Ecotourism, an emergent aspect of tourism, is considered one of the fastest growing industries in the world. According to the Economic Commission for Africa (2011), ecotourism is a panacea for promoting environmental conservation, socio-economic development and improving the living conditions of local people as well as sustaining their culture and traditions. This book discusses new research on the management, opportunities and challenges of ecotourism and sustainable tourism.

Offering an overview of worldwide ecotourism, showing how both the concept and the reality have evolved, this book examines the growth of ecotourism within the Galapagos Islands, Costa Rica, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Kenya and South Africa, their political systems and their economic policies.

Published in association with the Royal Geographical Society.

This book offers conceptual and practical insights into the complex interactions between ecotourism and the natural environment, with consideration given to government policy, marketing by suppliers, consumer behaviour and visitor/environmental management. Illustrated by international case studies the roles of and interplay between tour operators, their clients, resource managers and local communities are examined. This creates a comprehensive and insightful overview of the factors that work for and against the achievement of environmental sustainability in and through ecotourism. The result is a critical examination of ecotourism and environmental sustainability that highlights ideas for best practice and proposes new directions for future research

Exploring the importance of destination branding and destination marketing as well as their implications on sustainability in tourism, this book approaches the topic through the lens of destination image, taking into account the large influence of appearance on tourist attraction. With consideration to various stakeholders in sustainable tourism development, this book incorporates ideas for new techniques in destination branding and marketing in order to maximize economic impact. The book also discusses the rising influence of social media on tourists’ interest. Emphasizing sustainability in tourism development, the chapters address a number of important issues, such as post-disaster tourism marketing, culture and heritage tourism, eco-tourism, community-based nature tourism, community involvement in destination development, benchmarking for destination performance evaluation, sustainable food practices in tourism, and more. Each chapter of this book incorporates a quantifiable trend in tourism development, including various paradigms and studies that relay different statistics about certain areas of tourism. The book makes use of case studies for specific destinations and integrates strategies, evidence, and analyses to offer a holistic understanding of the myriad factors involved in sustainable tourism development.

Drawing on case studies from Pacific Islands, Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia, this book examines ecotourism enterprises controlled by indigenous people in tribal reserves or protected areas. It compares indigenous ecotourism in developed and developing counties and covers cultural ecotours, ecolodges, and bungalows, hunting and fishing tours, cultural attractions and other nature-based facilities or services.

Sustainable Tourism in the 21st Century provides students, professionals and policy makers with a global overview of the growth of the tourism industry, its impacts, supply chains, environmental management techniques, and research requirements. It provides input on how policy makers should approach the tourism industry in future in the fields of environment, business, governmental policy, and sustainable development.