Thesis title: âThe development of community-based ecotourism - lumes

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11forms of tourism (Hawkins & Khan, 1998). Actually, the idea of combining tourismin high-quality natural environments with protecting them has become widelyaccepted and marketable at the same time (Orams, 1995). Over the last few years, theincreased interest for ecotourism has turned out to be one of the most significantchallenges to the tourism sector. This became apparent when the demand of a part ofconsumers began to shift away from mass tourism and move towards new forms ofmore individualistic tourism experiences (Diamantis, 1998). During recent years,especially, ecotourism has been constantly gaining in popularity and this could belinked to the emergence of the new environmental paradigm during the ‘70s. As amatter of fact, some scholars, such as Lindberg & Huber (1993), argue thatecotourism has the potential to become an important instrument for both natureconservation and economic development at the same time.This enthusiasm, nevertheless, is not shared by other experts, who expresstheir skepticism about viewing ecotourism as a panacea (Ceballos-Lascuráin, 1996).Indeed, it would be erroneous to consider ecotourism as a remedy for all the problemsgenerated by mass tourism, because ecotourism is not necessarily less detrimental forthe environment than any other form of tourism. Actually, the risk of currentecotourism becoming the future mass tourism should not be disregarded (Swarbrooke,1999). Moreover, ecotourism is often developed within or nearby protected areas,which then suffer from increasing pressure generated by tourism activities. This is theparadox of ecotourism, namely the fact that the more popular an ecotourismdestination becomes, the more the environment on which it depends is damaged(Lawrence et al., 1997). Consequently, it is crucial to view ecotourism in its truedimensions, so as neither to exaggerate its potential benefits nor to underestimate itspotential risks. After all, the development of ecotourism, like all other forms oftourism, also requires careful planning and constant monitoring in order to lead to thedesirable results (WWF-International, 2001).A critical point that distinguishes the concepts of sustainable tourism andecotourism is that the former is much broader than the latter, since sustainable tourismconcerns the tourism industry as a whole and not a special part of it. This can also beeasily seen in figure 2:Products with sustainable ethosNo sustainableethosALTERNATIVEMasstourismNatural basedEcotourismOthertourismproductsOther sustainableProductsFig. 2 The position of ecotourism within the tourism products spectrum(Source: Diamantis, 2004)
In addition, sustainable tourism covers all kinds of areas and landscapes (bothurban end rural) and calls for changes in tourists’ attitude both at home and in theplaces visited. On the other hand, ecotourism is based on observing and experiencingthe natural environment and, therefore, it can only be developed in strong connectionwith natural landscapes. Ecotourism constitutes, hence, the form of tourism that aimsnot only at minimizing its negative impact on the places visited, but also atparticipating in local conservation efforts and promoting the socio-economic wellbeingof local communities (Hawkins & Khan, 1998).In general terms, ecotourism is considered as a form of sustainable tourismfrom all viewpoints, through the promotion of environmental conservation,community development and profit-making for the tourism industry.Notwithstanding, this is not necessarily the case, because although the net effect ofecotourism might in the end be positive for nature, local communities, the tourismindustry as well as the consumers, the actual process of developing ecotourism is notfree from negative impacts (Sirakaya et al., 1999). Small-scale ecotourism, on theother hand, is thought to be able to minimize or even avoid most negative effects,provided that it is carefully planned and managed in all the phases of its development(WWF-International, 2001).Still, one can not neglect the fact that even if a destination is adequatelymanaged, some major problems will remain (Gössling, 1999). In reality, all kinds oftourism, including ecotourism, are responsible for a wide range of detrimental effectson the natural environment, which is especially alarming when protected areas orother vulnerable ecosystems are involved (Buckley, 2004). Growing evidence fromscientific research suggests that wildlife can be heavily disturbed or even irreversiblydamaged by ecotourists who wish to watch it or pursue it very closely (Macleod,1998). Despite such negative issues, though, the overall impact of ecotourism can bepositive both in terms of environmental conservation and economic benefits for thehost communities (Herbig & O’Hara, 1997).As already mentioned, ecotourism should not be considered as equal tosustainable tourism, but rather as one of its components (Dawson, 2001). Ecotourism,in other terms, is not a panacea for environmental conservation, nor can it on its ownliberate local communities from poverty. In fact, unless ecotourism is well plannedand constantly monitored, it might even achieve the opposite results, namely placingeven heavier pressure on the environment and exacerbating local inhabitants’ poverty(WWF-International, 2001). In contrast, if ecotourism is perceived as part of a generalstrategy for sustainable development, then it truly has the potential to contribute to theprotection of natural environment and promote the socio-economic well-being of hostcommunities (Muller, 2000).There is a strong link between ecotourism and certification since the second isviewed as an important instrument for setting standards for the first (Honey &Stewart, 2002). According to Font & Bendell (2002), certification is “the process bywhich third-party assessment is undertaken, written assurance is given that theproduct, process, service or management system conforms to the standard” (as quotedin Sallows & Font, 2004, pp.92-93). Honey & Stewart (2002) also describecertification as “the procedure that audits and gives written assurance that a facility,product, process, service or management system meets specific standards. It awards alogo or seal to those that meet or exceed baseline criteria or standards that areprescribed by the program” (pp.4-5). During the past few years, certificationschemes have become very popular because of their advantages for both the tourismindustry and consumers; from one side, the tourism industry can minimize12
Page 1 and 2: Tourism Certification and Community
Page 3 and 4: 2ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSI would like to ta
Page 5 and 6: 41. INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH METHO
Page 7 and 8: 6operate for six months every year
Page 9 and 10: 8and tackled immediately, the futur
Page 11: 10Many scholars have also attempted
Page 15 and 16: 14creating a stronger brand that is
Page 17 and 18: 16In an attempt to acquire a deeper
Page 19 and 20: 18such as land use and biodiversity
Page 21 and 22: 20The CST is mainly a performance-b
Page 23 and 24: 22in Costa Rica. As tourism experts
Page 25 and 26: 24Tourist SpendingDirectImpactsTour
Page 27 and 28: 26economic well-being constitutes a
Page 29 and 30: 28policies and oversee the general
Page 31 and 32: scientific research regarding topic
Page 33 and 34: 32economic benefits will be generat
Page 35 and 36: 34This task is far from simple; it
Page 37 and 38: 36mechanisms such as tourism certif
Page 39 and 40: 388. LIST OF REFERENCESBendell, J.
Page 41 and 42: Issaverdis, J. P. (2001). The Pursu
Page 43 and 44: 42and Sustainability - Linking Cult
Page 45 and 46: 44IIA. MAP OF EPIRUS(Source: www.al
Page 47 and 48: 46III. CHECKLIST FOR ECOTOURISM PRO
Page 49: 48Part III. Economicopportunities f

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Thesis title: âThe development of community-based ecotourism - lumes