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

28policies and oversee the general development of the region, as well as to act asintermediate links between the State and the citizens, for issues such as regionalfunding distribution. A more specific task of these stakeholders related to ecotourism,is to facilitate, run and implement ecotourism projects at the regional scale. On thelocal level, the most essential stakeholder of ecotourism development is the localcommunity. The role and importance of this actor has already been explained in detailin chapter 5 and it will not be repeated here.Given the variety of tourism stakeholders in Zagori, ecotourism planners andmanagers should keep in mind that, dissimilar or even contradictory opinions aboutthe way ecotourism should be planned and managed might occur, especially in thebeginning. Nevertheless, this should not be seen as a source of discouragement, but asan opportunity to bring together all stakeholders and promote constructive dialogueand fruitful interaction among them. It is crucial to create since the beginning thegrounds for an open exchange of viewpoints, which will help all parts understand thatecotourism development requires joint efforts and active participation from all sides(WWF-International, 2001).6.2. A GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE WWF PLAN FOR ECOTOURISMDEVELOPMENT IN ZAGORI 14The area which has been selected as more adequate for ecotourismdevelopment is that of Western and Central Zagori. This particular area encompasseseleven villages (Agios Minas, Ano Pedina, Aristi, Vikos, Vitsa, Elafotopos, Kalpaki,Kato Pedina, Messovouni, Monodendri and Papigo). The rationale of the WWFstrategic plan for ecotourism development in Zagori is multidimensional but theunderlying concept is rather clear: sustainable development from every aspect. Inother words, the primary objective of this plan is to orientate tourism development inZagori towards more sustainable patterns than the actual ones. Thus, the alreadyexisting tourism in Zagori can become a factor of socio-economic well-being for theentire area while, in the same time, actively contribute to the protection of its naturalenvironment (Tziovas, 2004, personal communication).Other objectives of ecotourism development in Zagori include revivingtraditional activities such as small-scale farming and stock-raising which are currentlypracticed to a very limited extent. This would be beneficial not only for boosting thecommunity’s economy, but also for enhancing the visitors’ experience by giving themthe opportunity to witness the traditional identity of Zagori. In addition, the plan forecotourism development aims at a better diffusion of tourists in space and time, in aneffort to avoid overconcentration of tourists in the biggest and most popular villages(such as Papigo and Aristi) during the peak season and to give smaller villages in thearea the opportunity to benefit as well (Tziovas, 2004, personal communication). Theplan is also designed to include interpretation of the natural and man-madeenvironment, so as to improve the tourists’ perception and understanding of the area.In the same time, it aims at providing a model for the operation of ecotourisminfrastructure and exerting pressure for resolving the problems related to the existingpoor infrastructure in Zagori. The establishment of a network for the systematiccollection of information that will help monitor tourism in the area is also among the14 Unless referenced otherwise, all the information presented in section 6.2 is extracted from the reportelaborated by WWF-Greece (2004).