Download Researchers study tourism-poverty nexus in Central America

Researchers study tourism-poverty nexus in
Central America
25 March 2015, by Jennifer Miller
and other forms of tourism is its link to biodiversity
conservation.
"It does not just feature nature as part of a tour, but
it also provides direct support to the mechanisms
responsible for actively protecting nature," Hunt
said.
Hunt and co-investigators studied the Osa
Peninsula, one of the last sections of Costa Rica's
Pacific coast where ecotourism is the main type of
tourism and a major aspect of the local economy.
Coupled with exceptional biodiversity, these
conditions make the area an ideal location to test
indicators of economic, social and environmental
impacts of ecotourism.
The Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica. Credit: Carter Hunt
What researchers found is that ecotourism is
providing stable employment with nearly double the
salary of other local livelihoods, more career
advancement opportunities, increased support for
Central American economies are experiencing an
environmental conservation and improved access
ongoing boom in tourism, and in certain regions
to strategic resources including knowledge of
this often comes with real estate speculation in
national development policies for the region. Hunt
support of a trend toward all-inclusive resorts, large
said the study shows the notion "more tourism is
hotels and vacation homes.
better," does not apply in biodiverse environments.
A study conducted by researchers at Penn State
and partnering institutions, however, challenges
the notion that this mass tourism model is better for
resident well-being in biodiverse regions as
compared to ecotourism, which has considerably
less impact on the environment and local
communities.
The International Ecotourism Society defines
ecotourism as "responsible travel to natural areas
that conserves the environment, sustains the wellbeing of the local people, and involves
interpretation and education."
"There are important qualitative distinctions
between different forms of tourism with respect to
outcomes for local people and environments," Hunt
said. "This research empirically demonstrates that
the aggregate impact of numerous small-scale
ecotourism projects across the Osa Peninsula
region has improved local residents' livelihood
prospects and quality of life, while still contributing
directly to the conservation of the region's globally
significant biodiversity."
The results have the potential to inform socially and
environmentally responsible tourism development
policy in the Osa Peninsula and other biodiverse
Carter Hunt, assistant professor of recreation, park
regions of Central America, Hunt said.
and tourism management at Penn State, explained
that an important distinction between ecotourism
"Mass tourism development drives real estate
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speculation, which in turn displaces rural residents,
compromises their access to important resources
and can often rely largely on imported, Englishspeaking employees," Hunt said. "This means that
often there are few employment opportunities for
local people beyond low-paying, unskilled positions
as housekeeping staff, gardeners or security."
Hunt added, "In contrast, the dominant form of
tourism in the Osa Peninsula is ecotourism and this
has provided very different—and
better—opportunities and outcomes for local
communities and environments."
Recently, results of the researchers' work were
published in a 2015 issue of Journal of Sustainable
Tourism. The findings will also be included as a
contributing chapter in "Tourism and Poverty
Reduction: Principles and Impacts in Developing
Countries" edited by Routledge.
For the study, researchers conducted interviews
with local residents, including both residents who
work in ecotourism and residents who work in other
economic sectors to determine if ecotourism offers
a greater economic benefit compared to other
industries, such as timber, gold mining or
agriculture.
Hunt described Costa Rica as one of the 20 most
biodiverse countries in the world, housing 4 percent
of global biodiversity despite comprising just 0.03
percent of the Earth's land area. Within Costa Rica,
the Osa Peninsula – particularly Corcovado
National Park – is as biodiverse as any region in
the country.
More information: "Can ecotourism deliver real
economic, social, and environmental benefits? A
study of the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica." DOI:
10.1080/09669582.2014.965176
Provided by Pennsylvania State University
APA citation: Researchers study tourism-poverty nexus in Central America (2015, March 25) retrieved
15 June 2017 from https://phys.org/news/2015-03-tourism-poverty-nexus-central-america.html
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