ECOTOURISM IN THE PALMYRA DESERT, SYRIA A FEASIBILITY STUDY Gianluca Serra BirdLife International February 2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY....................................................................................................5 2. BACKGROUND .................................................................................................................6 2.1 Ecotourism, the ethical travel .........................................................................................6 2.1.1 What is ecotourism?................................................................................................6 2.1.2 Constraints of ecotourism development.....................................................................9 2.1.3 Controlling a viable ecotourism business ................................................................. 11 2.2 Conservation and socio-economic context of Palmyra desert ........................................... 12 2.3 Palmyra Project (1996-2004)........................................................................................ 15 2.4 N. Bald Ibis conservation work...................................................................................... 17 2.5 First steps in developing ecotourism in Syria.................................................................. 19 2.6 Full site diagnostic....................................................................................................... 22 2.6.1 Landscape and ecosystems .................................................................................... 22 2.6.2 Climate ................................................................................................................ 24 2.6.3 Flora .................................................................................................................... 24 2.6.4 Fauna .................................................................................................................. 26 2.6.5 Socio-economics, history, culture and traditions ....................................................... 29 2.6.6 Threats ................................................................................................................ 32 3. METHOD AND GOAL ......................................................................................................34 4. LEGAL FRAMEWORK .....................................................................................................35 5. FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS................................................................................................37 5.1 Preliminary questions................................................................................................... 37 5.1.1 Is there scope for ecotourism in the Palmyra desert? ............................................... 37 5.1.2 Can it be economically, socio-culturally and environmentally viable? .......................... 40 5.1.3 Who are the stakeholders? ..................................................................................... 43 5.1.4 What is the role of the Syrian Society for the Conservation of Wildlife (SSWC)? .......... 43 5.1.5 Who are the potential clients? ................................................................................ 43 5.1.6 Who are the potential competitors? ........................................................................ 44 5.1.7 What are the competitive advantages? .................................................................... 44 5.1.8 What is the originality of the idea? .......................................................................... 45 2 5.2 Information gathering.................................................................................................. 46 5.2.1 Tourism industry context in Syria ............................................................................ 46 5.2.2 Capacity of target beneficiaries ............................................................................... 48 5.2.3 Target market ....................................................................................................... 49 5.2.4 Facing competition ................................................................................................ 49 5.2.5 Options for promotion ........................................................................................... 50 5.2.6 Administration and organization ............................................................................. 51 5.3 Definition of goals ....................................................................................................... 52 5.4 Resource Inventory ..................................................................................................... 52 5.4.1 Attractions ............................................................................................................ 52 5.4.2 Potential activities ................................................................................................. 53 5.4.3 Infrastructures, accommodation options and food services ....................................... 54 5.4.4 Interpretive services and local transportation ........................................................... 55 5.5 Market Analysis ........................................................................................................... 55 5.6 Competitive analysis .................................................................................................... 55 5.7 Business description and operation ............................................................................... 56 5.8 Sales forecast.............................................................................................................. 57 5.9 Financial analysis......................................................................................................... 61 5.10 SWOT analysis .......................................................................................................... 63 5.11 Risk assessment ........................................................................................................ 65 5.12 Sustainability assessment........................................................................................... 65 6. PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT PLAN.................................................................................66 6.1 Justification for action.................................................................................................. 66 6.2 Two ecotourism development scenarios ........................................................................ 69 6.3 Recommended actions................................................................................................. 70 7. Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................71 8. REFERENCES .................................................................................................................71 ANNEX 1 Ethical travel (The Guardian) ..................................................................................76 ANNEX 2 Problem tree for Palmyra desert .............................................................................79 ANNEX 3 Key fauna species for monitoring ............................................................................80 ANNEX 4 Syria birdwatching menu .......................................................................................83 3 GLOSSARY DCNEC: Desert Culture and Nature Education Center, built at the entrance of al talila reserve (Palmyra) by the PP (see below) PA: Protected Area MAAR: Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform of Syria PP: Palmyra Project, the FAO/Italian Cooperation (DGCS) project in operation in Palmyra during period 1996-2004 4 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Tourism is currently the world's largest industry and it has an increasing impact on protected areas. Our understanding of these mechanisms, their ecological impacts and our capacity to manage tourism in protected areas lags behind the growth of tourism to protected areas. In many protected areas, tourism is a major activity that occurs without much forethought or preparation. To ensure that the benefits of tourism outweigh the costs, careful planning and management of tourism impacts are needed. Mass market-driven nature tourism is known to have a clear negative impact on local cultural and natural heritage. The starting point is therefore to distinguish between this kind of uncontrolled tourism and ecotourism which is by definition an ethical form of travelling, responsible and small scale. A dangerous confusion between these two types of tourism is widespread and anything nowadays tend to be labelled and sold as “ecotourism”. Due to an increasing demand for ecological accountability and travel ethics, the international tour operators and the ecotourism local initiatives have the interest in being certified by independent bodies such as international conservation NGOs or by authoritative private accreditation associations. Achieving a unified international certification system together with identifying suitable and efficient mechanisms to create a viable business while controlling it, is the challenge of any ecotourism scheme. Conservation NGOs, in cooperation with ecologically conscious visitors, have the potential to ensure that any specific ecotourism initiative remains under control socially, culturally and environmentally. The present feasibility study is intended to provide independent and objective information to the relevant stakeholders,