Marine Ecotourism

Issues and Experiences

Brian Garrod, Julie Wilson

• Publisher: Channel View Publications
• Year: 2003
• Print ISBN: 9781873150412
• eBook ISBN: 9781845413750
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Hospitality, Travel & Tourism Industry
• Index: Business

Marine ecotourism is a major growth area within ecotourism, itself a rapidly expanding area within tourism as a whole. The activity has been attracting increasing attention, both from the popular media and from professionals and academics with an interest in tourism's potential to contribute to sustainable development. However, there is a growing consensus that far too often the term has been used merely as a tool for capitalising on the good intentions of tourists, without the industry itself having to make fundamental changes to their products or to the way they go about their operations. This has often been to the detriment of local environments, economies and host communities. Yet the ideal of ecotourism, as it is properly understood, is to present local communities with a sustainable development alternative – one that works to the benefit of local ecosystems, local economies and local people. The purpose of the first section of this book is therefore to introduce the concept of marine ecotourism and to draw out some of the key issues involved in ensuring that marine ecotourism is developed in a genuinely sustainable manner. The second section then discusses some practical experiences of planning and managing marine ecotourism from around the world, identifying common problems and discussing what might constitute good practice in addressing those problems.

Section 1

Issues in Marine Ecotourism

Section 1

Issues in Marine Ecotourism

The first section of this book concentrates on outlining the proposed objectives of marine ecotourism, on considering the main principles adopted by proponents of ecotourism in addressing those objectives and on looking at some of the practical considerations that are consequently faced by those involved in planning, managing and regulating marine ecotourism. These are the key issues for marine ecotourism, which effectively establish its practical context and provide a setting within which specific experiences of marine ecotourism – which form the subject of the second section of this book – may be examined and analysed.

The first chapter, by Brian Garrod, begins by exploring different perceptions of the meaning of marine ecotourism, which is a term that evidently means different things to different people. Using an innovative methodology, comprising a combination of the Delphi technique and computer-aided content analysis, the chapter explores the various possible components of a definition of marine ecotourism and attempts to gain an understanding of which of these are central to the concept and which are not. Components such as management, sustainability and conservation are shown to be very strongly associated with the concept of marine ecotourism, while questions are raised regarding the desirability of including cultural manifestations within the remit of marine ecotourism and the need for marine ecotourism to take place in relatively undisturbed natural habitats. The chapter also presents some interesting insights into the merits and dangers of establishing a common definition of marine ecotourism.

Chapter 2, by Erlet Cater, then opens out the discussion by considering the range of negative, or ‘backwash’, effects of marine ecotourism, resulting from its positive, or ‘spread’, effects. Examples of marine ecotourism from around the world are used to illustrate the complex and integrated nature of these effects. The overall conclusion is that much greater collaborative efforts are required among those involved in all of the practical dimensions of marine ecotourism in order to identify areas of discord and concord among these effects. This will enable the various effects of marine ecotourism to be untangled, so that the negative impacts can more effectively be addressed and the positive impacts identified and built upon. Indeed, if marine ecotourism is to live up to its self-proclaimed reputation for sustainability, this must surely be the sine qua non for the success of marine ecotourism in meeting the ambitious objectives that have been set for it.

In Chapter 3, Julie Wilson considers the challenges for planning policy in enabling, promoting and regulating marine ecotourism. The nature of the marine environment is highlighted as a particular issue, its dynamic and sensitive nature representing perhaps the most problematic issue facing planners of marine ecotourism. For a number of reasons, the nature of the marine environment frustrates attempts to regulate and manage marine ecotourism activities. Marine ecotourism also faces an array of use-conflict and sectoral issues that raise particular dilemmas for planning and management. These are important issues that set marine ecotourism apart as a specialarea of concern and highlight the need to study ecotourism specifically in the marine context. Such issues simply do not arise with equivalent ecotourism activities in purely terrestrial settings.

The theme of regulation is subsequently taken up in Chapter 4, by Simon D. Berrow, which undertakes an assessment of the framework, legislation and monitoring required for developing genuinely sustainable whalewatching. Watching whales and dolphins is an economically important activity in many countries of the world, yet the extent to which it can have a detrimental effect on the behaviour and habitat of the species involved has not been fully assessed. Meanwhile a wide variety of regulatory frameworks have been used to manage whalewatching around the world, ranging from purely voluntary codes of conduct, to formal legislation, most often involving a blend of these two extremes. The chapter concludes that the best opportunities for effective regulation exist where whalewatching activities can be controlled through formal licensing systems. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are most relevant where critical habitats and resources have been identified. In the meantime, models of best practice, including codes of conduct and accreditation schemes, need to be developed for application within these overall frameworks of regulation.

Chapter 5, by María José Viñals and colleagues, discusses the use of recreational carrying capacity as a tool for managing tourism in wetland environments. Wetland areas have not traditionally been considered in terms of their role as places for leisure and tourism, yet leisure- and tourism-related activities in such areas are becoming increasingly popular. The establishment of recreational carrying capacity is therefore seen as an important first step in developing a systematic approach to managing tourism in wetland areas. This task is, however, not without its difficulties and this chapter attempts to address some of these by suggesting a step-by-step methodological approach.

Chapter 1

Defining Marine Ecotourism:
A Delphi Study

BRIAN GARROD

Introduction

The United Nations has designated 2002 the International Year of Ecotourism (IYE 2002). A year of intense discussion, both about the concept and the practice of ecotourism, is widely anticipated. Yet even with the first warning shots of the contest having been fired towards the end of 2001, it has become increasingly clear that a fundamental problem exists: participants simply do not agree about what they believe ecotourism to be, either in principle or in practice. The lack of a widely agreed or accepted definition of ecotourism must raise considerable doubts as to whether those involved in the IYE 2002 will be able to come to a workable common view on what ecotourism should be attempting to achieve and how good practice might best be promoted. With so great a potentialfor talking at cross-purposes, it is likely that the proceedings of the IYE 2002 will shed much heat but little light.

That those involved in ecotourism at various levels of government should fail to have a common view on how it should be defined would come as no great surprise to academics and practitioners of tourism, who have long recognised the problem. Particular areas of contention include whether ecotourism should be based conceptually on relatively ‘weak’ or relatively ‘strong’ versions of sustainability, whether ecotourism should be viewed as a subset of ‘nature-based tourism’, ‘sustainable tourism’ or even ‘wildlife tourism’ and whether its application should be restricted to activities that are deemed ‘non-consumptive’. Usefulreviews of such issues are to be found in Orams (1995), Blamey (1995, 1997), Wall (1997), Burton (1998), Tremblay (2001) and, most recently in Page and Dowling (2002). Diamantis (1999), meanwhile, presents and analyses some 15 proposed definitions of the term ‘ecotourism’, dating from between 1987 and 1997.

One important reason why academics and practitioners have been keen to develop agreed definitions of ecotourism is to establish a means by which genuine ecotourism can be distinguished from activities that merely employ the term (perhaps cynically) as a marketing buzzword. The existence and growth of such counterfeit ecotourism holds two main dangers. First, the irresponsible and unsustainable practices involved may, if they become widely known about, tarnish the hard-fought reputation of the ecotourism ‘brand’ as representing genuinely sustainable tourism. Second, such activities may damage the natural resources that genuinely sustainable ecotourism depends upon and is trying to maintain.

This chapter outlines the findings of study of experts from a range of backgrounds and located across the EU's ‘Atlantic Area’, based on a survey technique known as the ‘Delphi method’. The focus of the study was on how ecotourism might best be defined in the marine context, if indeed closer definition of the concept is considered to be helpfulin terms of achieving its practicalobjectives. By initiating and coordinating the deliberations of a panel of experts from across the EU Atlantic Area, and by drawing lessons from this work, the study aimed to establish the basis for a transnational view regarding what marine ecotourism is considered to be in principle. This, it was hoped, would lead to a better understanding of what needs to be done in practice to achieve genuinely sustainable marine ecotourism in the EU Atlantic Area context.

The Delphi Technique

The Delphi technique has been defined as follows:

A systematic method of collecting opinions from a group of experts through a series of questionnaires, in which feedback on the group's opinion distribution is provided between question rounds while preserving the anonymity of the respondent's responses. (Helmer, 1972; cited in Masser & Foley, 1987)

The basic rationale of the Delphi technique is to elicit expert judgement on issues or problems that are highly complex and essentially subjective in nature, requiring the use of a substantial degree of expertise on the part of those addressing them. Such issues or problems cannot easily be dealt with using conventional questionnaire- or interview-based survey techniques. Indeed, past experience has shown that simply asking experts for their opinions about complex issues or problems tends to yield unreliable results. One reason is that complex questions invariably have complex answers, yet experts do not necessarily have (or take) the time to cogitate at length on the issues raised in the survey, to think deeply about the problem under consideration or to develop their answers thoroughly. Nor do they necessarily test their ideas out by exposing them to rigorous peer evaluation. This can lead to unreliable judgements being made about the issues covered in the survey. In short, conventional survey techniques have a tendency to collect ‘snap judgements’ on the complex issues the researcher is trying to study, rather than the carefully considered, in-depth, peer-evaluated expert opinions that are required if such complex problems are to be meaningfully addressed.

One possible means of addressing the shortcomings of conventional surveys when dealing with expert subjects might be to hold a seminar or symposium, to which a range of experts would be invited and encouraged to address the issues at hand in a more interactive arena. Relevant questions could be sent to the participants in advance, so that on the day of the event the experts would be able to air their views, think them through in relation to those put forward by their peers and make a deeply-considered final response. This final response may even be solicited through a follow-up questionnaire administered shortly after the event has taken place, giving the participants further time for thought and reflection.

The major problem with this approach, however, is that in attempting to address the inherent problems of conventional survey instruments, potentially even more serious concerns about reliability are encountered. A particular concern would be the potential influences of personality, institutional allegiances and peer pressure on the experts’ expressed views. Some participants may, for example, be unwilling to depart in public from the conventional wisdom of their discipline or profession. Others may be reluctant to adopt an opposing stance to the official view of the organisation that employs or sponsors them. Others again may feel unhappy about expressing views that might leave them isolated in a polarised public debate. There may even be a tendency for participants to court controversy where none really exists, simply because that is what they think the organisers expect and the nature of the event demands.

The Delphi technique attempts to avoid – or at least to minimise – these potential biases by allowing a small but carefully chosen panel of expert participants to address the issues at hand in a structured, deep and anonymous way. Based on a description of the technique by Richey et al. (1985), Table 1.1 identifies the basic steps involved in a Delphi study. The principal features of the approach are as follows.

First, the technique uses a small panel of experts, selected purposively on the basis of their expertise in subjects related to the issues that are to be addressed through the Delphi study. The size of the panel is not normally considered to be a critical issue (Smith, 1995); what is considered more important is that the panel is suitably balanced in terms of the background, interests and expertise of its members. Second, the technique is iterative, with quest...

Table of contents

• Coverpage
• Titlepage
• Dedication
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• Editors and Contributors
• Introduction
• Section 1: Issues in Marine Ecotourism
• Section 2: Experiences with Marine Ecotourism
• Conclusions
• Index