Search Results (24)

This study explores the role of community-centered farm-based hospitality in promoting sustainable rural development, with a focus on South Tyrol, Italy. A survey of 461 local residents assessed perceptions of agritourism’s impact on agricultural heritage, environmental sustainability, and community well-being. Factor analysis identified two main constructs—Agroheritage Sustainability and Empowered Eco-Tourism—which together capture the multifaceted benefits of agritourism. Agroheritage Sustainability reflects the preservation of traditional farming practices, cultural landscapes, and intergenerational knowledge, emphasizing the role of tourism in maintaining cultural identity and preventing land abandonment. Empowered Eco-Tourism highlights the socio-economic benefits of sustainable tourism, including community empowerment, environmental stewardship, and the creation of new economic opportunities. The study’s findings indicate that local residents view agritourism as a holistic approach that supports rural livelihoods while preserving cultural heritage and promoting ecological resilience. The analysis further supports the potential of farm-based hospitality as a model for sustainable rural development, aligning closely with EU policies and global best practices. The Roter Hahn initiative in South Tyrol serves as a practical example of this approach, demonstrating the value of certification programs in enhancing transparency, quality, and sustainability. These insights provide valuable guidance for policymakers and tourism developers seeking to promote sustainable rural tourism globally. The contribution of this research lies in its empirical validation of a dual-construct model that links community engagement with agroecological and cultural sustainability, offering a transferable framework for evaluating agritourism as a lever for sustainable rural development in diverse regional contexts. Full article

Health and wellness tourism is a rapidly expanding segment of the global tourism industry, driven by increasing consumer awareness of well-being and lifestyle enhancement. As the demand for wellness travel grows, destinations are expected to offer high standards of safety, hygiene, rehabilitation, and holistic experiences. This study aims to identify and evaluate the key attributes and determinants for developing health and wellness tourism destinations by applying the 6As Tourism Development framework: Attractions, Accessibility, Amenities, Activities, Available Packages, and Ancillary Services. A multi-criteria decision-making approach, specifically the TOPSIS, was employed to assess destination potential through a case study of Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand. The results indicate that Attractions, Accessibility, and Amenities are the top three priorities for wellness tourists. Sub-criteria such as natural scenery, cultural significance, accessibility for all, safety, and accommodation quality are particularly influential. Three districts in Nakhon Ratchasima were found to exhibit distinct strengths—Pak Chong is best suited for rehabilitative tourism (e.g., aroma and water therapy), aligning with mind and nutrition wellness components; Wang Nam Khiao is ideal for ecotourism and cultural experiences, supporting environmental and nutritional dimensions; while Mueang Nakhon Ratchasima excels in sports tourism, supporting physical and nutritional well-being. The study offers practical insights for policymakers and tourism stakeholders to design sustainable, visitor-centered wellness destinations. The proposed framework supports strategic planning and resource allocation for health-focused tourism development. Full article

The sustainable management of natural reserves is increasingly prioritized within the global tourism sector, especially in fragile ecosystems like the Santurbán Moorland in Colombia. As a high-altitude Andean ecosystem providing essential water resources, the Santurbán Moorland faces mounting pressures from tourism growth and mining activity. This study assesses the adoption of sustainable tourism practices among tourism service providers (TSPs) in the region and identifies key gaps to inform policy and academic interventions. A cross-sectional, mixed-methods approach was applied, integrating surveys based on the European Tourism Indicators System (ETIS) and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) criteria, as well as structured interviews, field observations, and document analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis identified “sustainable management” as the most robust dimension (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.953); however, no TSPs reported using renewable energy, and less than 5% of employees had received formal training in tourism. The main challenges include the lack of environmental certification, insufficient infrastructure, and limited communication of sustainability practices. Based on these findings, the study proposes targeted public policies, financial incentives, and specialized academic training to strengthen sustainable practices. The results offer insights into the challenges faced by emerging ecotourism destinations and provide strategic guidelines to support a balance between environmental conservation and local socioeconomic development. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted the global tourism industry, forcing tourism entrepreneurs to adapt and innovate in order to recover. This systematic review aims to identify scientific evidence on tourism entrepreneurship experiences in Latin America during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the review seeks to uncover key challenges faced by tourism entrepreneurs, the locations and types of tourism most affected, and to draw lessons from these experiences. The authors followed the PRISMA protocol, identifying 15 research studies on tourism entrepreneurship in Latin America. The review analyzed articles from seven key databases—Scopus, Web of Science, Scielo, EBSCO, Proquest, Gale Academic Onefile, and LA Referencia—focusing on studies that examined tourism entrepreneurship within the context of COVID-19. These studies employed diverse methodologies, including case studies, surveys, and data analysis. The results show tourism entrepreneurs in Latin America faced challenges like economic crises, business closures, and unemployment. They responded with biosecurity protocols, domestic tourism, and digital tools such as online platforms and QR codes. A shift toward sustainable models like ecotourism highlighted local development and conservation. The pandemic spurred innovation and resilience, with adaptability, digital transformation, and collaboration, driving recovery. Sustainable practices and authentic experiences are key to long-term success. Full article

Despite growing interest in community-based ecotourism as a pathway to sustainable development, there is a critical lack of research on how localized configurations of marketing and policy factors shape ecolodge performance at the village level. This study addresses this gap by pioneering a comprehensive, contextually grounded analysis of the availability and desirability of key marketing and policy indicators across 25 rural villages in Iran’s culturally and ecologically rich Hawraman region. By employing an innovative mixed-methods approach blending statistical analysis, GIS spatial modeling, surveys, and interviews, the research reveals striking heterogeneity in ecolodge constraints and opportunities, even within a localized setting. Spatial analysis uncovers distance decay effects, with peripheral villages facing exacerbated accessibility deficits compared to centrally located ones. Substantial variations in marketing effectiveness and governance capacities underscore the inadequacy of one-size-fits-all tourism planning. The findings make a novel contribution by demonstrating the imperative for transitioning from monolithic interventions to hyper-localized, place-based strategies tailored to each village’s unique barrier and asset profiles. Embracing this paradigm shift promises to enhance the equity and sustainability of ecolodge tourism in rural contexts globally. The study provides an original methodological blueprint for harnessing multi-modal diagnostics to unpack complex tourism dynamics and catalyze transformative, community-centric solutions. Full article

Ecotourism, a dynamic force in global tourism, holds promise for conserving the environment while ensuring benefits for local economies. In this study, we developed an ecotourism distribution map of Indonesia. We utilized location-based social networks (LSBNs) data derived from Google Maps API to map 172 ecotourism sites in Indonesia. Furthermore, we investigated the distribution patterns of ecotourism within Indonesia’s protected landscapes and ecoregions. The factors that influenced ecotourism distribution in the region were analyzed using the MaxEnt model (because of its application for presence-only data). The key findings revealed that ecotourism sites are predominantly distributed across national parks and protected forest areas, and generally consist of mountainous and hilly terrain according to the ecoregion types. The MaxEnt model results indicated that population density was the most influential factor in ecotourism distribution. The significance of our study lies in its methodologies and results, which offered novel approaches to nationwide mapping and addressed the lack of an ecotourism site map of Indonesia. Notably, the proposed model can be customized for other regions with limited ecotourism data; thus, our study can serve as a foundation for future interdisciplinary studies on ecotourism, sustainability, and landscape planning. Full article

Ecotourism is the main trend of global tourism development, and evaluating the ecotourism environmental carrying capacity (EECC) of ecologically fragile areas can provide a scientific basis for the sustainable development of regional tourism. This study uses the typical fragile mountain area, the Qilian Mountains (QLMs), as an example and analyzes the spatial and temporal changes in EECC by constructing an evaluation indicator system of EECC, which is based on the framework of “natural ecological environment support—socio-economic pressure—tourism activity pressure”. In the results, it is found that the natural ecological environment support, socio-economic pressure, and tourism activity pressure in the QLMs all present a spatial distribution pattern of higher in the southeast and lower in the northwest. From a temporal perspective, most of the indicators of different subsystems show an increasing trend. The whole area of EECC in the QLMs shows an increasing trend in 85.4% of the region, while the EECC in some areas in the southeastern and northern parts shows a decreasing trend. Comparing different time periods, it is found that the EECC in the whole region shows an increasing trend from 2000 to 2010, while the proportion of areas with a decreasing trend in EECC from 2010 to 2018 reaches 67.1%. The research results can provide a scientific basis for the sustainable development of ecotourism in the QLMs and other similar regions in the world, and they further contribute to the protection of the ecological environment. Full article

The Special Nature Reserve, a part of the nature “Meadows of Great Bustard” (MGB), is a protected area with an extremely rare and sensitive ecosystem. The MGB spreads in the northeast of Vojvodina in Serbia. The natural potentials of MGB, in addition to diverse flora and fauna, are symbolized by a jeopardized species of bird called the Great Bustard (Otis tarda). Only a few specimens of this species live in this protected area, and they need to be protected. Globally, the Great Bustard is vulnerable species (VU) and a seriously protected species in Serbia. The goal of the research in this paper is to determine whether sustainable tourism affects the satisfaction of residents, using a quantitative method through the Prism of Sustainability (PoS) research model, which includes the technique of surveying respondents (residents). In this part of Vojvodina lives a population that has specific social characteristics. The cultural legacy, customs of this part of Banat, way of treating nature, local crafts, and local events stand out among those characteristics. The favorable geographical position of MGB, the proximity of Romania and Hungary, and good traffic connections with numerous cities in Serbia and the region represent significant potential for tourism development. The natural motives of MGB and ecological interests should be a priority in planning and developing tourism. A nature-based tourism destination can be formed by combining natural and social motives. The main forms of tourism, important for the development of this area, are ecotourism, scientific research tourism, and birdwatching tourism in the MGB. The significant results of the research are those that point out that the respondents rated ecological and socio-cultural sustainability as the most important. Also, these two dimensions have the greatest impact on sustainable tourism in the MGB. After the conducted research, it can be concluded that the residents are satisfied with sustainable tourism, i.e., sustainable tourism significantly affects the satisfaction of residents. Full article

Nature-based tourism constitutes a major segment of world tourism. Protected areas are considered a popular theme in the literature, which is characterised by a great heterogeneity in concepts, contents, and purposes. This study analyses many of the indicators of interest related to the research on the themes of protected areas and nature-based tourism. Consequently, we aim to offer a global and updated vision of the research produced regarding these themes over the last 30 years. With bibliometric tools (Bibliometrix and VOSviewer), 1033 scientific articles were analysed. The results indicate that the research in this area exponentially increased in the last decade. Using a co-occurrence network of keywords, five major themes in this study were identified: (1) ecotourism; (2) nature conservation, biodiversity, and sustainability; (3) national parks, recreation, and climate change; (4) sustainable management and development; and (5) with a lesser degree of representation, themes related to China and ecosystem services. A timespan analysis on this network enabled the identification of six trends in the research over the last years: (i) sustainable tourism; (ii) climate change; (iii) geotourism and rural tourism; (iv) ecosystem services and cultural ecosystem services; (v); visitor studies; and (vi) wildlife tourism. Nature-based tourism plays a significant and crucial role in sustainable development. Analysing research in protected areas and nature-based tourism provides insights into key themes and emerging trends, serving as a valuable resource for knowledge advancement. Full article

Most governments, local organizations, tourism agents, and scholars have extensively promoted ecotourism in recent years. However, government policies have been ignored, public opinion has not been updated, the local tourism infrastructure is incomplete, and operational practices have been poor for a long time. This is because ecotourism has not made any empirical profits, and additionally, it has even incurred more practical costs, which have encouraged few tourism agents to execute and operate ecotourism correctly. The contributive findings of this study are the following: (1) Beyond the evaluated measurements of quantitative and qualitative analyses, the sustainable development of ecotourism essentially creates benefits for the local industry and the environment, and actively assists the industry in improving the business environment, in enhancing service quality, and in creating ecotourism benefits. (2) It is very apparent that the tourism offices of central and local governments, as well as related travel agents and local organizations, have to be trained with regard to the appropriate consumption of sightseeing products, with a consideration of productive yield and a critical focus on quality instead of quantity. Particular attention should also be given to local traveling capacity as well as support for regional development. The maintenance of the local cultural landscape or ecological integrity can directly offer tourists an unprecedented travel experience, which could encourage them to share their knowledge with others in society after traveling, and consequently promote the sustainable development of ecotourism. (3) The results point to the fact that the tourism offices of central and local governments, related travel agents, and local organizations require training in providing special assistance to local residents with regard to the conservation of natural resources. Special training must likewise be provided concerning environmental protection, allowing them to educate the tourists in terms of politely respecting local traditions, norms, and cultures while traveling, since these activities are directly related to the sustainable development of ecotourism. Predictably, beyond this research, these three contributive findings can directly become the research foundation of future works that intend to focus on the sustainability of global ecotourism. Full article

The high quality development of national parks plays an important role in promoting the formation of a reasonable, moderate and orderly land space protection pattern and building a harmonious coexistence of human and nature. However, a lack of public participation has limited the development of high-quality national parks in China. Understanding public concern and awareness of national parks is necessary for promoting greater public participation. This paper provides insight into this problem by combining Weibo and questionnaire survey data, then uses a combination of text mining, a Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) theme model, and descriptive statistics to analyze the current state of public concern and awareness of national parks. By analyzing Weibo data, we find: (1) Public concern for national parks is increasing year by year. (2) More economically developed regions may pay more attention to national parks. (3) Public concern for national parks focuses on the construction of national parks in other countries and the institutional reform and ecotourism of national parks in China. Meanwhile, we also find that: (1) Most of the public are willing to actively pay attention to the construction of national parks. (2) The public is not yet fully aware of national parks in China; for example, the number of national parks, their construction, and other issues are still not widely known. (3) Public awareness of the construction goals, functional positioning, and other issues are not generally understood. To sum up, there is still much room for the public to improve their control and awareness of national parks. Finally, we put forward some suggestions to improve the public’s concern with and awareness of national parks, which can promote public participation in their development. This study will be important for sustainable development of the natural reserve system and global biodiversity protection in China. Full article

Six terrestrial biomes and a huge coastline make Brazil one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. However, the potential of Brazilian biodiversity as a valuable and sustainable source of wealth and development is still neglected. In order to reverse this scenario, the country needs to recognize and assume the power of its biodiversity, focusing on (I) industry, science and technology, (II) biological conservation and maintenance of ecosystem services, considering reverberations on agriculture and public health, and (III) ecotourism, conservation and sustainable development of local populations. The joint action of the Brazilian population and scientific community is needed to achieve these goals, which must be translated into the election of politicians committed to sustainable development and an increase in research and technology based on Brazilian biodiversity. Additional reasons for preserving Brazilian biodiversity (e.g., intrinsic, cultural, and ethical values) are also addressed in this article. Finally, we argue that Brazil should recover its global leadership on the environmental agenda and assume its biological diversity as a source of Soft Power, as well as develop its neglected capacity in the field of the sustainable bio-based economy (bioeconomy). In brief, Brazil needs to recognize and embrace the power of its biodiversity. Full article

To analyze Taiwanese ecotourism with international standards, this research employed the social learning theory (SLT) to identify the determinants of Taiwanese community ecotourism with the international standards. This basic theory of social psychology comprehensively assays the interplays and interconnections among the three analytical perspectives (ecotourism tours, destinations, and accommodations), the four essential issues (management, social, cultural, and environment) of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, the six assessed dimensions of ecotourism resolution from the WCC, and the twenty-nine assessed indexes of the KES ecotourism evaluations. It was then possible to comprehensively explore the sustainable determinants of Taiwanese ecotourism with the international standards through the FA of quantitative and qualitative analyses in combination with the highest research validity, reliability, representativeness, and accuracy. After analyzing the evaluated measurements, the empirical and valuable conclusions and findings are (1) these analytical perspectives, appraised attitudes, evaluated criteria, and sub-criteria positively advance Taiwanese ecotourism with the international standards (PITEEICIS); (2) the sustainable determinants of Taiwanese ecotourism with the international standards include the Support for Capacity Building of the Local Community (SCBLC), Cooperation with the Local Community (CLC), Supports for the Local Enterprises (SLE), Local Participation and Benefits Sharing Duties (LPBSD), Tourist Management (TM), and Responsible Tourist Behaviors Inducement (RTBI). Importantly, the majority of ecotourism industrialists and experts still focus on the economic benefits, such as supporting the local community and enterprises, rather than tourist behavior inducement to stimulate ecotourism participation in order to promote and advance the Taiwanese ecotourism to the international standards; (3) in order to promote Taiwanese ecotourism to the international conventions, the Taiwanese government and organizations in ecotourism should contribute toward the local welfare and create and design various training programs and courses to enhance local community’s awareness and capability of ecotourism development in order to establish a complete system that stimulates the ongoing planning and decision making of local community participation and regularly monitors, records, and reflects their opinions, based on the area’s history, culture, and natural attributes, to develop and sell sustainable local products by creating fair trade principles and valuable products. Full article

The state of climate emergency threatens oysters, which are species that provide immense development–environment benefits in the world’s coastal regions, including the global south. Currently, extreme climate change combines with toxic chemicals to alter ecosystem services by 70%, resulting in oyster decline, habitat shifts, school dropouts, poverty and ecological job loss. This poses complex transformative challenges for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In response, GreenOyster Opportunities for Development (GOOD) integrates a GOOD Eco-Entrepreneurship Model (GEEM) into oyster conservation as a Sustainable Nature-based Solution (SNbS) for providing food and scientific ecotourism services. This article succinctly elaborates the GEEM-SNbS concept and theory of sustainable change in favour of the SDGs and to inspire in-depth research into SNbS financing, new carbon policies and reframing biodiversity conservation and sustainability actions. Full article

A vision for the establishment of a Geopark in Jordan is given in this work, with a subsequent application to the UNESCO Global Geopark programme. The Dead Sea area and its surroundings have suffered strong changes in the last decades, accompanied by a variety of natural hazards related to enhanced erosional processes. The aspiring Geopark will thematically encompass the influence that these changes and related natural hazards, including flash floods and subsidence, have had on the local population, from geological, over historical up to recent times. The hydrogeology and geomorphology, i.e., the connection between erosion by water, dissolution of minerals, and landscape evolution, will be the main guiding theme that connects the Eastern Rim Highlands with the Dead Sea rift valley through ephemeral wadis, vegetated springs areas, and traditionally communities. The creation of the Geopark is aimed at holistic, sustainable development and management of the area by eco-tourism, and includes education on water resource management, hazard awareness and resilience, as well as international research. We here present the conceptual approach to the initial development of a Geopark network in Jordan. In a narrative discourse, we highlight realised and further implementation steps, with an evaluation of the expected timeline, potential partner institutions, regional involvement and the chances for realisation. Full article