The business of the tourism and travel industry is essentially the renting out, for short-term lets, of other people s environments, whether that is a coastline, a city, a mountain range or a rainforest. These products must be kept fresh and unsullied, not just for the next day, but for every tomorrow. Sir Colin Marshall
I.1. BACKGROUND Ecotourism and sustainable development have become important themes in tourism studies recently. However, research in this area is still limited, particularly in less developed countries like India. The main aim of this chapter is to provide a general overview of the background of the study, and the research problem. During the early part of human history, man has traveled since the beginning of time when ancient people used to move from one place to another. The purposes of travel were trade, religious obligations, economic benefits, war, migration, and many others. According to Theobald, in the Roman period, wealthy aristocrats and high government officials also traveled for pleasure (Theobald, 2005). Stronza, estimates that the history of modern travel and tourism is about a century old and that by now humans have traveled to most corners of the planet (Stronza, 2008) and even beyond the planet, known as space tourism. Tourism is often seen as a global phenomenon with an almost incomprehensibly massive infrastructure. Its importance is evident from the fact that its influence thoroughly penetrates society, politics, culture and above all, the economy. Indeed, this is the branch of the global economy with the most vigorous growth. Tourism is a system that brings together many interrelated issues such as society, nature, and environment. It is also true that studying tourism means relating its different components and analyzing its outcomes both positive and negative. The rapid growth of tourism during the last four decades has led to an increasing concern related to its impacts. These have been the major components which forced people to think about more responsible tourism, which has become known under different names like sustainable tourism, ecotourism, green tourism, soft tourism, adventure tourism, nature- based tourism, agro-tourism, village tourism etc. (Butler, 1991). These alternative tourisms differ from the mass tourism in different ways and are labelled using eco, responsible and sustainable tourism to check the negative impacts of mass tourism and support sustainable development by maximizing the positive contributions to destination where there is a number of social and environmental challenges. In this way, ecotourism has been very popular in many developing countries like India where 1
it is believed that it might be proved as the best way of practicing tourism in the time of modern age when traditional tourism has been losing its charm and its core values. I.2. ECOTOURISM AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Sustainable development is harmoniously combined with tourism development, and between them, there exists a relationship of correspondence and reciprocity (Andrei et al, 2012). The relationship between ecotourism and sustainable development has become so intertwined, that they are no longer thought to be as separate philosophies. Some mention of sustainability can be found in almost every single piece of literature on ecotourism whether it is economic, social, environmental, or all three combined. According to the Commission of the European Communities (2003), ecotourism is economically and socially viable without detracting from the environment and local culture. It means business and economic success, environmental containment, preservation and development (Shoo and Songorwa, 2013) and responsibility towards society and cultural values, three facets that are interdependent. Ecotourism and sustainable development focuses on the same key issues: ecology, society and a systemic process of development. As Burneika and Kriaučiūnas (2007) stated, ecotourism is a branch of tourism, which is favorable for sustainable development. Ecotourism, in its purest form, is founded on the same philosophy as sustainable development as well as sustainable tourism. It is important to think of sustainability not only as a goal for ecotourism but perhaps more importantly as the means for achieving that goal. Since sustainability is so difficult to measure, it is more important to emphasize sustainability as the intention and not necessarily the outcome. The most important way to advance ecotourism is to adhere to the philosophy of sustainable development and to try to maximize the probability of positive impacts while minimizing the negative impacts (Weaver, 1999). Ecotourism is about uniting conservation, communities, and sustainable travel. This means that those who implement and participate in ecotourism activities should follow the following ecotourism principles: minimize impact, build environmental and cultural awareness and respect, provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts, provide direct financial benefits for conservation, provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people, raise 2
sensitivity to host countries political, environmental, and social climate (The International Ecotourism Society, 2013). As Ceylan and Güven (2010) maintained, in addition to evaluating environmental and cultural factors, an integral part of ecotourism is the promotion of recycling, energy efficiency, water conservation, and creation of economic opportunities for local communities. In addition, ecotourism can be an important tool of sustainable development that necessarily involves a balance between economic, environmental and social goals, ethical values and principles to minimize the environmental and social impacts of tourism. Tourism is changing rapidly as nature, heritage, and recreational destinations become more important, and as conventional tourism is forced to meet tougher environmental requirements, this presents a challenge to government and private enterprise to develop new approaches in the tourism market. Successful tourism must benefit local populations economically and culturally to give them incentives to protect the natural resources which create the attraction. Strategies must be economically feasible if private investors are to support the projects. The goal is to enable people to enjoy and learn about the natural, historical and cultural characteristics of unique environments while preserving the integrity of those sites and stimulating the economic development opportunities in local communities. I.3. RESEARCH AIM AND OBJECTIVES The rise of ecotourism mirrors the fast growth and rapid development for both a commercial product and as a focus for academic research. There has been little research into the attitudes and behaviors of tourists/ecotourists and local residents, their motivations, perceptions and beliefs, values and preferences. In an attempt to address the major shortcomings of past researches, the present thesis investigates and explores the lack of research and surveys related to ecotourism and sustainable development in Karnataka and limited exploration into the impacts and potentials of the target groups (tourists/ecotourists, local residents, accommodation enterprises and travel agencies/tour companies). These shortcomings led to a focus of the popular ecotourism destinations in the fourteen chosen districts in Karnataka. It developed the research proposition within the frame of the well-studied research aim and objectives. 3
AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH AIM OF THE RESEARCH To examine the impacts and potential of ecotourism from the target groups perspectives toward ecotourism and sustainabledevelopment, in an attempt to establish overall directions for ecotourism development and planning and to suggest effective tourism strategies and policies to alleviate difficulties and challenges resulting from previous unplanned tourism development. OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH To evaluate the current status of ecotourism management and development in Karnataka. To analyze the perceptions and attitudes of the local people on ecotourism. To examine the impacts of ecotourism on the socio-economic and cultural lives of the local people and tourists. To assess the impacts of ecotourism on biodiversity and the local environment. To propose possible sustainable development and management strategies that can be used to strengthen ecotourism-environment-community relationships. 4
I.4. REFERENCES Andrei, D. R., Sandu, M., Gogonea, R. M., Chiritescu, V. & Kruszlicika, M. (2012). Modeling of rural tourism towards sustainable development from the perspective of specifically organic food. Scientific Papers Series Management - Economic Engineering in Agriculture and Rural Development, 12(3), 7-12. ISSN 2284-7995. Burneika, D. & Kriaučiūnas, E. (2007). Some premises for balanced development of ecotourism on the territory of Lithuania. Ekologija, 53, 10 15. http://www.ebiblioteka.lt/resursai/lma/ekologija/eko72priedas/6.pdf Butler, R. W. (1991). Tourism, Environment and Sustainable Development, Environmental Conservation, 18, 201-209. Ceylan, U. & Güven, O. Z. (2010). Review: Evaluation of Tourism Management and Ecotourism. Journal of Applied Sciences Research, 6(12), 1943-1952. Commission of the European Communities. (2003). Communication from the Commission from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: Basic orientations for the sustainability of European tourism. http://eurlex.europa.eu/lexuriserv/lexuriserv.do?uri=com:2003:0716:fin:en:pdf Shoo, A. R. & Songorwa, N. A. (2013). Contribution of ecotourism to nature conservation and improvement of livelihoods around Amani Nature Reserve, Tanzania. Journal of Ecotourism, 12(2), 75-89. Stronza, A. (2008). Through a new mirror: Reflections on Tourism and Identity in the Amazon. Human Organization, 67(3), 244-257. The International Ecotourism Society (TIES). (2013). What is Ecotourism? http://www.ecotourism.org/what-is-ecotourism Theobald, W. F. (2005). The Meaning, Scope and Measurement of Travel and Tourism, in W. F. Theobald (eds), Global Tourism (3rd edition), Butterworth-Heinemann/Elsevier, New York, 5-24. Weaver, D. (1999). Magnitude of ecotourism in Costa Rica and Kenya. Annals of Tourism Research, 26, 792 816. 5