Ecotourism Product Development

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ECOTOURISM PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Ecotourism is explained in different ways by different scholars and researchers. It is travel to places that are protected and taken care of by the Government, company or an individual. (Björk, 2000 pg 190).It involves sustaining the environment around for financial gain to the project owner and also benefiting the communities around the area. AnEcotourismproject should fulfil the functions of conserving the environment and empowering the community around it both economically and politically.It is also a requirement of such a project that it respects the culture of the community around.

DifferentEcotourism projects have been created all over the world with different features determined by the geographical location of project as well as the environmental conditions around it. Mostprojects have embarked on nature walks to maintain a green environment which is a requirement by the UNEP( United Nations environmental programe).wild animal rearing is also a common trend in this project but will depend on the laws of the country where the project is situated. In Australia, the ECO certification board helps tourists to identify an eco-tourisim project that suits their desires and expectations . (Diamantis, 2004, p. 14). The body is the first of its kind all over the world and has set a good example.

Project description

Being a citizen of Australia, ecotourism is a good investment due to high numbers of local and international tourists. The vegetation of Australia is dived into six regions; the rain forests, lake regions, mountainous regions, wet tropics and the desert regions. My interest in on the Pinbararegion which is a large dry area that is thinly populated in the west region of Australia. The only ecotouristproject in this area is located in the beach leaving the rest of the area unexplored. The area hasbeautiful mountains and cliffs which make it beautiful although it is still a desert with little vegetation. It is lowly populated with an approximate population of 48610 people evenly distributed in the 502,000 km²area.

I would formulate an ecotourism project in this area that will contain three wings. Wing A will have a grown forest, wing B will be cultural centre while Wing C will be an animal centre with two sections.One section in it will hold animals with abnormal features while the other part will have a snake park. It will also include other support facilities that will be used to make the place more recreational such as swimming pools boat ridding experiences as well as accommodation facilities for those who will want to spend afew days in the area.

The forest will occupy an area of 15km² and being in the desert it will be an attractive site .The trees in the forest will be of different types both indigenous and non-indigenous .The forest will provide pathways for people who wish to have nature walks. There will also be vehicles roads that will cut through the forest so that those who wish to drive around can have the chance.

Australian traditional culture have been eroded by the currents trends and thus risking the traditions to becoming extinct. The cultural sector will demonstrate the lifestyles of the ancient communities including their mode of dressing and house construction. Traditional arts will also be displayed in this section and people with knowledge of Australian cultures will be in this section to answer question to the visiting tourists.

The animal centre will be dived into two;One section in it will hold the animals with abnormal features. This animals will be collected from all over the country and other parts of the world. This is a new idea and has not been done Australia. Due to genetic complications, animals are born with abnormal feature and in most cases they are killed or abandoned. With this section in place we will buy such animals from people and take care of them so that others can have a chance of seeing them too. This will be a very amazing section and will lure many visitors. The other of this wing will have a snake park. I will rare different species of snakes existing in Australia and also bring different unique species from other countries. Snakes are among the animals that are getting extinct and it will therefore be good idea rearing them.

Support and recreational facilities

All the three wings will beaccompanied by support facilities. Being located in the interior of a desert, most tourists will need to spend afew days at our facility. We will build executive rooms for their accommodation. We will also build a large swimming pool that will be very important since the temperature of the region ishigh. catering services will be offered and more specifically the traditional foods of the Australian communities. Indoor games will be accommodated anda free field for any other games that the visitors would wish to play will be provided. There will be a mini theatre room that will show videos of animals, tree and culture evolution and the history of the eco-tourist site.

Project running

The project will run at all seasons of the year since the services being offered are not likely to be affected by weather conditions.Persons with vast knowledge in trees knowledge will be employed tooffer explanation to the visitors on trees. An anthropologist will be employed so that information on culture will be given to the visitors. The animal sector will have a snake specialist whowill give information to the expected inquisitive visitors. At every cage of an animal or snake, general information will be written. A pamphlet with information of all the animals in the facility will be sold to the visitors and will contain detailed information of eachanimal. Botanical names of the trees will be hanged on each tree in the forest and around the facility.

The facility will aim at getting customers from all parts of the country and will not be selective on age income or sex as long as they can meet the charges. The site will be permanent and therefore the target market is wide so that a constant flow of customers is maintained. The facility gives chance to only soft tourists since no risky adventure is involved.

Benefits to the surrounding communities

It is the responsibility of every eco-tourist project to benefit the community around them(Scheyvens, 1999,p.246). All the casual workersin the project during its construction and development and during its normal running will be employed from the community around. The communities in this area are marginalized and unemployed and this opportunity will improve their living standards. The area is very dry and our facility will dedicate itself in providing water free of charge to the people living inthis area. In terms of environment improvement,we will conduct tree planting exercises annually to try and change the environment around. The building of the project will be accompanied by construction of access roads which will also benefit the community. They will also benefit from the chance of interaction with many people and hence create anetwork of friends who can benefit them .The project will attract other investors around it. This will bring economic growth to the area and hence development will take place in this highly under-utilised area.

In selecting this location, I considered the mission of (UNEP) that is making a naturally harsh environment conduciveand attractive (Drumm &Moore, 2005,pg 13). Pinbara region was intentionally chosendue to its dry nature .Making the area become green and maybe productive in future will see be our success.Nevertheless, services like energy and transportation might be a challenge. At the beginning of the project, will use the local earth roads and generator energy before development takes place. The facility will have an internal drainage system and a mini- sewage treatment plant for internal uses. The architecture of the facility will be that of ancient times since it acts to preserve as one of its responsibilities.

Everybody visiting the site will be expected to comply with the rules set by the facility. Feeding of the animals will be prohibited and any person found doing shall be prosecuted and hefty charges will follow. The visitors will be required to book appointments before visiting so that it will be easier to manage the number of visitors on daily basis hence avoiding overcrowding or overuse of the support facilities. The development of the facility will not end upon completion of its construction but will be continuous in expansion and improving services with changing times. The facility will expect to grow and though not much profits will be realised in its initial years of operation,large profits will be expected in the future.

Upon completing the construction of the project, I will register it with eco certification in Australia since most people willing to visit such places go through this body. Being registered with them will help the facility have a greater pool of customers.. 

Bibliography

Björk, P. (2000). Ecotourism from a conceptual perspective, an extended definition of a unique tourism form. International Journal of Tourism Research,2(3), 189-202.

Drumm, A.& Moore, A. (2005). Ecotourism Development-A Manual for Conservation Planners and Managers. Volume I-An Introduction to Ecotourism Planning.

Diamantis, D. (2004). Ecotourism: Management and assessment. London: Thomson.

Scheyvens, R. (1999). Ecotourism and the empowerment of local communities. Tourismmanagement, 20(2), 245-249.