Eagles, Paul F. J.

Many Parties to the CBD underutilise tourism as a means to contribute towards the financial sustainability of protected areas. The development of the present guidelines on tourism partnerships and concessions for protected areas is a response to this under-utilized potential and to recent decisions of the CBD on tourism.

Visitors to parks and protected areas impact at many levels: political, economic, social and ecological. To ensure effective park management for increasing visitor numbers, good quality global data on visitor use is necessary. This manual describes terms, approaches and techniques for gathering information about public use of parks and protected areas.

This publication provides a collection of material useful to planners and managers of parks and protected areas in East Asia. It has been designed to help them think about the influx of tourism to natural protected areas, and to urge them to consciously plan for management of the interactions of tourists and the natural and cultural environment. General suggestions have been made that each jurisdiction and park can use when developing their own approaches to policy development, funding, implementation and management.

This publication provides a collection of material useful to planners and managers of parks and protected areas in East Asia. It has been designed to help them think about the influx of tourism to natural protected areas, and to urge them to consciously plan for management of the interactions of tourists and the natural and cultural environment. General suggestions have been made that each jurisdiction and park can use when developing their own approaches to policy development, funding, implementation and management.

The link between protected areas and tourism is as old as the history of protected areas. Though the relationship is complex and sometimes adversarial, tourism is always a critical component to consider in the establishment and management of protected areas. These guidelines aim to build an understanding of protected area tourism, and its management. They provide both a theoretical structure and practical guidelines for managers. The underlying aim is to ensure that tourism contributes to the purposes of protected areas and does not undermine them.

The link between protected areas and tourism is as old as the history of protected areas. Though the relationship is complex and sometimes adversarial, tourism is always a critical component to consider in the establishment and management of protected areas. These guidelines aim to build an understanding of protected area tourism, and its management. They provide both a theoretical structure and practical guidelines for managers. The underlying aim is to ensure that tourism contributes to the purposes of protected areas and does not undermine them.