for local guides that covers
                    natural history, special features of the area and country,
                    tourism management and languages.
                  - Develop environmental education materials for tourists
                    and materials about ecotourism as it relates to natural
                    resource conservation for local schools.
                    Provide training for environmental education adminis-
                    trators who will distribute the above materials.


               Recommendations for Park Managers
                  - Assist in development of park infrastructure to ensure it
                    is environmentally sound. This may include a visitors'
                    center, snack bar/restaurant, restrooms, gift shop, and
                    other facilities that would enhance a tourist experience
                    and generate funds. Use local labor and products when
                    possible.
                  - Create effective trail system and interpretive programs
                    for parks.
                  - Provide necessary training for park personnel.
                  - Give preference to local residents in hiring park person-
                    nel and offering concessions within the park.
                  - Collect baseline data on natural and cultural resources
                    before and during promotion of tourism.
                  - Conduct environmental impact studies and establish
                     tolerable levels of visitation."
                  - Set up data collection system to gather visitor statistics.
                    Select national and international tour companies that







               196    THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                   will bring groups to the park.
                 - Develop guidelines for tourists to follow while    in the
                   park.

               Recommendations for Tour Operators and the MIvate
               Sector
                 ï¿½ Establish pretrip environmental education programs for
                   tourists and work with park managers to develop on-site
                   educational materials.
                 ï¿½ Select and train local guides.
                 ï¿½ Use local products in all nature tourism services.
                 ï¿½ Work with tourism planners to create tourism packages
                   that include a variety of natural resource attractions.
                   These packages could be for groups or individuals. These
                   may include nature-only tours or "add-on" nature exten-
                   sions to other tours.
                 ï¿½ Investigate the range of communication channels for
                   publicizing ecotourism sites and activities.
                 ï¿½ Some tour operators may choose to specialize in nature
                   tours to enhance the diversity and quality of service they
                   provide to nature tourists.
                 ï¿½ Develop policy statements regarding "environmentally
                 . sound" tourism services.


               Recommendations for Local Conservation Organizations
                   Ensure that local communities remain actively involved
                   with tourism development.
                   Assist in coordinating activities between international
                   funding agencies and park managers.

               Recommendations for International Development and Con-
               servation Organizations
                 ï¿½ Facilitate public and private cooperation in developing
                   tourism infrastructure as needed.
                 ï¿½ Provide assistance for training programs for guides,
                   park managers, environmental educators, and others.
                 ï¿½ Fund and support technical assistance for parks, includ-






                             Making Ecotourism Sustainable              197
                 ing inventory studies, carrying capacity studies, zoning
                 and land use plans, revision or elaboration of park man-
                 agement plans to integrate tourism needs, and tourism
                 monitoring mechanisms.
               - Fund and support studies of sociocultural impacts and
                 considerations in nature tourism development.
               - Fund and support case studies of tourism development
                 at selected parks to use as models for other parks.

             MANAGEMENT


             Recommendations for Ministiles
             Ministry of Tourism
               - Monitor the quality of nature tourism services and facil-
                 ities.
               * Create promotion and marketing schemes for parks that
                 want more tourists or want to regulate tourist arrivals,
                 eliminating crowded peak seasons and dull low seasons.
             Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Parks, and Environment
                 Continue to monitor the economic and environmental
                 impacts of tourism and evaluate whether the costs. of
                 tourism are outweighing the benefits in any natural
                 areas. Take appropriate steps to remedy this problem if
                 it emerges.
                 Evaluate whether the system of wildlands is adequate
                 for the tourism demand or if more areas need to be cre-
                 ated as tourism destinations.
             Ministry of Budget,Tinance
                 Ensure that parks that have the most visitors are being
                 compensated to cover additional costs of personnel and
                 training.
             Ministry of Education
                 Continue to create educational programs about tourism
                 and the environment. Conduct surveys of students and
                 tourists to determine the impacts of these programs.







               198    THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
               Recommendations for Park Managers
                  ï¿½Monitor tourism at sites to see that tourists comply with
                   park guidelines.
                  ï¿½Conduct economic and environmental impact studies
                   and publicize any essential information.
                  ï¿½Evaluate the effectiveness of interpretative materials
                   and adjust them if necessary.
                  ï¿½Periodically survey tourists' characteristics, motives,
                   and activities for use in developing future tourism poli-
                   cies and promotional plans.
                  ï¿½Monitor park personnel and guide training programs to
                   make sure they are keeping up with tourism demand.

               Recommendations for Tour Operators and the ftivate
               Sector
                  ï¿½Work with public sector to ensure that ecotourism ser-
                   vices meet international standards.
                  ï¿½Offer continuing education for guides to diversify their
                   expertise.
                  ï¿½Work with park managers to redistribute tourism during
                   high season and in areas with high levels of visitation
                   through marketing and promotion schemes.
                  ï¿½Continue to make a financial contribution to parks and
                   encourage other tour operators to do so.

               Recommendations for Loca    I Conservation Organizations
                  ï¿½ Ensure that native groups are involved with tourism to
                   the extent they want and that they receive proper train-
                   ing for their work in tourism.
                  ï¿½ Ensure that natives have access to adequate markets for
                   their handicraft goods and other products.

               Recommendations for International Development and Con-
               servation Organizations
                   Fund and support seminars on creative financing and
                   policy forums for nature tourism.






                            Making Ecotourism Sustainable           199
                Fund and support case studies of tourism management
                at selected parks to use as models for other parks.



                                   REFERENCE

            Boo, E. 1990. Ecotourism: The Potentials and Pitfalls. Wash-
              ington, D.C.: World Wildlife Fund-U.S.











                                  CHAPTER 10

                              Global Solutions:
                         An Ecotourism Society


                                MEGANEPLER WOOD






              T
                  our operators and ecotourists have begun to make the
                  conservation of natural areas a priority. A number of op-
              erators now feature tours on which clients clean up tourism
              sites that have suffered negative impacts from overuse by
              visitors. More and more tour operators are allocating a por-
              tion of their client fees to conservation groups at home or
              abroad. Some travel groups even have their own nonprofit
              foundations that fund conservation projects in destination
              countries.
                For the most part, these steps have been taken without co-
              ordination. Working together, tour operators, conservation
              groups, local communities, and host governments could
              have a far greater impact on the conservation of natural
              areas. We therefore propose to found an Ecotourism Society,
              offering the opportunity for specialists in tourism and con-
              servation to learn from each other and develop a global ini-
              tiative for the conservation of ecotourism areas.
                Developing the initial focus and agenda of the Ecotourism
              Society wi 11 be a challenge. The society must bring together

                                           200





                               Global Solutions: An Ecotourism Societ1v       201
                 specialists from many different fields-sociology, anthropol-
                 ogy, biology, ecology, international studies, economics, de-
                 velopment, and others. It must recruit and win the support
                 of travel professionals and natural resource managers. Rep-
                 resentatives from government and local communities must
                 be included. Whether ecotourism is only a fad or a genuine
                 conservation tool will depend, in large part, on the ability of
                 these diverse constituencies to work together.
                   The first task is to reach agreement on what ecotourism is,
                 and what it is not. Our definition embraces both environ-
                 ment and economics: ecotourism is purposeful travel to nat-
                 ural areas to understand the cultural and natural history of
                 the environment, taking care not to alter the integrity of the
                 ecosystem while producing economic opportunities that
                 make the conservation of natural resources financially ben-
                 eficial to local citizens.
                   The society's main focus will be to build ecotourism's po-
                 tential as a tool for sustainable development. The market for
                 environmental tourism has grown so rapidly that it has be-
                 come an important source of foreign exchange in countries
                 such as Ecuador, Kenya, and Costa Rica. The Ecotourism
                 Society can formulate models and guidelines for govern-
                 ments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and private
                 entrepreneurs that will help them develop ecotourism
                 projects that are both economically and environmentally
                 sound.
                   There are many natural areas that desperately need the
                 economic contribution that a well-managed ecotourism pro-
                 gram can offer. The Ecotourism Society can provide techni-
                 cal assistance and promotion for the regions that most need
                 ecotourism to help them conserve their natural areas. It will
                 recommend site planning and management techniques to
                 ensure that ecotourism development does not place undue
                 stress on the environment and that the economic contribu-
                 tion makes its way to the host country and local communi-
                 ties. Ultimately, the Ecotourism Society will develop and
                 promote model ecotourism programs that will identify new
                 destinations, thereby alleviating the pressures on today's
                 most popular destinations.
                   In addition, the society can play a leading role in devel-






                 202     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                 oping regional ecotourism action plans that identify solu-
                 tions for ecotourism sites suffering from stress caused bv
                 overuse. Destinations in countries such as Kenya, Nepai,
                 and Peru are already having serious trouble with excess gar-
                 bage, off-the-road driving, wildlife harassment, and water
                 pollution. And Antarctica, with no governing body in place
                 to oversee and limit visitation, is in serious jeopardy of los-
                 ing its pristine character due to its increasing popularity as
                 an ecotourism destination.
                   While the Ecotourism Society will work toward develop-
                 ing "clean" ecotourism and appropriate ethics among travel
                 organizations, it will not endorse specific operators. This
                 would limit participation and ultimately hinder cooperation
                 within the travel community
                   As a first step in developing and gaining support for the
                 Ecotourism Society, we circulated a list of objectives for
                 comment among travel operators and conservation organi-
                 zations. The following is an annotated version of that docu-
                 ment.



                 ECOTOURISM AND INTERNATIONAL
                 DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE

                 The Ecotourism Society should help put ecotourism at the
                 top of the agenda of multilateral development and financial
                 institutions. Currently, large tourism developments with
                 large profit potential due to high volume receive the most
                 favorable treatment. Ecotourism will never generate as
                 much revenue as "mass tourism." Nevertheless, new criteria
                 need to be established that place a value on the preservation
                 of rain forests, watersheds, biological diversity, and other
                 economic intangibles. The Ecotourism Society should:
                   ï¿½ Develop and implement alternate models of economic
                     analysis that place a value on the conservation of natu-
                     ral resources, specifically as related to ecotourism devel-
                     opments.
                   ï¿½ Propose management strategies that channel tourism







                           Global Solutions: An Ecotourism Society       203
                  revenues into community development and environmen-
                  tal protection.
                ï¿½ Coordinate feasibility studies in specific countries with
                  potential for ecotourism development.
                ï¿½ Build a database of economic and natural resource data
                  for ecotourism developments in specific regions and
                  countries worldwide.



              RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS

              Until very recently, no school in the United States devoted a
              full course of study to tourism and its impact on natural re-
              sources. Yet, a quickly expanding group of students and pro-
              fessionals are eager for further information on the manage-
              ment of visitors in parks and natural areas. Tour profession-
              als have all expressed a strong interest in environmental
              guidelines. A number of organizations such as the National
              Audubon Society and the American Birding Association
              have adopted travel codes of ethics for their membership.
              The time is right to generate a series of professional papers
              on ecotourism that would be accessible to the general pub-
              lic, tour agencies, conservation organizations, and the aca-
              demic community.
                In addition, the society ought to:

                ï¿½ Publish a series of papers, entitled "Principles of Eco-
                  tourism," that would review issues of concern to ecotour-
                  ism professionals, such as camping etiquette, waste
                  disposal in remote areas, environmental impacts of jet
                  skis, etc. These papers would be edited by the society.
                ï¿½ Encourage the study of visitor impacts in natural areas
                  by graduate environmental studies programs, in man-
                  agement plans of protected areas, and in ongoing re-
                  search programs in natural areas worldwide.
                - Cooperate with the academic world, nongovernmental
                  organizations, and tour operators to develop guidelines
                  for carrying capacities in ecotourism sites.






             204     THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM


             LOCAL PARTICIPATION

             The most important area for action is also the most daunt-
             ing. If ecotourism is to make an important contribution to
             sustainable development, projects must provide direct ben-
             efits to local peoples. Conservation International, the Man
             and Biosphere Program, and World Wildlife Fund, among
             others, have recommended the establishment of ecotourism
             programs as a way to provide economic incentives for con-
             servation. Yet, there is no network in place to implement
             these recommendations. In most countries, tourism officials
             do not have a grasp of resource conservation management
             issues, nor do they interact with the professionals who do.
             Local conservation organizations generally are not prepared
             to establish ecotourism programs since they lack business
             acumen and expertise in the travel arena.
               The Ecotourism Society proposes to introduce informed
             and interested individuals into a worldwide network, using
             the "in-bound tour operator" as liaisons. In-bound tour com-
             panies run the ground operations for many of the foreign-
             based ecotourism operators. They are highly knowledgeable
             about nature tourism destinations in their countries. They
             could be an effective core of support for the development of
             sound ecotourism policies in each nation and could play an
             important role with the society.
               Other priorities of the Ecotourism Society include:

               ï¿½ Building grass roots networks of local tour operators, re-
                 gion by region.
               ï¿½ Forming regional committees, including tour operators,
                 local nongovernmental officials involved in tourism pol-
                 icy, tourism officials, natural resource managers, and
                 transportation specialists.
               ï¿½ Using this network to gather preliminary data on the re-
                 gional economic and social framework needed for the
                 successful development of ecotourism projects.
               ï¿½ Accessing preliminary data to create standardized re-
                 search instruments that will help identify the elements






                             Global Solutions: An Ecotourism Society          205
                   necessary to implement regional ecotourism programs
                   (e.g., training, infrastructure, financial resources, infor-
                   mation networks, and technical assistance). This infor-
                   mation will help the society formulate a series of
                   regional action plans recommending which projects to
                   target for investment and support in each area.


               ECOTOURISM CLEARINGHOUSE

               As the society develops its agenda, a wide variety of interest
               groups will look to it for in-depth information: out-bound
               tour operators (nature tour packagers in the United States);
               in-bound operators (nature tour organizers in destination
               countries); nongovernmental organizations (environmental
               groups, universities, and associations involved in ecotour-
               ism tours, policies, and projects); park management profes-
               sionals involved in tourism; international and domestic
               governmental officials concerned with setting policy related
               to tourism and conservation of natural resources; retail
               travel professionals; travel writers and communicators;
               tourists seeking information on ecotourism.
                 Almost everyone working in the field of ecotourism feels
               frustrated by the lack of centralized information available
               on ecotourism projects. The society clearly needs to develop
               databases and a reference service on people and institutions
               actively working on ecotourism projects; background infor-
               mation on existing programs, guidelines, and management
               plans; and cutting-edge information on how to plan for the
               economic and environmental impacts of ecotourism.


               FINANCIAL SUPPORT

               The society will look     'to membership contributions and
               grants for its initial financial base. It will consult with major
               financial institutions that need alternate methods to evalu-
               ate the economics of ecotourism development based on the
               value of sustained natural resources. Support will be sought







                 206    THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SUCCESSFUL NATURE TOURISM
                 from the foundation and corporate communities. In addi-
                 tion, the organization will market its "Principles of Ecotour-
                 ism" series. The goal is to start small, build a strong project
                 base, and develop institutional supporters. This agenda will
                 ensure that the society becomes a recognized source of infor-
                 mation and policy initiatives on ecotourism.


                 CONCLUSION

                 Many professionals are struggling to find the delicate bal-
                 ance that will make ecotourism a positive force for sustain-
                 able development. Even the most responsible tour operators
                 have witnessed the nightmare of seeing destinations they
                 carefully opened to tourism destroyed by other companies
                 following in their tracks. Once destinations become popular,
                 there is often no way to control visitation. Some environ-
                 mentalists have suggested that moratoriums are needed for
                 areas that have suffered from too much tourism. Such a ban
                 could be implemented successfully only with the participa-
                 tion and planning assistance of the tourism community.
                   The Ecotourism Society will be the first organization to
                 bring together the people, institutions, and information nec-
                 essary to make informed recommendations on ecotourism
                 policies. We will provide a forum for discussion and ideas.
                 And we will provide critical information to tourism and
                 business communities seeking to make their operations en-
                 vironmentally sound.
                  As the battle over the earth's remaining natural resources
                 intensifies, the promise of tourism revenues will be a valu-
                 able bargaining chip for the' conservation cause. The
                 Ecotourism Society can help monitor and guide the devel-
                 opment of this promising new source of revenue and support
                 for conservation.

                 For more information write: Ecotourism Society
                                               c/o Ecoventures LTD
                                               PO. Box 755
                                               N. Bennington, VT 05257










                       ABOUT THE EDITOR





             Tensie Whelan is vice president for Conservation Informa-
             tion at the National Audubon Society. She has worked as a
             journalist in Central America and is a former editor of Am-
             bio, the international environmental journal produced
             under the auspices of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sci-
             ences. A graduate of the School of International Service at
             American University, Ms. Whelan holds a masters degree in
             International Communication. She is currently on the
             boards of the Rainforest Alliance and E Magazine.



















                                         207









                 ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS





               Elizabeth Boo is assistant to the Director of the Latin Amer-
               ican-Caribbean Program at the World Wildlife Fund-U.S.

               Bill Bryan is president of Off-the-Beaten-Path travel agency
               in Montana.

               John A. Dixon is an environmental economist at the World
               Bank.

               Susan P Drake is the United Nations Representative for the
               U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Interna-
               tional Activities.


               Dennis Glick is director of the Greater Yellowstone Tomor-
               row Project at the Greater Yellowstone Coalition.

               Tom Grasse is Director of Marketing and Public Relations,
               International Expeditions, Inc.

               Perez Olindo is Senior Associate at the African Wildlife
               Foundation in Kenya and was formerly director of the
               Kenya Wildlife Department.

               Yanina Rovinski is a communications and ecotourism spe-
               cialist at the Central American Office of the International
               Union for The Conservation of Nature and Natural Re-

               sources.


                                            209







                210                ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
                Richard Rvel is president of International Expeditions, Inc.
                Paul Sherman is an economist for the Hawaiian state gov-
                ernment.
                Megan Epler Wood is president of Ecoventures, a communi-
                cations consulting firm specializing in the environment.











                                        INDEX





               A                                  planning strategy recom-
               Absaroka Beartooth Wilder-             mendations"for, 192
                   ness, United States, 70      Alaska, Tongass National
               ACEER (Amazon Center for             Forest, 14
                   Environmental Educa-         Alternative uses of natural
                   tion and Research), 183          areas, 89-90
               Action plan, development of,     Altier, Len, 146-148
                   154-155                      Amazon Center for Environ-
               Activist, ecotourist as, 15-16       mental Education and
               ADID (Advanced Identifica-           Research (ACEER), 183
                   tion of wetlands), 140-      Amboseli Game Reserve,
                   143                              Kenya,23
               Adirondack National Park,        Amboseli National Park,
                   United States, 11, 13            Kenya, 34, 121-123,
               Advanced Identification              136-137
                   Community Relations          Antaeus Group, 8
                   Program, 140-143             Antarctica, 12
               Advertising copy, develop-       Antonio, Manuel, 52
                   ment of, 174-175             Arias, Oscar, 56
               Advisory committee, 145          Audiovisual materials, col-
               Aesthetic carrying capacity,         lective production of,
                   11                               160
               Agricultural expansion, in
                   Costa Rica, 43-44            B
               Agriculture, ministry of         Bacuit Bay/El Nido region,
                 development recommen-              Philippines, 125-128
                     dations for, 194-195       Bahia Paraiso, 12
                 management recommen-           BCA (benefit-cost analysis),
                     dations for, 197               101-102

                                              211







               212                           Index
               BCR (benefit-cost ratio), 102       for Kenya's parks and re-
               Bed-and-breakfast opera-                 serves,31
                    tions, 75-77                   for Monteverde Cloud For-
               Belize, 183-185                          est Reserve, 42
               Benefit-cost analysis (BCA),      Central America, economic
                    101-102                          pressures in, 3
               Benefit-cost ratio (BCR),         China, 6
                    102                          Chitwan National Park, Ne-
               Benefits of nature tourism,           pal, 113
                    94-98                        Citizens' task force, 145
                 distribution of, 105-108        Clearinghouse, ecotourism,
                 undetermined, 93-94                 205
                 vs. costs of nature tour-       Collective production of
                      ism, 100-105                   audiovisual materials,
               Bien, Amos, 49                        160
               Big game hunting, in Kenya,       Colorado, 78
                    25                           Community Baboon Sanctu-
               Biocultural restoration,              ary, Belize, 184-185
                    138-139                      Community maps, 157
               Biodiversity/ecological bene-     Community participation.
                    fits, Khao Yai National          See Local participation
                    Park, Thailand, 118          Community seminars, 159
               Bosque Eterno, 41                 Compensation, of local
               Boza, Mario, 44                       people, 113 -114
               Braulio Carrillo National         Concession fees, I 10-111
                    Park, Costa Rica, 49, 53     Conservation
               Brochures, 176-177                  benefits of, 91
               Budget, ministry of                 tourism and, 69
                 development recommen-           Conservation ethic
                      dations for, 195             cultural sensitivity and,
                 management recommen-                   167
                      dations for, 197             increased awareness of na-
                 planning strategy recom-               ture and, 165-166
                      mendations for, 192          maximization of economic
                                                        benefits for local
               C                                        peopleand,166-167
               Capital costs, 101                  minimizing negative im-
               Caribbean, nature tourism                pacts on environment
                    in,123-125                          and,167-168
               Carrying capacity, 128-129          travel industry and, 164-
                 for diving in Saba Marine              165
                      Park,125                   Consultation, 133, 151-152







                                                  Index                             213
                  Coop advertising, 174                  private enterprise with
                  Corcovado National Park,                   nature tourism, 46-
                       Costa Rica, 49                        49
                  Costa Rica                             Rara Avis project, 7-8, 49
                     Braulio Carrillo National           regulation of ecotourism,
                          Park,49,53                         52-55
                     conflicting management              Robert and Catherine Wil-
                          objectives, 14                     son Botanical Garden,
                     Corcovado National Park,                50
                          49                             sustainable development,
                     deforestation in, 43-45,                45
                          44-45,49                       tourist-related foreign ex-
                     development of ecotour-                 change,5
                          ism in, 43-46               Costa Rica Expeditions
                     as ecotourism destination,            Travel Agency, 46-47
                          6,16                        Costs of nature tourism
                     ecotourism in, 17-18                direct, 98-99
                     ecotour operators in, 47-           distribution of, 105-108
                          49                             indirect, 99
                     funds for protected area            opportunity, 99-100
                          management, 10-11              vs. benefits of nature tour-
                     general tourism in, 53                  ism, 100-105
                     Guanacaste National              Coyotes, 66-67
                          Park, 53, 137-140           Cultural history, 169
                     La Selva Biological Field        Cultural sensitivity, conser-
                          Station, 50, 51-52               vation ethic and, 167
                     Ministry of Natural Re-
                          sources, Energy, and        D
                          Mines,54                    Decision-making
                     Monteverde Cloud Forest             collective, 154
                          Reserve, 11, 39-43             local participation in, 133,
                     national park planning,                 134,152-153
                          local people and, 9         Deforestation, in Costa Rica,
                     National Parks Service,               43-45,49
                          44,45                       Demand for ecotourism,
                     National Tourism Board,               187-188
                          53-55                       Demographics, of ecotour-
                     nature tourism sites in, 40           ists, 171
                     OTS-related ecotourism,          Destination for ecotourism,
                          50-51                            marketability of, 168-
                     present state of ecotour-             169. See also specific des-
                          ism industry, 55-57              tinations







                214                          Index

                Developing world, tourism        Ecotourism
                    in, 5                          appropriate, 79-80
                Development recommenda-            constraints, 14
                    tions                          debate, 16-20
                  for international develop-       definition of, 164, 201
                       ment and conserva-          popularity in U.S., 6-7
                       tion organizations,         potential of, 3-4
                       196-197                     projects, elements for suc-
                  for local conservation or-            cess, 139-140
                       ganizations, 196            projects, successful and
                  for ministries, 194-195               unsuccessful, 7-9
                  for park managers, 195-        Ecotourism Board, role of,
                       196                            190
                  for private sector, 196        Ecotourism clearinghouse,
                  for tour operators, 196             205
                Direct costs of nature tour-     Ecotourism Society, 20,
                    ism, 98-99                        200-202
                Domestic tourism, in Kenya,        financial support for, 205.-
                    34                                  206
                Donation programs, 112             information clearing-
                Dubois 2000 project, 71                 house,205
                                                   local participation and,
                E                                       204-205
                Earthwatch, 16                     preservation and conser-
                East Africa, wildlife parks             vation criteria for,
                    in,120-123                          202-203
                Ecological capacity, for pro-      research and publications,
                    tected area, 11-13                  203
                Economic analyses of nature Ecotourist(s)
                    tourism, examples of,          as activists, 15-16
                    114-128                        activities of, 6
                Economic benefits, 91-92           characteristics of, 5-7
                  for local people, conserva-      demographics of, 171
                       tion ethic and, 166-        potential, 89-90, 170-172
                       167                         psychographics of, 171-
                  private, 92                           172
                Economic development, na-        Ecotour operators. See Tour
                    ture tourism and, 1.08-           operators
                    114                          Ecuador, 5
                Economic efficiency prices,      Education, 71, 186, 188
                    101                          Education, ministry of
                Economics of nature tour-          development recommen-
                    ism, 128-129                        dations for, 195






                                                Index                           215
                    management recommen-              planning strategy recom-
                        dations for, 197                   mendations for, 192
                 Elephant grass, 113                Financial analvsis, 91, 100-
                 Elephants, 122                          101, 103
                 Elephants, poaching of, 31-        Financial benefits, of Khao
                      32                                 Yai National Park, Thai-
                 Employment, 64, 112                     land,116-118
                 Environment, minimizing            Financial support, for Eco-
                      negative impacts on,               tourism Society, 205-
                      167-168                            206
                 Environment, ministry of           Foreign exchange impacts,
                    development recommen-                104
                        dations for, 194-195        Foreign Investments Act, 29
                    management recommen-            Foreign tour operators,
                        dations for, 197                 problems with, 9-10
                    planning strategy recom-        Forestry, ministry of
                        mendations for, 192           development recommen-
                 Environmental pressures,                  dations for, 194-195
                      national and interna-           management recommen-
                      tional, 13-14                        dations for, 197
                 Environmental projects in            planning strategy recom-
                      United States, local par-            mendations for, 192
                      ticipation, 140-148           Fossey, Dian, gorillas of, 13
                 Environmental Protection           FPCN (Peruvian Foundation
                      Agency (EPA), 140,142-             for the Conservation of,
                      143                                Nature), 183
                 Erosion, 42                        Funds, for protected area
                 Europe, chemical pollution              management, 10-11
                      in, 13
                 Evaluation, of local partici-      G
                      pation, 155                   Galapagos Islands, 5, 92
                 Everglades, 13                     Geographic concentrations,
                                                         of key nature travel
                 F                                       prospects, 172
                 Fact-finding missions, 159         Geography, uniqueness of,
                 Farm/ranch hospitality op-              169
                      erations. See Hospitality     Giardia, 66
                      businesses, farm/ranch        Global benefits of nature
                 Finance, ministry of                    tourism, 96
                    development recommen-           Gorillas, of Dian Fossey, 13
                        dations for, 195            Government(s)
                    management recommen-              national ecotourism
                        dations for, 197                   boards of, 14







               216                            Index

               Government(s) (contd.)            Horizontes, 47
                 revenues, maximization          Hospitality businesses,
                     of, 109-112                     farm/ranch, 75-79
               Great Britain, 29                   appropriate ecotourism,
               Greater Yellowstone Coali-               79-80
                   tion, 69-70                     appropriateness of land
               Greater Yellowstone Coordi-              use practices, 81-82
                   nating Committee                checklist for, 83-85
                   (GYCC), 70                      provider characteristics,
               Greater Yellowstone Ecosys-              80-81
                   tem, 14, 18, 58                 quality of the location,
                 benefits of tourism, 63-65             81
                 disadvantages of tourism.,      Host country, national econ-
                     65-69                           omy of, 10
                 low-impact ecotourism,          Hunting
                     recommendations for,          ban, in Kenya, 25
                     72-73                         for big game, in Kenya, 25
                 maximizing good aspects           illegal, 25, 31-32, 37
                     of tourism while min-
                     imizing the bad, 69-        1
                     72                          Idaho,61,65,78
                 neighboring communities,        Implementation
                     67-68                         development of scheme
                 profile of, 59-63                      for, 154-155
                 recreation sites in, 60           local participation and,
                 resource protection in, 62             133
                 site-specific impacts of        Incentives
                     tourism, 65-66                for conservation, 8
                 tourism industry in, 61-62        for foreign investment in
                 visitor carrying capacity,             Kenya,29
                     67                            for local participation in
               Great Rift Valley, 27-28, 120            Kenya,33
               Greenway plan, 143-144              for tourism, in Costa Rica,
               Group discussion, 158                    54-55
               Group travel, 169-170, 180-       Income, generated by tour-
                   181                               ism, 9
               Guanacaste National Park,         Income level, of ecotourists,
                   Costa Rica, 53, 137-140           5-6
                                                 India, 8
               H                                 Indirect benefits, 97-98
               Hell's Canyon, United             Indirect costs of nature tour-
                   States, 104                       ism, 99
               Holdrige, Leslie, 51-52           Industrial tourism, 68






                                                    Index                            217
                    Information sharing, 133,             Amboseli National Park,
                         151-152                               34,121-123,136-137
                    Initiating action, 134                domestic tourism, 34
                    Internal rate of return               ecotourism in, 6, 17, 23,
                         (IRR), 102                            27-29,121,202
                    International development             fiscal incentives for eco-
                         and conservation orga-                tourism, 28-29
                         nizations                        foreign exchange earn-
                      development recommen-                    ings,108
                           dations for, 196-197           Foreign Investments Act,
                      management recommen-                     29
                           dations for, 198-199           funds for protected area
                      planning strategy recom-                 management, I I
                           mendations for, 194            history of ecotourism in,
                    International development                  24-27
                         assistance, for ecotour-         incentives for foreign
                         ism, 202-203                          investors, 29
                    International ecotourism              local participation, 32-34
                         consumers, 171                   Masai Mara/Serengeti eco-
                    International Expeditions,                 system case study, 35-
                         19,182-184                            38
                    Interviews, with community            parks and reserves, man-
                         representatives, 153                  agement of, 30-32
                    IRR (internal rate of return),        private reserves, 34-35
                         102                              wildlife conservation
                    Italy, 29                                  areas,27
                    Ivory imports, banning of,            wildlife of, 29
                         31-32                            wildlife parks in, 120-123
                                                       Kenyan ecotourism, promo-
                                                            tional effort, 28
                    Janzen, Dr. Dan, 138-139           Kenyan Wildlife Service
                    Japan,126-127                           (KWS), 30-32, 35
                    Job creation, 104                  Kenya Tourist Advisory
                    Jobs, tourism-related, 65               Committee, 28
                                                       Kenya Tourist Development
                                                            Corporation (KTDC),
                    K                                       29
                    Kaye, Michael, 46-47               Key leaders, interactions
                    Kentucky Coal Association,              with, 153
                         142-143                       Khao Yai National Park,
                    Kenya                                   Thailand, 114-116
                      Amboseli Game Reserve,              biodiversity/ecological
                           23                                  benefits, 118







                 218                            Index
                 Khao Yai National Park                definition of, 132-134
                     (cont'd.)                         disadvantages, 135-136
                   financial benefits of, 116-         Ecotourism Societv and,
                        118                                 204-205
                   management costs, 118-              for environmental pro-
                        119                                 jects in United States,
                   management issues, 119-                  140-148
                        120                            evaluation of, 155
                   watershed protection, 118           in Guanacaste National
                 KTDC (Kenya Tourist Devel-                 Park, Costa Rica, 137-
                     opment Corporation),                   140
                     29                                involvement in decision-
                 KWS (Kenyan Wildlife Ser-                  making, 152-153
                     vice), 30-32, 35                  in Kenya,32-34
                                                       levels of, 133-134
                 L                                     model plan, 156
                 Lackawanna River Citizens'            monitoring of, 155
                     Master Plan, 146-148              planning phases for, 148-
                 Land development, 89-90                    155
                 Land use practices, 81-82             problems of, 9-10
                 La Selva Biological Field             techniques for ensuring
                     Station, 50, 51-52                     community participa-
                 Lion, as natural resource,                 tion, 157-160
                     121-122                        Local people
                 Local benefits of nature              loss of income from park
                     tourism, 96                            resources, 113, 119
                   maximizing, 112-114                 maximizing economic
                 Local conservation organi-                 benefits for, 166-167
                     zations                           neighboring communities,
                   development recommen-                    Monteverde Cloud
                       .dations for, 196                    Forest Reserve, Costa
                   management recommen-                     Rica, 42
                        dations for, 198            Logging, nature tourism in
                   planning strategy recom-              Philippines and, 125-
                        mendations for, 193-             128
                        194                         Low-impact tourism, 128
                 Local economy, 9-10
                 Local participation, 19.,          M
                     188-189                        Magazine advertising, 172-
                   advantages, 134-136                   174
                   in Amboseli National             Mailing list, creation of,
                        Park, Kenya, 136-137             175-178







                                              Index                          219
                Management costs, Khao              planning strategy recom-
                     Yai National Park, Thai-           mendations for, 191-
                     land,118-119                       192
                Management issues, Khao          Minnesota, 12-13
                     Yai National Park, Thai-    Miranda, Sergio, 49
                     land,119-120                Monitoring, of local partici-
                Management recommenda-                pation, 155
                     tions                       Montana, 61, 64, 78
                  for international develop-     Monteverde Cloud Forest
                       ment and conserva-             Reserve, Costa Rica, 11,
                       tion organizations,            15,39-43
                       198-199                   Mountain Gorilla Project,
                  for local conservation or-          Rwanda, 13, 109-110
                       ganizations, 198          Multiplier effect, 97-98
                  for ministries, 197-199
                  for park managers, 198
                  for private sector, 198        National Audubon Society,
                  for tour operators, 198             15-16,172-173,181
                Marenco resort, 49               National benefits of tourism,
                Market for ecotourism                 96
                  defining, 170-172              National ecotourism boards,
                  growth of, 201                      governments, 14
                Marketing ecotourism             National Forest Service,
                  determining marketabil-             70
                       ity, 168-169              National level, impact of na-
                  hypothetical example,               ture tourism, 108
                       178-180                   National Park Service
                  strategy for, 169-178               (NPS), 143
                Masai, 136-137                   Natural areas, decision-
                Masai Mara national park,             making about use, 89-
                     34                               91
                Masai Mara/Serengeti eco-        Nature awareness, conserva-
                     system, Kenya, 35-38             tion ethic and, 165-166
                Media coverage, 181-182          Nature tourism. See Eco-
                Mexico, 6                             tourism; specific aspects
                Migration patterns, 12                of nature tourism
                Ministries                       Nebraska, 78
                  development recommen-          Negative impacts on envi-
                       dations for, 194-              ronment, minimizing,
                       195                            167-168
                  management recommen-           Neighboring communities.
                       dations for, 197               See also Local people







              220                             Index
              Neighboring communi       ties      Papua, New Guinea, 169
                   (cont'd.)                      Park managers
                 of Greater Yellowstone             development recommen-
                      Ecosystem, 67-68                   dations for, 195-196
                 misuse of park resources           management recommen-
                      by, 53                             dations for, 198
              Nepal                                 planning strategy recom-
                 Chitwan National Park,                  mendations for, 193
                      113                         Parks, ministry of
                 disadvantages of ecotour-          development recommen-
                      ism and, 15                        dations for, 194-195
                 as ecotourism destination,         management recommen-
                      6,202                              dations for, 197
                 geography of, 169                  planning strategy recom-
                 income generated by tour-               mendations for, 192
                      ism, 9                      Personal interviews, 145
                 numbers of ecotourists in,       Peru,202
                      12                          Peruvian Foundation for the
              Netherlands Antilles, Saba              Conservation of Nature
                   Marine Park, 124-125               (FPCN), 183
              Net present value (NPV), 102        Philippines, logging and na-
              New Guinea, 169                         ture tourism in, 125-
              Newspaper advertising, 174              128
              North Dakota, 78                    Planning
              NPS (National Park Ser-               local participation and,
                   vice), 143                            148-155,188-189
              NPV (net present value), 102          preplanning and, 190
                                                    process, tasks in, 133
              0                                     for river corridor manage-
              Open-ended surveys, 159                    ment, 143-144
              Opportunity cost analysis,          Planning, ministry of
                   104                              planning strategy recom-
                 of Khao Yai National                    mendations for, 192
                      Park, Thailand, 119         Planning strategy recom-
                 of nature tourism, 99-100            mendations
              Organization for Tropical             for international develop-
                   Studies (OTS), 49, 50-                ment and conserva-
                   51                                    tion organizations,
                                                         194
              P                                     for local conservation or-
              Palo Verde Biological Field                ganizations, 193-194
                   Station, 50                      for ministries, 191-192






                                              Index                          221
                  for park managers, 193         Public relations, 28
                  for tour operators and pri-    Public Works ministry, plan-
                      vate sector, 193                ning strategy recom-
               Poaching, 25, 31-32, 37                mendations for, 192
               Popular theater, 160              Puerto Rico, 6
               Predesign stage, 149-150
               Preliminary studies, 149-         Q
                    150                          Quakers, 41
               Primary benefits, vs. second-     Quetzals, 15, 43
                    ary benefits, 97-98
               Private benefits, 92
                  vs. social benefits, 95-97     R
               Private reserves, in Kenya,       Rain forest conservation for
                    34-35                             profit (Rara Avis), 49
               Private sector                    Ranch/farm hospitality op-
                  development recommen-               erations. See Hospitality
                      dations for, 196                businesses, farm/ranch
                  management recommen-           Ranthambhor National
                      dations for, 198                Park, India, 8
                  planning strategy recom-       Rara Avis project, Costa
                      mendations for,                 Rica, 7-8, 49
                      193                        Regional benefits of tour-
               Problem trees, 157                     ism, 96
               Project Tiger, India, 8           Regulation of ecotourism, in
               Promotional events, 182-               Costa Rica, 52-55
                    183                          Research, 203
               Protected area management,        Research team, 149, 158-
                    funds for, 10-11                  159
               Protected areas                   Rhino habitat, 113
                  conflicting management         River corridor management
                      objectives, 14-15               plan, 143-144
                  ecological and aesthetic       River rafting, 46-47
                      carrying capacities of,    Riverwork case study, 146-
                      11-13                           148
               Psychographics, of ecotour-       Riverwork public involve-
                    ists, 171-172                     ment plan, 144-146
               Publications, 203                 Robert and Catherine Wil-
               Public involvement plan, for           son Botanical Garden,
                    riverwork approach,               Costa Rica, 50
                    144-146                      Royalties, I I I
               Publicity, 181-182                Rwanda, Mountain Gorilla
               Public meetings, 145, 158              Project, 13, 109-110






                 222                             Index

                 S                                   Tourism
                 Saba Marine Park, Nether-             expenditures, at Khao Y@
                      lands Antilles, 110, 124-             National Park, Thai-
                      125                                   land,117-118
                 Safari industry, 108                  infrastructure, 169
                 Secondary benefits, vs. pri-          socioeconomic impacts ot
                      mary benefits, 97-98                  68
                 Secondarv expenditures, 97- Tourism industry, 4-5
                      98                             Tourism ministry
                 Slash-and-burn agriculture,           development recommen-
                      preservation of Montev-               dations for, 194
                      erde and, 41                     management recommen-
                 Social benefit-cost analysis               dations for, 197
                      (SBCA), 101-102                  planning strategy recom-
                   vs. financial analysis, 103              mendations for, 191-
                 Social benefits, 93, 97, 122-              192
                      123                            Tourist ships, 12
                 Social welfare analysis, 91-        Tour operators
                      92,94-98,101-105                 cooperative efforts of,
                 South Dakota, 78                           200
                 Spanish Peaks Primitive               in Costa Rica, 47-49
                      Area, United States, I I-        development recommen-
                      12                                    dations for, 196
                 Special-interest travel, by           foreign, problems with, 9-
                      United States citizens,               10
                      5                                in-bound, 204, 205
                 Sustainable development,              management recommen-
                      45                                    dations for, 198
                 SWAG method, 61                       minimizing negative im-
                 Switzerland, 29                            pacts on environment,
                                                            168
                 T                                     of National Audubon Soci-
                 Tanzania, 6, 35                            ety, 15-16
                 Tax policies, I I 1- 112              out-bound, 205
                 Team leader, 153-154                  planning strategy recom-
                 Teton Science School, 71                   mendations for, 193
                 Thailand, Khao, Yai Na-               travel ethic, 15-16
                      tional Park, 114-120           Travel industry, conservation
                 Tikal, 47                               ethic and, 164-165
                 Timber exploitation, 43             Tropical Science Center, 41
                 Tongass National Forest,            Trust funds, in Kenya, 33-
                      Alaska, 14                          34






                                                Index                           223
                U                                  Wetland projects in United
                Umana, Alvaro, 45                       States, local participa-
                United States                           tion program for, 140-
                  Absaroka Beartooth Wil-               142
                       derness,70                  WHOA (Wvoming Homestay
                  Adirondack National                   and Outdoor Adventure
                       Park, 11, 13                     Association), 78
                  environmental projects,          Wild and Scenic Rivers Act,
                       local participation in,          143
                       140-148                     Wildlife parks
                  Greater Yellowstone Eco-           in East Africa, 120-123
                       system, 14                  World Conservation Union,
                  Hell's Canyon, 104                    Seventeenth General As-
                  national and state parks,             sembly of, 56
                       12-13                       World Tourism Organization
                  National Parks Service, 67            (WTO), 4-5
                  Spanish Peaks Primitive          World Wildlife Fund (WWF),
                       Area, 11-12                      187
                  special-interest travel by       Wyoming, 7, 61, 63-65,
                       citizens, 5                      78
                User fees, 109-110                 Wyoming Homestay and
                                                        Outdoor Adventure As-
                V                                       sociation (WHOA), 78
                Venezuela, ecotourism bro-
                     chure for, 176-177            y
                                                   Yellowstone Institute, 71
                W                                  Yellowstone National Park,
                Watershed protection, Khao              15, 68, 70. See also
                     Yai National Park, Thai-           Greater Yellowstone
                     land, 118                          Ecosystem
                Western Planners Confer-           Yosemite National Park,
                     ence, Tenth Annual, 71             92
                West Germany, 29
                West Kentucky Coalfield
                     Wetlands, ADID study          Z
                     for, 142-143                  Z Bar 0 ranch, 75-77





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                                                                                                     9

                Nature Tour1'Sm:.A1q-nagin'g for the Environment is the firs[ book to explore
                the potential benefits and pitfalls of nature tourism, an innovative concept that links
                nAtUral resource coffservacion with local economic development, providing a viable

                                           -6                 1   ion.
                          alternative to cri ronmental exploiiati
                     @:'Mburors To this  authoritative collection include Perez Olindo, former direc-
                ,,)F Of [he Kenya Wildlife department; Yanina Rovinski, an IUCN tcocourism spe-
                cialisc in Central America; and John Dixon, World Bank economist. A diverse
                selection of case studies provides vivid, instructive examples. Chapters on planning,
                economic evaluation, local participation, and marketing outline specific steps for
                maximizing benefits and minimizing potential damage.

                   "This book takes a tough, and much-needed look at ecotourism-its promise
                and its pitfalls. Editor Tensle Whelan has brought together experts from around the
                world to make thoughtful and well-researched contributions to the debate."
                                                --from the foreword, Peter A. A. Berle, President,
                                                   National Audubon Society
                   "The reader comes away with a keen appreciation of nature tourism as.a two-
                edged sword to be managed more carefully than in the past, and with a tool kit of
                approaches to help achieve such management."
                                                -Jan G. Laarman, Professor of Forestry,
                                                   North Carolina State University
                   "Finally, there is a comprehensive and lively book that we can strongly recom-
                mend to the hordes of people wanting to invest in responsible travel."
                                                -Dan Katz, President, Rainforest Alliance


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