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cotourism development can serve to catalyze the creation of sustainable
economic opportunities for coastal community residents who are dependent
on fishing. It can also encourage sustainable planning and best practices
by multiple stakeholders in the economic management and operation of coastal
areas. These are just two of several promising results from efforts by
the Coastal Resource Management
Project-Philippines (CRMP) to use ecotourism as a tool for coastal
resource management (CRM).
CRMP has implemented three ecotourism strategies in selected areas in
Cebu and Bohol. These are:
- Modeling of sustainable and community-based ecotourism enterprises
in strategic communities to develop local management capabilities and
generate economic incentives for conservation.
- Multiple stakeholder mobilization in sustainable planning and management
of ecotourism destination and operations. This is done in conjunction
with overall integrated coastal management planning and implementation
in the coastal area.
- Developing leadership in ecotourism best practices in terms of environmental
planning and management, community benefit and empowerment, and economic
growth and market competitiveness.
The Olango experience
In Olango,
a community ecotourism enterprise venture was developed and located in
one of the strategic gateway communities to the Olango
Island Wildlife Sanctuary. The village of Suba at the southeastern
tip of the Olango mainland was chosen over three other villages because
of its attractive and strategic location, accessibility from Mactan, community
need for income-generating options, and readiness for coastal management
work-up.
Community involvement in ecotourism development can help save the habitat
of this endangered Chinese egret.
The project model shows that ecotourism could catalyze community awareness
and cooperation in protected area conservation, best practices in coastal
resource use, community business ownership, benefit and tour management
capability.
Community members find not only
a new source of livelihood but a deeper appreciation of their island's
natural attractions and the need to protect the environment.
The initial success of the project has triggered closer coordination
with and support from the tourism industry. Key institutional partners
where the local government unit of Lapu-lapu City, the Department
of Environment and Natural Resources-Region 7 (DENR-7), Department
of Tourism-Region 7 (DOT-7), Cebu Association of Tour Operators, and
a non-governmental organization. Partnership with the Protected Areas
Management Board (PAMB) will soon be initiated.
A planning process has been initiated for ecological destination development
and management for Olango Island. The planning would be integrated into
the comprehensive management of the Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary,
sustainable land use and development activities in adjacent land areas,
and integrated coastal management in the coastal zone. It is being undertaken
by CRMP with DENR-7 and the government of Lapu-lapu City.
Community-based enterprise development has also started at Gilutongan,
one of several islets around Olango. Ecotourism planning will be stepped
up to manage tourism use of the Gilutongan Marine Sanctuary and raise
public revenue for its management. CRMP's lead partners in this undertaking
are the municipal government of Cordova and community associations on
Gilutongan Island.
The Bohol model
In Bohol, a riverside village in Cambuhat, Buenavista was selected to
serve as a model of a community venture in a non-protected area. The enterprise/ecotourism
strategy proved to be an effective entry strategy to win the interest
and support of the local government and the community in adopting CRM.
This buri weaver given a primary role
in upland resource management,
and the oyster farmer is designated steward of coastal resources.
Key to this model was the leadership of women in the economic venture.
The women were given primary roles in the management of upland resources.
To complete the ecotourism experience, the men were designated to supply
tourism products and services from the coastal area, as well as stewardship
to the coastal resources. As they began to experience economic benefits
and collective pride in their joint economic ventures, the community was
effectively united, organized and mobilized to actively manage their resources.
Ecotourism destination planning and resource management for the Daet-Cambuhat
River, estuarine and mangrove areas are being considered to consolidate
the initial gains in ecotourism in Cambuhat. This will be implemented
in cooperation with the municipal government of Buenavista, the village
government and community associations in Cambuhat, a corporate foundation,
and the provincial association of travel and tour operators.
Initial project gains
The ecotourism project was started in 1998. Since then, it has chalked
up a number of major accomplishments, and generated important benefits
for the various stakeholders involved. It has also served as a "study
tour" destination, providing a learning model for other products
and areas.
Other accomplishments include:
- Communities were organized and highly motivated to develop and manage
their business and natural resources.
- Initial business operations earned additional incomes and profits
for participating individuals, households and community organizations.
- Substantial amounts were contributed to protected areas in the form
of entrance and user fees.
- Interest was generated in the tourism market, generating increased
sales and patronage for community ecotourism products.
- Strong local government and national government support were secured.
This came in the form of policy enactment, human and financial resource
augmentation, and visible project leadership. The models created an
impact on other local governments within and outside the two provinces,
motivating them to implement similar initiatives in their localities.
- The tourism industry has come to regard CRMP highly and helped promote
its ecotourism products. Its recognition of the project as a key player
in and authority on ecotourism opened for CRMP a wider arena for promoting
CRM best practices in the tourism industry and encouraging collaboration
between industry players, local resoruce managers, and communties. As
a result, environmental management propositions and community-based
approaches to ecotourism development have become more acceptable.
- Quality and highly marketable ecotour products were developed and
earned a good reputation in both local and international ecotourism
markets.
- A non-traditional market for ecotour products emerged through word-of-mouth
endorsements by visitors. The "study market" consisted of
visitors from government offices, development agencies, schools, diplomatic
community, scientific community, and others, who were on the lookout
for model projects to learn from or support. This time of market expanded
the opportunities for promoting CRM and ecotourism to other areas and
sectors.
A study group from Sri Lanka learn
about coastal resource
management and local culture.
Key insights in developing ecotourism
for community development and CRM
The following processes were found to be important in developing ecotourism
to achieve conservation and community development goals:
Product
development (Related story)
- Determine if ecotourism is viable in your area.
- Get started by developing a product. Always remember four things:
- Product development is often initiated or facilitated by a technologist
to demonstrate to the community how it is done.
Olango Island offers a contrast
to Metro Cebu's busy,
citified lifestyle
- Differentiate your ecotourism product from the rest. Look at
potential attractions in your area and focus on their uniqueness
(Olango: migratory birds, seascape; Cambuhat: oyster farms, picturesque
river and village). Look for things that could make people want
to stay or come back to the area (Olango: tranquil coast, village
culture, people's warmth; Cambuhat: diversity of people's occupation,
activities along the river and upland, people's character). Paying
attention to your visitors' comfort, safety and enjoyment in getting
there adds great value to your product (Olango: cruising the southern
seas in a private boat; Cambuhat: river cruise in small paddle boats).
Weave story around events and things as they happen or appear and
provide interesting information to heighten the quality of the experience
(Olango: tide controls the rhythm of all life in the coast; Cambuhat:
the river mirrors the changes that happen in the village people's
lives). Combine scenes, things, events, stories and services to
come up with an exciting, innovative, and substantive tour experience
(Olango: seascape tour, snorkeling, wetlands trek, bird viewing,
coastal village demonstrations and interaction, scientific knowledge,
canoe ride, good food; Cambuhat: river paddling, all-oyster experience,
buri crafts, resource management, seafood lunch by the river).
- Invite the industry to test your product and recommend improvements.
- Substantiate claims to ecotourism standards in terms of conservation
value and community benefit. An ecotourism venture undertaken together
with conservation and resource management efforts differentiates
and sustains an ecotourism product, but it is a good ecotourism
product owned and operated by the community whose culture is featured
that stands above the rest.
Community venture development
- Communities learn to understand what ecotourism is all about by playing
roles in a tour product. Although the product technologist initiates
the packaging of a product, communities could participate by providing
valuable information on resources, and then adding or innovating on
the product later as they become more familiar with the process. When
communites grasp the process and overcome their inhibitions, their creativity
springs forward and the resulting tour experience is authentic, filled
with local color, dynamic and mutually inspiring to visitor and host
community.
For those involved in the ecotourism
venture, learning comes
from doing.
- Understanding the requirements and demands of owning and running an
ecotour venture comes with experiencing regular tour runs. Once the
community grasps what an ecotourism venture entails, decision-making
becomes more internalized and directed at more substantial matters.
- Uncertainties and conflicts will periodically arise as the community
steps up their efforts in running the venture, a sure sign of growth,
of increasing stakeholdership, of vigilance, and of participation. The
important thing is for the community to learn to welcome disagreements,
prioritize concerns, and work for common solutions.
- Building community capability in ecotourism management involves formulating
practical systems, teaching the community how the systems work, and
guiding them in implementing and modifying these systems through constant
practice.
- Many forms of business organizations can work for a community-based
tour venture. These include joint venture arrangement between the community
and marketing group (clear contractual obligations set); venture shareholding
among select households; and community cooperative. Choose the arrangement
most suitable to the situation in the community and the market.
- To get accreditation and be legally recognized, communities may apply
for the usual business permits from the municipal or city local government
in their area of operation. There are no guidelines for DOT accreditation
of community tourism ventures, but, as in the case of Boracay, the tourism
agency may accredit community operations if it is so warranted.
Interpretation
-
A key element of a successful product is good interpretation. A
well-thought-out theme, interesting information and well-crafted delivery
are important ingredients. Find out interesting information about
the place from local residents, professionals who work in the area,
and available literature. Integrate into your tour the sharing of
these stories and information with visitors. Relate specific experiences
to the main theme of the tour, so visitors can better appreciate what
they learn.
A key element of a successful product
is good interpretation - Homer Gonzales, Olango's naturalist guide/interpreter,
shows how.
-
In Olango, an articulate naturalist guide who has done biological
work on the bird life and mangroves in the Sanctuary is employed by
the community to do the natural interpretation. The interpretation
of village culture, however, is performed by the community. The community
will be trained to gradually take on more interpretation roles now
being done by the naturalist guide. Also, a bigger pool of freelance
guides and part-time tour interpreters from local schools, a science
university, the DENR, and tour agencies are being trained and tapped
to provide interpretation services to the ecotour.
- In Cambuhat, the task of interpreting the tour is divided among the
different members of the community who can articulate I the local or
national language the tour sub-themes. For domestic tourists, the current
system would suffice, but as more foreign market segments are being
developed, there is a need to identify and train English-speaking guides.
Destination development in protected areas
- Community ecotourism may be linked to conservation by the following:
- Allowing communities to have managed access to protected area
resources for their ecotourism operation
- Contributing part of community ecotourism revenue an environmental
management fund through entrance fees and concessionaire fees for
exclusive tour operators
- Making the community accountable for managing ecotourism impacts
- Requiring the community to participate in protected area management
activities such as patrols, resource monitoring and reporting threat
activities.
-
Because the ecotourism venture is greatly dependent on the maintenance
of the wildlife sanctuary in the case of Olango, it has become clear
to the community that they would need to actively participate in protection
and conservation activities.
-
Protected area authorities may grant exclusive contracts to organized
community ventures to protect their economic viability from undue
competition, limit visitor access to carrying capacity levels, effect
monitoring and control of open access points.
-
Because ecotourism development connotes economic opportunities,
multi-faceted development activities, creative and inter-disciplinary
collaboration, interactive engagement with diverse nationalities,
among others, it has become an attractive proposition to many protected
area or resource managers. Where most appropriate, therefore, ecotourism
should be tapped as an entry point for activating management bodies
to carefully plan and implement more comprehensive and effective management
strategies to natural environments.
- In Olango, CRMP is building on the interest generated by the community
ecotour project to influence comprehensive planning for effective management
of the Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary, starting with the DENR, the
PAMB and the Lapu-lapu City government.
Marketing
-
Know the travel needs and product demands of the market nearest
your area to start with. Develop a product that satisfies those needs
and demands. Then, you can build on what you have already started
to include other markets farther away from your area.
-
Position your product to reach target market segments through promotions,
appropriate marketing channels, pricing and product differentiation.
Offer test runs to different types of tourists and their marketing
channels to assess the suitability of your product to each market
type and their willingness to pay.
-
It would be practical for ecotourism ventures to tap existing markets
first, especially the domestic market, when starting up operations.
As the community's confidence and skills in tour management increase,
the venture managers can move to handling more sensitive and high-end
clients.
-
Your best marketer is a satisfied customer. The same customer who
is very happy with your tour is your best promoter. Treat tour participants
as you would your personal guests. Anticipate cultural differences
and be prepared to deal with them. Remember you are not selling an
attraction. You are selling an experience.
Cooking the local way is packaged
as
an experience to remember.
- Cebu is a major tourist destination in the Philippines. It has tourism
infrastructures that meet international standards, from an international
airport to five-star hotels and resorts. But it suffers from a lack
of new and exciting day tour activities and sub-destinations to make
the stay of tourists more satisfying. The Olango Tour was initially
conceived to answer the need for more exciting day tour activities for
guests staying at the hotels and resorts on Mactan Island. Its package
of activities - a tour of the Olango Island Bird Sanctuary that incorporates
experiencing the glorious waters, scenic seascape, vast natural surroundings,
the minimalist and tranquil beauty of wildlife, and diverse but simple
coastal village culture on Olango Island - provides a striking contrast
to the tourist experience offered by bustling, urbanized Metro Cebu
and the high-class amenities of Mactan resorts.
Stakeholder development and management
-
Identify key tourism and resource stakeholders in your area and
establish good relations with them.
-
Know the various stakeholders' sectoral interests and competencies
and analyze the potentials and constraints of working with them in
relation to your project goals.
-
Discuss and position your project with each stakeholder, stressing
the potential area for cooperation and collaboration. Take note of
the best timing for their involvement. Their involvement will vary,
and some may opt not to participate. The important thing is to establish
goodwill and remain open to future participation.
- Stakeholders are generally categorized into different sectors. These
include the tourism industry (private companies, industry associations,
industry practitioners, tourists); government (local government units,
national government agencies, special management bodies, development
councils); non-governmental organizations (social development groups,
development agencies, civic organizations); and communities (resident
households, resident associations,, landowners in the rural sector).
Ecotourism development and local governance
-
Under the Local Government Code, the mandate and authority to formulate,
approve and implement local development and most natural resource
management plans and activities lie with local government units at
the provincial and municipal levels.
-
Although the accreditation of tourism operations is performed by
DOT, and the supervision over the management of national protected
areas and certain environments remain with the DENR, the local government
units play a major role in influencing the course of local development
that affect our environments and communities. Concretely, local governments
have management mandates over municipal waters, which extend to 15
km from the shoreline. They formulate and allocate budgets for overall
and specific development and investment plans. They provide business
and building permits. And they legislate ordinances and enforce them
to regulate activities in their localities.
-
Management problems related to tourism development in a given region
and locality may be greatly mitigated if local government units were
affected by efforts to rationalize economic development and tourism
development plans, projects and activities according to sound environmental
management standards and practices and community development principles.
- Ecotourism provides a sustainable economic development model that
is appropriate to the resource management requirements and economic
capacities of most municipalities. Because of this, local government
units are naturally receptive to propositions for collaboration. A major
prerequisite for pursuing such collaboration is the availability of
technical assistance for planning and implementation. Caution must be
exercised so as not to raise undue expectation that ecotourism can be
launched in every municipality that welcomes it. Initiatives must be
guided by correct and adequate information about current trends and
projections for the tourism market affecting the country, region or
locality.
Strengthening ecotourism development to benefit conservation
and community development
The following are recommended:
- Optimize strategic impact of model projects.
- Build local capability in ecotourism development and management.
- Provide adequate guidelines to development planners, investors, local
executives, industry players on sustainable planning and management
of ecotourism.
- Implement regional and local ecotourism planning, regional and local
sustainable tourism planning and management, guidelines for industry
best practices, sustainable alternative technologies, trainors training
for ecotourism facilitators and technologists, and a network of national
and regional ecotourism practitioners.
Some important lessons
- Define your project goals.
- Analyze the potentials and consider the limitations of ecotourism
in achieving your goals.
- In planning your ecotourism project, be sure to integrate other important
environmental management and community development interventions.
- Position your ecotourism project well in relation to the resource
area you would like to affect. Aim to achieve the widest impact where
the chances for success are best.
- Develop a good product right away. Differentiate your product well
from the rest, and have a clear and strong vision for the business.
- Test run your product at the first opportunity and continue to assess
and modify it with every run so that it is refined to the needs of the
market and the requirements of the area management.
- Motivate your community. Build in them a strong sense of ownership
for and pride in the venture. Position them to undertake as much responsibility
as they can perform in the operation and management of the tour venture,
at the soonest time possible. Provide as many experiences as they need
to learn and practice concepts, systems and skills.
There is no better steward of the
environment
than the stakeholder himself.
- Involve key stakeholders from the start. Provide them roles that
fit their mandates, skills, and interests. Promote cooperation between
communities and stakeholders, and encourage sharing of resources.
- When facilitating an ecotourism venture project, know well the strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the area's resources and tourism
market to ascertain the feasibility and potential impacts of any planned
ecotourism development. Be prepared for multi-faceted work on the ground.
Promote partnerships with various institutions. Even though it seems
you do most of the hard work, allow partners to take center stage, if
this will strengthen collaboration. Remember, the satisfaction lies
in seeing the cooperative process succeed.
- Focus your efforts on achieving project excellence. Excellence is
your best investment to achieving strategic strategic impact.
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