Evaluation of ecotourism suitability based on AHP-GIS: Taking Xiaoxiangling area of the Giant Panda National Park and the surrounding communities as an example.

The primary goal of national parks is to protect ecological environment, but also with the functions of scientific research, education, and recreation. Aiming for the realization of universal sharing, we used the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to construct an ecotourism suitability evaluation system by selecting four factors, including landscape resources, ecological environment carrying capacity, recreation utilization capacity and social condition, taking Xiaoxiangling area of Giant Panda National Park and the surrounding communities as an example. We evaluated the ecotourism suitability based on GIS, and conducted a questionnaire survey of tourists, to propose suggestions on the functional zoning in terms of ecotourism suitability and subjective choice preferences of tourists. The results showed that the ecotourism suitability of the evaluation area could be classified into five levels. The most suitable areas were located nearby the natural landscape resources and far away from the core conservation area, and the least suitable areas distributed at the edge of the core conservation area. According to the results of suitability analysis, the evaluation area was divided into suitable development area, moderate development area, and restricted development area. Combined with the tourist preferences, we divided the recreational activities in the evaluation area into seven activities, namely, ecotourism, eco-camping, science education, leisure vacation, agricultural and animal husbandry culture experience, eco-education, and mountain adventure. These findings could help provide suitable services for different tourists and offer reference for the ecotourism developmental planning of the Xiaoxiangling area of the Giant Panda National Park.

Expanding records of occurrence of the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) in The Bahamas and a call for sustainable tourism practices.

This report updates our understanding of whale shark occurrences in The Bahamas by drawing upon a variety of data sources. Our findings reveal previously unreported sighting locations, often associated with tourism activities, underscoring the pivotal role played by nontraditional data sources in addressing knowledge gaps. These revelations emphasize the ongoing necessity for monitoring efforts. Additionally, we have found cases that raise concerns related to unregulated human-shark interactions in the region, highlighting the pressing need for sustainable tourism practices within Bahamian waters.

Climate and biodiversity change constrain the flow of cultural ecosystem services to people: A case study modeling birding across Africa under future climate scenarios.

Global change is currently impacting ecosystems and their contributions to people (i.e. ecosystem services). These impacts have consequences for societies and human well-being, especially in Africa. Historically, efforts have focused on assessing global change from a social or biophysical perspective, treating them as separate entities. Yet, our understanding of impacts to social-ecological systems remains limited, particularly in the Global South, due to a lack of data, tools, and approaches accounting for social and ecological aspects of ecosystem services. This is especially relevant for cultural ecosystem services as they are less tangible. We use a simple indicator and important provider of a multitude of cultural ecosystem services, birding, to understand how climate, biodiversity, and land use change will impact cultural ecosystem services across Africa. We explore how emerging tools and data can overcome limitations in mapping and modeling cultural ecosystem services, particularly in analyzing human preferences and behavior at large spatiotemporal scales and in data-poor regions. Leveraging crowdsourced data from eBird and using machine learning techniques we map and model recreational birding to assess the underlying social-ecological relationships and the impact of future climate and environmental change. We show that bird species richness, protected areas, accessibility, and max temperature contribute most to birding suitability across the continent. Further, we show spatial shifts in the suitability of birding under three future climate scenarios (SSP126, 370, and 585). Models suggest climate and biodiversity change will increasingly constrain the flow of birding related cultural ecosystem services across Africa. This has implications for human-nature interactions, development of countries, management of protected areas, and overall human well-being in the future. More generally, we highlight opportunities for crowdsourced datasets and machine learning to integrate non-material ecosystem services in models and thus, enhance the understanding of future impacts to ecosystem services and human well-being.

Facilitators and hinderers for designing augmented reality for ecotourism SME's experiences: A service Design approach.

Designing Augmented Reality (AR) throughout service experiences remains under studied in several industries, despite the fact of growing consumer interest and use through different platforms and applications globally. Consequently, there is growing interest in understanding the what, the why and the how for designing AR applications in practice to boost ecotourism experiences, with the purpose of enhancing customer value creation and organizations differentiation. Consequently, the authors conducted an eleven-month practical theoretical study in 10 ecotourism SMEs purposefully recruited in Latin America, adopting service design as a main research framework. Using interviews, contextual analyses, buyer personas, observation, storytelling creation sessions, prototyping sessions and accompaniment sessions as research methods, researchers studied, (1) what were the key facilitators and hinderers for designing AR in practice at the SMEs ecotourism context following a service design lens and, (2) how the inherent principles of service design influence ecotourism SME's for the strategically adoption of AR in their service experiences. The study suggests key elements that can facilitate or hinder designing AR at ecotourism SME's Experiences in practice. Furthermore, the authors suggest a practical protocol for designing AR for ecotourism SMEs from the lens of service design (SD), User Experience (UX), and Augmented Reality (AR). Finally, the study also contributes to shade light on the marketing role and potential adoption of Augmented Reality (AR) in practice in SME's through a service design lens.

Let us take a walk to the sustainable tourism practices: a qualitative study through the lens of tourism experts.

The rising opportunities of sustainable tourism have brought many policies to control the exploitation of the environment and increase the reach of luxurious, safe, and authentic experiences to the different segments of tourists. This study seeks to prioritize the variables influencing the development of sustainable tourism and pinpoint key success factors that align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It adopts a tri-dimensional framework encompassing economic, social, and environmental aspects, further delineated into eleven sub-dimensions, to provide a quantitative evaluation of sustainable tourism. We conducted interviews with 26 tourism industry experts hailing from eight countries, analyzing their responses using interval type-2 fuzzy sets. The results underscore the critical role of specific components in advancing sustainable tourism. In the economic dimension, "financial resources and tourism costs" emerge as vital factors. In the social dimension, "health and safety" takes center stage, while "green infrastructure" plays a pivotal role in the environmental dimension. These findings underscore the significance of these aspects in promoting sustainable tourism. Furthermore, this study explores the strategic importance of sustainable tourism equity in shaping tourism planning and development for emerging markets.

Revisiting dynamic linkages among ecological sustainability, tourism, and climate change in China.

The research intends to inquire into the dynamic connections between ecological sustainability, tourism, and climate change. This novel approach aims to investigate the interdependencies among these three important variables. This research aims to examine tourism's effects on environmental sustainability in the face of global warming. We use a large dataset that comprises measures of tourist success, measurements of environmental sustainability, and climate change factors. Applying empirical estimation techniques allows a more detailed look at the data by accounting for variation across quantiles. The results of this study will aid in expanding our knowledge of the relationships among ecological sustainability, tourism, and climate change. To better understand the influence of tourism on ecological sustainability, it is helpful to quantify the interactions at various quantiles. Policymakers, stakeholders in the tourist sector, and environmental groups will find this information essential as they work to establish focused measures to encourage environmentally responsible travel and lessen the impact of climate change. This investigation also provides policy implications by shedding light on the interplay of tourist growth, ecological sustainability, and climate change reduction and offers research-based research solutions for achieving this delicate balancing action.

Assessing the sustainability of the homestay industry for the East Coast of Malaysia using the Delphi approach.

Homestay ecotourism in Malaysia has been extensively examined in terms of its concepts, approaches, activities, and community engagement. However, a comprehensive assessment of the sustainability factors pertaining to host families remains a critical area awaiting exploration. This is paramount for ensuring the long-term viability of homestays and fostering economic benefits within rural communities. The present study seeks to establish direct subjective measurements for evaluating the interplay between local communities, tourism, and resources in safeguarding sustainable homestays. Utilizing the Delphi approach, this research conducted interviews with 51 experts who were actively involved in six homestays located on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The objective was to identify key evaluation indicators pertinent to the homestay industry. The findings underscored the pivotal roles played by community resources and tourism in the sustainability of homestays. Additionally, environmental, economic, and social factors emerged as crucial components for maintaining the industry's sustainability. This innovative assessment methodology offers a valuable instrument for enhancing the sustainability of the homestay sector, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. By embracing this approach, homestay operators can fortify their sustainable management practices and prepare themselves for future pandemics. This study represents a significant contribution to the field of homestay ecotourism, emphasizing the imperative for continued research in this dynamic domain.

Fear of the human "super predator" pervades the South African savanna.

Lions have long been perceived as Africa's, if not the world's, most fearsome terrestrial predator,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 the "king of beasts". Wildlife's fear of humans may, however, be far more powerful and all-prevailing1,10 as recent global surveys show that humans kill prey at much higher rates than other predators,10,11,12 due partly to technologies such as hunting with dogs or guns.11,13,14,15 We comprehensively experimentally tested whether wildlife's fear of humans exceeds even that of lions, by quantifying fear responses1 in the majority of carnivore and ungulate species (n = 19) inhabiting South Africa`s Greater Kruger National Park (GKNP),9,15,16,17 using automated camera-speaker systems9,18 at waterholes during the dry season that broadcast playbacks of humans, lions, hunting sounds (dogs, gunshots) or non-predator controls (birds).9,19,20,21,22 Fear of humans significantly exceeded that of lions throughout the savanna mammal community. As a whole (n = 4,238 independent trials), wildlife were twice as likely to run (p < 0.001) and abandoned waterholes in 40% faster time (p < 0.001) in response to humans than to lions (or hunting sounds). Fully 95% of species ran more from humans than lions (significantly in giraffes, leopards, hyenas, zebras, kudu, warthog, and impala) or abandoned waterholes faster (significantly in rhinoceroses and elephants). Our results greatly strengthen the growing experimental evidence that wildlife worldwide fear the human "super predator" far more than other predators,1,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28 and the very substantial fear of humans demonstrated can be expected to cause considerable ecological impacts,1,6,22,23,24,29,30,31,32,33,34,35 presenting challenges for tourism-dependent conservation,1,36,37 particularly in Africa,38,39 while providing new opportunities to protect some species.1,22,40.

Do clean energy technologies, ecotourism, health policy, and green education help in achieving sustainability in China?

Sustainable development has become the foremost requirement for sustainable economic conditions all around the globe, and this aspect demands new literature and regulators' emphasis. Hence, the present research investigates the impact of clean energy technologies, human development, health policies, green education, and ecotourism policy on sustainable development in China from 1991 to 2021. The researchers investigate the association among the variables using dynamic autoregressive distributed lag (DARDL). The outcomes revealed that clean energy technologies, human development, health policies, green education, and ecotourism policy have positive linkages with sustainable development in China. The article provides guidelines to the policymakers in developing policies related to attain sustainable development using effective clean energy technologies, human development, health policies, green education, and ecotourism policy.

Effects of Tourist and Researcher Presence on Fecal Glucocorticoid Metabolite Levels in Wild, Habituated Sulawesi Crested Macaques (Macaca nigra).

Ecotourism managers and researchers often assume that apparently habituated primate groups no longer experience adverse consequences of prolonged exposure to tourists or researchers. We examined the effects of tourists and researchers on fecal glucocorticoid metabolite output (FGCM) in three critically endangered, wild crested macaque (Macaca nigra) groups in Tangkoko Nature Reserve, Sulawesi, Indonesia. We assayed FGCM from 456 fecal samples collected from thirty-three adults. Tourists can walk through and among macaque groups freely. Hence, we examined the possible effects of tourists both (1) in the reserve when away and not interacting with the study groups and (2) when they were present within the macaque groups. Generalized Linear Mixed Model (GLMM) analysis indicated that when tourists were present in the forest, but not directly among the macaques, FGCM levels in the macaque tourism groups were higher in months with more tourists. When tourists were among the macaque groups, some female macaques experienced rises and subsequent postexposure decreases in FGCM levels, consistent with predictions for acute stress. Male FGCM levels increased with tourist numbers within the group. Nevertheless, they were not significantly different from levels during undisturbed or postexposure conditions. FGCM responses related to researchers in groups varied by group, sex, and tourist presence. However, the temporal patterning of FGCM responses showed little evidence of chronic stress from tourism at this site.

GIS-based ecotourism potentiality mapping in the East Hararghe Zone, Ethiopia.

The East Hararghe Zone (EHZ) is one of the eastern Ethiopian zones most endowed with diverse landscapes and abundant resources to promote and use for ecotourism development. Potential ecotourism sites have, however, hardly ever been explored so far. The objective of this study was to model and identify potential ecotourism sites by combining Geographic Information System (GIS)-based Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) methods. Six criteria, including landscape and naturalness, wildlife, topography, accessibility, geology, and climate, were established based on experts' preferences and literature, and the thematic factors for suitability modeling were derived from freely accessible satellite imagery and existing geospatial data and combined using a weighted linear combination (WLC) method. The results reveal that about 26.19% were highly suitable, 35.34% were moderately suitable, 25.28% were marginally suitable, and 13.17% were not suitable. Most areas with high to marginal suitability were found in the southeast, southwest, and uplands in the northern part, while the southernmost extent had the highest proportion of areas unsuitable for ecotourism development. The area under the curve (AUC) assessment has verified the model's performance, resulting in an overall AUC of 74.96%. This suggests that a model-driven map is a reliable spatial support tool for sustainable ecotourism development in areas with diverse landscapes and resources.

Heterogeneous attitudes and behaviors in relation to participation in the ecotourism: Do customer segments play a role?

The potential of ecotourism is expanding year on year. Given the broad nature of the tourism market, it is necessary to identify smaller groups of individuals that have common traits. This study aims to explore if there are any segments of ecotourist based on attitude and behavior towards ecotourism, profiles the segments according to their sociodemographic characteristics, and analyzes the extent to which they differ by country of origin. The study used a sample of 809 ecotourists from Spain and Chile, while latent class cluster analysis was employed as the segmentation method. The ecotourists were divided into three segments (Basic ecotourists-ecotourists of thought-, Average ecotourists, and Conscientious and active ecotourists) and the bias-adjusted three-step methodology was used to examine the differences in the country of origin. In sum, the largest portion of tourists falls into the category of the average ecotourist segment, which lies between the two aforementioned segments and exhibits moderate attitudes and intentions to engage in ecotourism and pay a premium for it. This segment is more prevalent in Spain compared to Chile. This research adds to the body of knowledge on the marketing of ecotourism behavior by modeling the heterogeneity in the ecotourists' attitudes and behaviors. This study suggests that ecotourism organizations, whether they are accommodation providers, tourism operators, or companies that organize activities in nature, should be aware of the unique qualities of their customers, as well as their preferences, in order to create successful marketing strategies.

Study on the influence path of public participation in marine ecotourism under the perspective of conspicuous consumption - Analysis of fsQCA based on VBN theory.

Marine ecological tourism has become a popular topic in recent years, and the public's conspicuous consumption behavior is also a hot topic studied by many scholars. How to explore and stimulate the public's conspicuous consumption behavior in marine ecological tourism is an important issue that we need to address. Based on the "value-belief-norm" (VBN) theory and using the fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) method, this article analyzes 462 valid samples collected through a questionnaire to explore whether the combination of VBN theory's conditional elements affects the public's conspicuous consumption behavior in marine ecological tourism. The study found that the path of public conspicuous consumption behavior has the characteristics of "different paths leading to the same destination," that is, the combination of conditional elements from different dimensions can stimulate the goal of public conspicuous consumption behavior, and a single-dimensional conditional element is not a necessary condition to increase public conspicuous consumption behavior. Environmental values, such as biosphere values and altruistic values, significantly affect the public's conspicuous consumption behavior.

Use of Microbiological and Chemical Data to Evaluate the Effects of Tourism on Water Quality in Karstic Cenotes in Yucatan, Mexico.

Cenotes are spectacular karst formations in Yucatan, Mexico, often used for recreation. However, their impact on water quality has yet to be explored in detail. Therefore, during Easter, water samples were collected from four cenotes to identify variations in water quality associated with the presence of tourists. PCO of water quality, before (PH) and during Holy Week (HW) in 2019, explained 49.02% of the total variation. The indicators contributing to the first principal coordinate's variation were Sr, K, sulfate, and chloride (0.89). Whereas, alkalinity, temperature, conductivity, nitrate, and ORP contributed to the second PC. PERMANOVA indicated a significant interaction between "cenote" and "condition" factors, and post hoc paired comparisons indicated significant differences between PH and HW conditions. Significant correlations varied among the four cenotes as the result of hydrogeological differences. Whereas, numbers of visitors were correlated with at least one fecal-matter indicator, demonstrating anthropogenic influence on the cenotes' water quality.

COVID-19's Impact on the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance: Challenging Times and Resilience from Its Members.

The worldwide pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 challenged conservation organizations. The lack of tourism has benefited or negatively affected wildlife organizations in various ways, with several primate sanctuaries struggling to cope with the COVID-19 crisis and to keep providing for their inhabitants. In addition, the genetic similarity between great apes and humans puts them at higher risk than any other species for the transmission of COVID-19. PASA is a non-profit organization comprising 23 sanctuaries, and cares for many species of primate, including African great apes. In light of the pandemic, we aimed to understand the direct effects of COVID-19 on PASA management throughout three time periods: before (2018-2019), at the start of (2019-2020), and during (2020-2021) the pandemic. We collected data via annual surveys for PASA members and ran Generalized Linear Mixed Models to highlight any significant differences in their management that could be linked to COVID-19. Our findings demonstrated no particular impact on the number of primates rescued, employees, or expenses. However, revenues have been decreasing post-COVID-19 due to the lack of income from tourism and volunteer programs. Nonetheless, our results reveal a form of resilience regarding the sanctuaries and the strategy applied to maintain their management. Consequently, we emphasize the specific impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak and its repercussions for conservation work. We discuss the difficulties that sanctuaries have faced throughout the crisis and present the best measures to prevent future outbreaks and protect biodiversity.

Towards sustainable community-based ecotourism: A qualitative content analysis.

Community-based ecotourism (CBET) provides benefits to society members, especially concerning to the environment, by giving them the opportunity to influence and participate in the development of tourism. Lorestan province in the west of Iran is influenced by this phenomenon by having specific CBET opportunities in different economic, social, environmental and physical dimensions. The purpose of this study was to develop a sustainable community-based ecotourism (SCBET) model using the qualitative content analysis (with a deductive method in the form of the Hartmut model). The documents used included a systematic study of 45 international articles, 12 local articles, 2 books and in-depth interviews with 11 local experts. The results showed that the crystallization of CBET can be formed in the form of a four-component model (including planning, implementation, evaluation and situation analysis). In this model, four stages of the process of implementing community-based tourism (CBT) have been presented, in all of which the participation of researchers, ecotourists, policymakers and local people have been of great importance. Finally, the extracted categories for CBET sustainability were matched with the standards of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) (including sustainable management, cultural sustainability, socio-economic sustainability and environmental sustainability) and the final SCBET model was presented. This model can be useful for policy makers for decision-making and planning in the SCBET field.

Effect of Climate Change Belief and the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) on Eco-Tourism Attitudes of Tourists: Moderator Role of Green Self-Identity.

This research has been conducted to determine the effect of tourists' beliefs of climate change on the NEP and ecotourism attitudes. In addition to this purpose, the moderator role of green self-identity in the effect of the NEP on ecological attitudes has also been examined. The research data were obtained from the tourists visiting the Alanya destination, which is one of the centers that attract the most tourists in Turkey. When the results of the research were examined, it could be determined that the belief in climate change is effective on all dimensions of the NEP, and similarly, all dimensions of the NEP have also affected the tourists' ecological attitude. Further, green self-identity has a moderator role in the effect of ecocentric and anthropocentric sub-dimensions on eco-tourism attitudes. As a consequence of the findings, a number of theoretical and practical implications have been developed for sector managers, destination management organizations, and academicians.

Willingness to participate in virtual reality technologies: Public adoption and policy perspectives for marine conservation.

Greater efforts are required to educate the public about marine conservation as the marine environment continues to deteriorate over time. A way to remotely travel during the pandemic is provided by virtual reality technologies in marine ecotourism. In order to present a theoretical framework that explains consumers' propensity to participate in virtual reality technology, this study draws on the theories of perceived risk, trust, and attitude. An online survey with 451 respondents was administered in Singapore and structural equation modeling was applied to analyze the data. The results reflect that perceived health risk, perceived financial risk, perceived social risk, and perceived performance risk, mediated by trust and attitude, have a significant influence on consumers' willingness to participate in virtual reality technologies in marine ecotourism. After analyzing their total effects, trust was found to have the highest effect on willingness to participate, followed by attitude, perceived social risk, perceived financial risk, perceived health risk, and perceived performance risk. Overall, the present research offers new perspectives on comprehending the drivers of willingness to participate, as well as implicating policies to raise public awareness of marine conservation, as well as to raise more money to support marine conservation initiatives.

Ecotourism and sustainable development: a scientometric review of global research trends.

With the increasing attention and awareness of the ecological environment, ecotourism is becoming ever more popular, but it still brings problems and challenges to the sustainable development of the environment. To solve such challenges, it is necessary to review literature in the field of ecotourism and determine the key research issues and future research directions. This paper uses scientometrics implemented by CiteSpace to conduct an in-depth systematic review of research and development in the field of ecotourism. Two bibliographic datasets were obtained from the Web of Science, including a core dataset and an expanded dataset, containing articles published between 2003 and 2021. Our research shows that ecotourism has been developing rapidly in recent years. The research field of ecotourism spans many disciplines and is a comprehensive interdisciplinary subject. According to the research results, the evolution of ecotourism can be roughly divided into three phases: human disturbance, ecosystem services and sustainable development. It could be concluded that it has entered the third stage of Shneider's four-stage theory of scientific discipline. The research not only identifies the main clusters and their advance in ecotourism research based on high impact citations and research frontier formed by citations, but also presents readers with new insights through intuitive visual images. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10668-022-02190-0.