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PhD PROPOSAL FOR A STUDY:

UNIVERSITY OF DERBY

UNITED KINGDOM

DEVELOPING A SUSTAINABLE ECOTOURISM

APPROACH FOR COSTA RICA

Brian M Touray MSc.

Griffith University

August 9, 2001

Introduction

One of the most promising recent developments in the tourism industry

has been an alliance between environmentalists, resort destinations and tour

packagers. This liaison, called "ecotourism," is a total marketing plan,

which targets the ecology-minded tourist. Its principal objectives are to

promote travel to nature preserves and parks, and to develop an

environmentally sustainable alternative to mainstream resort tourism. Despite

benefits to both the tourist industry and endangered biological resources,

there are some problems inherent with ecotourism, specifically pertaining to

implementation and execution. The success of tourism and environmentalism is

contingent on finding the solutions to these problems, while maintaining the

necessary natural and social resource for the program's survival in the new

century.

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Statement of Problem

Ecotourism, as an independent concept, developed in the 1980s and

has been growing since then, in Costa Rica and elsewhere (Atwood, 1).

The nonprofit Ecotourism Society defines ecotourism as “Responsible

travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the

well-being of local people” (Wade, 4). It is assumed when these basic

sustainability principles are followed, both environment and tourism

can benefit. One of the most conspicuous successes in Ecotourism has

occurred in Costa Rica, which once depended on coffee and bananas as

primary industries, but has recently seen a shift to tourism as its

bedrock business (Frank and Bowermaster, 136). In some other areas,

there are signs that ecotourism itself imposes a burden on the

environment. For instance, the Ecotourism Society’s Megan Epler Wood

points out that "timber around Nepal’s Himalayan trails has been

stripped to heat water for tea-sipping trekkers” (Arlen, 62). It will

be the argument of this paper that Costa Rica can continue to develop

and expand its core system of ecotourism, through the careful

husbanding of natural resources and close attention to the basic

principles of sound commercial tourism.

Argument of Study: The Benefits of Ecotourism

The ideal of sustainable ecotourism is the preservation of the

natural environment and indigenous community, but the tourism business

can reap the advantages of for local peoples. Countries containing

significant ecological resources are enjoying the greatest success. In

Costa Rica, for example, in a dozen years, there has been a five-fold

increase in the number of tourists visiting their national parks. The

same trend is seen worldwide. For example, in Nepal, which has been

called a “Mecca for trekkers from around the world,” there has also

been an incredible growth rate: 130 percent in less than a decade

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("Nature Tourism Revolution," 1). In addition to industry publications,

journals and popular periodicals and newspapers, the study will draw on

the resources of new organizations promoting ecotourism. Acknowledging

the importance of protecting endangered biological resources and

supplying information on how ecotourism works, the ten-year-old,

nonprofit Ecotourism Society’s objectives include being “ . . . fully

dedicated to finding the resources and building the expertise to make

tourism a viable tool for conservation and sustainable development”

(Nature Tourism Revolution, 2). The Ecotourism Society is not alone,

and this proposed study will draw from a new global network of

ecotourism sources.

The Conde Nast Traveler argues that because the concept of

ecotourism is somewhat ambiguous, many travel marketers are taking

advantage of it by attaching nature tours, adventure travel, safaris

and certain cruises under the general heading of ecotourism. In 1996,

an Ecotourism Fair was held at the World Financial Center of Manhattan.

Attendees, in fur coats and leather wingtips, sipped exotic cocktails

and glanced through literature advertising Caribbean beachfront

properties. As an activity, they were to identify various faunas by

painted cardboard cutouts hidden around the room (Frank, 135). This

study proposes a different model of ecotourism desired for Costa Rica.

Commercialization is not the only problem facing ecotourism in

Costa Rica. Another example was described in the press when reporters

participated in an investigation of possible fraud in ecotourism. The

reporter, accompanied with sixteen fellow ecotourists, delved into the

Peruvian rain forest. They contracted a local, independent company, an

advertised and well-known outfitter for the area, to handle their tour.

Some of the events chronicled on that trip exemplify what can go wrong

when ecotourism is used as a veil to draw tourists in. The example the

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party encountered, from base camp toilets being emptied directly into

the Amazon River, to free roaming sloths captured and dragged in front

of shooting cameras, should be a warning to Costa Rica's program

developers (Arlen, 61).

A much simpler approach to ensuring ecotourism's success is

presented by the Ecotourism Society, which suggests that the answers

lie in constant innovation to both existing programs and projected

ones. Keeping the system new, changing, as demands require, will

better accommodate the average ecotourist, who, according to the

Ecotourism Society, is a combination of sophistication and education.

A survey done by the Society revealed that over 50 percent of tourists

on ecotours had graduate degrees (Wood, 1).

If innovation is the key to ecotourism’s success, then it falls

to education and funding to make information accessible to the various

countries involved and independent ecotourism programs now in place.

This tourism education and funding must also be made available for new

programs and certifications. To this end, our study will argue that

Costa Rica, with proper training and support, can benefit economically

and environmentally from naturally sustainable ecotourism. Costa Rica

Is the ideal "incubator “for this program, since it already has a

model?

Ecotourism program and government and private agencies that are

prepared to work in this context.

The study will be organized in five chapters: Introduction

(Statement of Problem), Review of the Literature, Methodology,

Findings, and Conclusions and Recommendations.

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TENTATIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY

Arlen, Caroline. “Ecotour, Hold the Eco.” U.S. News and World Report. May 29, 1995: 61-62, 63 Atwood, Cynthia. Yale University. Press Release, April 9, 1996. Chester, Guy. “Australian Ecotourism Accreditation Off and Running.” TES Membership Report, First Quarter, 1997. Frank, Peter and Jon Bowermaster. “Can Ecotourism Save the Planet?” Conde Nast Traveler. December 1994: 134-137. Hoffman, Mark S., ed. The World Almanac and Book of Facts. Chicago: Pharos Books, 1991. McCool, Stephen F. “Linking Tourism, the Environment, and Concepts of Sustainability: Setting the Stage.” United States Department of Agriculture, General Technical Report, October 1994. McElroy, J.L., and de Albuquerque, K. (1992) An Integrated Sustainable Ecotourism for Small Caribbean Islands. Ed. D. Conway. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University, Center On Global Change and World Peace. Moulin, C. L. (1980) "Plan for Ecological and Cultural Tourism Involving Participation of Local Population and Associations' in Tourism Planning and Development, eds. D.E. Hawkins et al. Washington, D.C.: George Washington University, pp. 199-211. Murphy, P.E. (1985) Tourism: A Community Approach. New York: Methuen & Co. “The Nature Tourism Revolution.” The Ecotourism Society. Vermont. Informational Brochure, 1996. Polson, Sheila. “Going Green, Touring Light.” E Magazine. January/February, 1998: 44-45. Wade, Betsy. “Learning How to Tread Lightly.” The New York Times. June 15, 1997: Section 5, pgs. 4, 22). Wood, Megan Eplar. “New Direction in the Ecotourism Industry.” The Ecotourism Society Newsletter. First Quarter, 1997. United States Agency for International Development. Win Win Approaches to Development and the Environment: Ecotourism and Biodiversity Conservation. Bureau for Policy and Program Coordination, Center for Development Information and Evaluation. July 1996. Yenckel, James T. “What Can You Do to Treat Lightly on the Globe?” Washington Post, January 8, 1995: Section E, pp. 1, 9-10) Brian M Touray MSc. Tourism Management Griffith University