The Importance Of Ecotourism

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Introduction: Ecotourism has become popular in recent years. According to the chapter 1&2, about the ecotourism and development, the main questions are how to develop a planning process which will involve local people and how to include an appreciation of ecotourism market and what people want. Except my main text book, once I have read a further reading named ‘Distribution of Economic Benefits from Ecotourism: A Case Study of Wolong Nature Reserve for Giant Pandas in China’, So this paper is going to use Nature Reserve for Giant Pandas in China as a case study, demonstrate two types of uneven distribution of economic benefits among four major groups of stakeholders and to discuss how ecoustourism will be well-developed in Nature Reserve…show more content…
Theoretically, support for conservation from the various types of stakeholder inside and outside protected areas is maximized if stakeholders benefit proportionally to the opportunity costs they bear. The disproportional benefit distribution among stakeholders can erode their support for or lead to the failure of ecotourism and conservation. Although ecotourism might mean different things to different people, it is generally accepted that it should have low impacts on nature, with a goal of benefiting both conservation and the well-being of local communities (Kiss 2004). Stakeholders might benefit economically from ecotourism through investment, employment, and selling products. Several factors can affect how much they can…show more content…
Households closer to the main road gain more benefits, but they are farther from the panda habitat, thus potentially having less detrimental impact than households near the panda habitat. With better access to ecotourism facilities and other locational advantages, residents close to the road benefit from ecotourism in several ways: for example, converting their houses into hotels/restaurants, starting souvenir shops on the main road with small investments, being closer to the transportation routes for goods and products, and gaining timely information related to ecotourism. It also is more convenient for them to sell agricultural products to the buyers (restaurants and tourists). However, households far from the main road and closer to the panda habitat receive less benefit from ecotourism and must subsist by using forest products, possibly harming the

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