r :;:.:.::.::: . '. ~'];m1lm~~iJlWSM,.< ':".:.:' .: " ).:'{,:',::;:::,:, :..,::,: ""... '. IN ASIA. ;.. ~J;~:' .. ~((::·~!;j1:d:()::~)U))( ~:.:).:. .':':':':-:.;.~:;::.' ..;?:::; :':_. '," ~:\. :>" .·:··:.i::.iil:ii:"I~i;l~%r~~iTIEs AND:': CONSTRAINTS FOR CONSERVATION AND .BCONc>MIC,DEVELOPMENT This report was prepared under coordinatIon of the Forestry Support Program which is managed jointly by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service and Office of International Cooperallon and Development (OICD), with funds provided by the U.S. Agency for International Deveiopment (USAID) Bureau for Research and Development (R&D) through its Office ot" Environment and N:uural Resources (ENR) (RSSA BST-5519-R-AG-2188). Washington.D.C. .\pnl 1993 ·.. Nature Tourism in Asia: Opportunities and Constraints for Conservation and Economic Development Edited by: Julia Nenon and Patrick B. Durst United States United States United States Department of Agency for Department of Agriculture International Agriculture Development Forest Service Office of International Cooperation and Development T TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface iv I. Nature Tourism as a Toolfor Economic Development and Conservation ofNatural Resources Jan G. Laannan and Patrick B. Durst .., Nature Tourism in Nepal 21 Tracey Parker 3. Nature Tourism Profile: Thailand 31 Santi Chudintra 4. Nature Tourism Profile: Indonesia 43 Abdon Nababan and Arief Aliadi 5. Nature Tourism in Sri Lanka: Activities. Constraints. and Potential 55 Pani Seneviratne .4. bout the Editors Julia Nenon is an independent consultant in the field ofInternational Development andenvironment. She has wor~doverseas in NepalandJamaica andhasa Master's Degree in International Development from The American University. Prior to enteringthefieldofInternational Development, Ms. Nenonwas a social worker in southern Virginia. Patrick B. Durst is the Acting Asia-Pacific Branch Chieffor the USDA Forest Service andcoordinates activities in Asia andthe Near Eastfor the USAIDIUSDA Forestry Support Program. While with the CSDA Forest Service's Southeast Forest Experiment Station, Mr. Durst conducted research on the economicaspectsofnature tourismandwildlands management. He hasassessedthepotentialfor nature tourism development in Thailand, Indonesia, Fiji, and the Philippines. PREFACE A basic premise that has emerged in recent years is crease awareness of ecology, envIronmental pro­ that environmental protection and economic devel­ tection, and natural history. Additionally, nature opment go hand in hand. Indeed, in many cases, it tourism is viewed by proponents as attracting a appears that the two are inextricably linked. Expe­ relatively tolerant, well-educated, up-scale clien­ rience has further demonstrated that destroyers of tele with a genuine concern for natural resources the environment often become enthusiastic advo­ protection. cates of resource conservation when given the opportunity to share in the benefits of long-term Obviously, nature tOUrIsm is not without risks. The sustainable resource management. world is blighted with popular destinations that have been "loved to death" by eager tourists who Conservationists around the world are increasingly demanded ever-greater amenities and increased seeking innovative resource managementstrategies access to fragile resources until carrying capacities that provide forthe needs oflocal communities and were overwhelmed. Similarly, tourism has fre­ contribute to national and regional economies with­ quently been criticized for inducing undesirable out destroying or degrading natural ecosystems. social changes in local ethnic cultures and adversely For many countries and localities, nature tourism distorting local economies. (or"ecotourism") offers one such strategy for eco­ nomic development based on non-extractive sus­ To better understand the emergmg role of nature tainable resource management. tourism in Asia and its growth in popularity, the Forestry Support Program commissioned studies Special interest travel, including nature tourism, is ofnaturetourism in Nepal, Thailand, Indonesia, and the fastest growing segment of tourism develop­ Sri Lanka, as well as a general review ofopportu­ ment today. North Americans, Europeans and nities and constraints associated with nature tour­ Australians, in particular, are seeking exotic travel Ism development. These five reports are compiled destinations--often combining natural history and in this publication with the hope that their dissemi­ adventure opportunities. Nature tourism is di ffer­ nation will hel pdevelopment and conservation plan­ ent from mass tourism in that it seeks to limIt ners better assess the potential benefits, risks, and ecologIcal damage from tourism activities and in- opportunities of nature tourism m Asia. IV NATURE TOURISM AS A TOOL FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES Jan G. Laannan and Patrick B. Durst INTRODUCTION Over the last few decades, tourism has been one ofthe • perceptions that many of the natural environ­ world's largest growth industries. Tourism revenues ments throughout the world are disappearing, account for approximately one-fourth of the world's and must be visited now, if ever. international trade in services. For the year 1988, spending on domestic and international travel com­ To these recent psycho-social trends can be added prised 10-12 percent of world gross production, or otherexplanations favoring the growth of nature tour­ some us $2 trillion (0'Amore 1988). In thatsame year, ism. Very importantly, policymakers and managers of tourism earned the developing countries anestimated the world's national parks and otherprotected natural $55 billion, of which nature tourism's share was prob­ areas increasingly accept that these areas should be ably between $2 billion to $12 billion (Lindberg 1991). open to human visitation, and are not to be locked up solely for nature protection. Also, infrastructure in In the industrialized countries, nature tourism is not roads, hotels, campsites,and transportation facilities is new (Kusler 1990). For 250 years, residents of London improving in many regions previously considered have been visiting the English Lake District. Visita­ remote or even inaccessible. tions to Yosemite National Park date back a century, and regions of New England and the Great Lakes have Another factor is that government tourist authorities, attracted nature-oriented tourists for decades. New, travel agents, universities, museums, and conserva­ however, is increasing international travel to relatively tion organizations showconsiderable interest in using remote areas of Africa, Latin America, and Asia for nature tourism to promote their own objectives, al­ purposesofexperiencingtheirnaturalattractions. New, though sometimes with conflicting results. F"mally, too, is thatan increasing numberofdomestictravellers there has been considerable media attention to nature in the developing world arevisiting naturalattractions protection and nature-oriented travel in the fonn of in their own countries. television programs, newspaper travel pages, maga­ zine articles, museum exhibits, etc. These contribu­ Accord ing to a long-time observerofnature tourism in tions have a reinforcing effect, as improved attention both industrialized and developing countries, the rap­ and infrastructure generate more visitation, and more idly building interest in nature tourism can be attrib­ visitation leads to greaterattentionand infrastructure. uted to several emerging social and psychological preferences on the partof tourists across many cultures From the perspective of determining the place of the and countries (Kusler 1990): U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) development assistance in nature tourism, this paper • increased concernwiththe physical"environment," has the following objectives: including general and specialized interests in na­ ture conservation; • to define nature tourism and its links with other forms of"alternative tourism;" • discontent with overuse and crowding in "mass tourism" experienced at many conventional tourist • to broadly summarize the attractions and prob­ destinations; lems posed by nature tourism; • pursuit of new learning experiences rather than • to describe the parts played by key stakehold­ manmade entertainments; and ers in successful nature tourism; • to review lessons from nature tourism in the degree, may resultina proportionatelygreater developing countries of Asia-Pacific; and leakage of expenditure, and may cause politi­ cal change in terms of control over develop­ • to focus on the potential for U5AID and other ment (Butler 1990 p. 41). development assistance agencies to enlarge the benefits to be captured from successful This is simply to recognize that nature tourism is far nature tourism. from being everyone's solution to economic develop­ ment and environmental protection, and that the vir­ NATURE TOURISM IN THE CONTEXT tues of nature tourism have to be weighed against its OF /I ALTERNATIVE TOURISM" drawbacks in an objective manner. The search for "appropriate tourism" is also a search What is Nature Tourism? for "alternative tourism." By this is meant a rejection of mass tourism and its real or imagined negative Amongmanyvariationsofalternative tourismis travel social, environmental,and cultural consequences. Itis to areas ofoutstanding natural beauty, specialecologi­ no longer assumed that mass tourism brings interna­ cal interest, and pristine wilderness. This is nature tional understanding and economic