Evaluating the net effects of ecotourism on the environment: a framework, first assessment and future research

Buckley, Ralf (2009) Evaluating the net effects of ecotourism on the environment: a framework, first assessment and future research. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 17 (6). pp. 643-672. ISSN 0966-9582

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Abstract

This review examines what outcomes ecotourism has achieved in regard to environmental issues. It proposes an analytic framework distinguishing four types of mechanism: those which can generate positive effects; those which can reduce negative effects; those which can increase negative effects; and contested issues, including scale and mainstreaming. It then discusses the barriers to evaluating ecotourism’s environmental record. These include: problems of definition; the use of eco-labels; and the range of inclusion within any analysis. Finally, it outlines a series of future research priorities including: product and enterprise analysis; the value and importance of codes, interpretation and marketing, the potential significance of new community and political mechanisms; and post-trip lifestyle change.

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