Ecotourism and the empowerment of local communities

Abstract This research note considers ways in which we may better understand how ecotourism ventures impact on the lives of people living in, and around, the environments which ecotourists frequent. From a development perspective, ecotourism ventures should only be considered ‘successful’ if local communities have some measure of control over them and if they share equitably in the benefits emerging from ecotourism activities. An empowerment framework is proposed as a suitable mechanism for aiding analysis of the social, economic, psychological and political impacts of ecotourism on local communities.

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