This study firstly reviews the definition and significance of ecotourism.
It also investigates the significance of the community based ecotourism by
considering the emergence of the community-centered development strategy.
It further looks into the role, significance, and problem of tourism players in the
process of implementation of community based ecotourism based on the
experience of ecotourism in the northern peninsular of Yucatan in Mexico.
The concept of ecotourism was suggested from the development process of
Yucatan peninsular in Mexico in 1980s. It is argued that the ecotourism can
satisfy the two goals of the creation of social and economic revenues for the
community and the natural environment preservation. The ecotourism is
focused on natural regions and customer’s satisfaction. It also centers on
education, environment preservation, and cultural respect. The significance of
ecotourism includes responsible tourism for the tourists and regional resident’s
participation to tourism in the perspective of economy, environment and
society.
The wild creature management led by government was failed and new and
innovative preservation policy was required. The policy was called as
community based natural resource management or community preservation
area. Such a policy assumes that providing the benefit for production
community is connected to the preservation. In the effect of neoliberalism, most
developing countries experienced retreat of government role and regional
communities realized the responsibility for restoration of local life environment. Thus, the community based ecotourism was emerged as an alternative of
existing models.
The programs of ecotourism of northern Yucatan in Mexico include Pac-chen
village for original residents, historic sites of Mayan culture, and tropical forest
as tourism attraction. The practical implementing subjects of that program were
tourism company, guides, and participant residents for supporting tourists. The
tourists were foreigners from developed countries.