• DOI:10.2305/IUCN.CH.2002.PAG.8.RU
• Corpus ID: 131021176

Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas Guidelines for Planning and Management

@inproceedings{Eagles2002SustainableTI,
  title={Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas Guidelines for Planning and Management},
  author={Paul F. J. Eagles and Stephen F. Mccool and Chris Haynes and Adrian Phillips},
  year={2002}
}

• P. Eagles, S. Mccool, +1 author A. Phillips
• Published 26 October 2010
• Business

The main purpose of these Guidelines is to assist protected area managers and other
stakeholders in the planning and management of protected areas, visitor recreation and
the tourism industry, so that tourism can develop in a sustainable fashion, while
respecting local conditions and local communities. A key message is the importance of
managing resources and visitors today, so that tomorrow’s visitors can also experience
quality sites, and the conservation values that these places represent.
The Guidelines also have a number of more detailed objectives:
� To discuss the role of visitor management, including techniques that control and
limit impacts of use, while allowing maximum enjoyment of as many visitors as
can be accommodated within the limits set by environmental and social conditions;
� To outline approaches to the planning
and development of tourism infrastructure
and services in protected
areas;
� To provide guidance on the definition,
measurement, management and
use of park tourism data;
� To outline ways of enhancing the
quality of the tourism experience;
� To describe positive examples,
through a variety of case studies, of
how tourism can effectively contribute
to the conservation of natural and
cultural diversity; and
� To give positive examples, again
through the use of case studies, of
how tourism can contribute to the development
of local communities.
This is a handbook, not a cookbook.
The major questions and issues involved
in managing tourism in protected areas
are developed for the reader, but the publication
does not set out to provide all the
detailed answers. Thus a framework is
provided to establish principles and guide
decisions. There is no “one-size-fits-all”
answer to the challenge of tourism in protected areas – indeed an attraction of visiting protected areas is to see how each park
manager has developed his or her local situation in a way that projects its uniqueness,
while contributing to the common endeavour of conservation. To a large extent, management
must be responsive to local conditions.
It may appear that protected area managers have a relatively simple job in achieving
the task of conservation and visitor use, but in fact it is not easy at all. Managers have the
challenging responsibility of balancing the many competing pressures thrust upon them.
This challenge grows and becomes more complicated with increasing numbers of
visitors, changes in patterns of visitor use, and the emergence of an ever more critical
public demanding higher standards in conservation management.
The challenge of protected area management, especially that of dealing with the
pressures of recreation and tourism, will only be met effectively through building
partnerships between all the interested parties. It is hoped that this document, by being
available to protected area managers as well as other important stakeholders, such as
local communities, tour operators and conservation groups, will help build such partnerships.