Thesis title: “The development of community-based ecotourism - lumes

ecotourism development. This might be even more relevant for communities that arealready poor or isolated, such as Zagori. According to Trakolis (2001), the region ofEpirus, where Zagori belongs, is, on average, one of the poorest and mostunderdeveloped regions in the entire European Union.The development of tourism in Zagori started in the ‘70s, when the greatecological value and natural beauty of the area became widely known to mountainclimbers. Intense development in terms of accommodation and tourism infrastructurefollowed already in the ‘80s mainly through State initiative, which turned Zagori intoone of the most popular mountain destinations in Greece (WWF-Greece, 2000). Mostof the tourists that visit Zagori are Greek and stay for 2-3 days in average (Svoronou,2002). In fact, many tourists visit the area in order to practice adventure sports such astrekking, mountain climbing, kayak, rafting, mountain biking etc. Also, large numbersof tourists visit Zagori just to admire the unique natural and built environment of thearea (WWF-Greece, 2000). Today, tourism constitutes the principal source of revenuefor the local residents, although it has a highly seasonal character, i.e. it is not equallydistributed throughout the year. In addition, even though there is a plethora of hostelsand restaurants in Zagori, the tourism product offered in general shows very littledifferentiation (Tziovas, 2004, personal communication).It could be argued that, in general, tourism development in Zagori was notcoupled with extension and maintenance of the necessary infrastructure. Poor landuseplanning was also responsible for the emergence of a series of problems that havea heavy impact on the natural environment of the area. These are mainly associatedwith water shortage, inefficient management of solid waste and lack of parking spaces(Tziovas, 2004, personal communication). The greatest challenge, hence, is tocombine tourism development in Zagori with the preservation of the area’s richnatural and cultural heritage. This is a difficult target to reach, however ecotourismdevelopment might be the ideal solution for the case of Zagori, since it has thepotential to bring about the desired balance between socio-economic development andenvironmental protection in the area (Tziovas, 2004, personal communication).Before presenting and assessing the plan for ecotourism development in Zagorielaborated by the national office of WWF in Greece (WWF-Greece), it is essential tomention briefly the different stakeholders of ecotourism development in the area andtheir roles.The stakeholders that play a key role in the process of ecotourismdevelopment in Zagori can be divided into national, regional and local. The mostsignificant national stakeholders are the governmental agencies and institutionsrelated to issues of tourism development, in particular the Ministry of Tourism and theGreek National Tourism Organisation. The main role of these actors is to create thegeneral institutional background and provide the policies needed for tourismdevelopment. Further, they are expected to provide financial support, as well astechnical knowledge and expertise to the local community for the successfulimplementation of ecotourism projects. The office of WWF in Greece is anotherstakeholder operating on the national level, but is mainly exerting its influencethrough the local office of Papigo, in Western Zagori. The principal role of this actorin this particular area is to promote conservation together with sustainabledevelopment, as well as to raise environmental awareness both within the localcommunity and among the visitors. Its specific role within the context of ecotourismdevelopment is providing guidance, education and training, technical expertise and,perhaps, some financial support. On the regional level, the most significantstakeholders are the regional authorities and development agencies. Their role is to set27