Planning for the Rapid Development

of Community Based Ecotourism

Using Action Research: A Project

Implemented in Rio Negro,

Comayagua, Honduras:

Prepared by:

Dave Kestenbaum Associates for Community Based Tourism Development

Prepared for:

The Community of Rio Negro,

National System of Protected Areas (SINAP),

Comayagua Mountain Ecosystem (ECOSIMCO),

States Forestry Administration the Honduran-

Corporation of Forestry Development (AFE-CODEFOR),

The municipalities of Comayagua, Esquis, and San Jeronimo, and

Cuerpo de Conservation, Honduras (CCH)

With Support from: Partners of the Americas (POA):Farmer to Farmer Program, and

Cuerpo de Conservation Hondur

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Date September 15, 2002

Planning for the Rapid Development of Community Based Ecotourism Using Action

Research: A Project Implemented in Rio Negro, Comayagua, Honduras

Copyright ©by David Evan Kestenbaum

Printed by

Dave Kestenbaum/ Associates for Community Based Tourism Planning

PO Box 314

Saint Albans Bay, Vermont 05481

davekest@together.net

Limits of Liability and Disclaimer of Warranty

This views expressed in this report are those of the individual author and do not

necessarily represent the views of the parties this document was prepared for or the views

of the organizations that supported this work. The author has used his best effort in

preparing this document and every effort has been made to collect the latest and most

substantial information. The author makes no representation or warranties with respect to

the accuracy of this report and shall in no event be held liable for any loss of profit or any

other commercial damage. Including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential,

or other damages.

mailto:davekest@together.net

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FORWARDS

The following text describes a community based ecotourism development strategy

for the community of Rio Negro located within the buffer zone of Montana de

Comayagua National Park (PANACOMA) in the Department of Comayagua, Honduras.

This document was written with the intention of being used for a variety of purposes

including but not limited to the following:

1. As a guide for the community of Rio Negro to use to develop ecotourism as a revenue generating activity within their community.

2. As a source for the community of Rio Negro to better understand the tourism industry and the tourism development process.

3. As a tool for assisting large government agencies and non-governmental agencies within the area realize that tourism development, which

places local community members at the center of the process, is

possible development option.

4. As a document which can be used to solicit funds for community development from both national and international development

agencies and non-governmental organizations.

5. As a document other communities and organizations can use to guide them through their own tourism development process.

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FORWARDS ..................................................................................................................... 3

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................... 10

1-A.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 10

1-A.2 GENESIS OF THIS PROJECT ................................................................................... 10

1-A.3 AN INTRODUCTION PANACOMA AND RIO NEGRO ............................................ 11

1-A.4 ECOTOURISM AS A WAY OF INTEGRATING CONSERVATION WITH DEVELOPMENT 12

1-A.4.1 Determining the Feasibility of Ecotourism Development within Rio Negro 12

1-A.4.2 A Bottom-Up Approach to Feasibility Assessment ...................................... 14

1-A.4.3 Innovation and Entrepreneurship ................................................................ 14

1-A.5 WHY ECOTOURISM CAN WORK IN RIO NEGRO .................................................... 15

1-A.5.1 Minimizing the Skepticism Within Rio Negro .............................................. 16

1-A.6 BUILDING ON OTHER PLANNING MODELS ........................................................... 17

1-A.7 THE LAYOUT OF THIS DOCUMENT........................................................................ 20

SECTION B: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE................................................... 22

1-B.1 IMPACTS OF TOURISM OVER TIME ....................................................................... 22

1-B.2 TOURISM AS A DEVELOPMENT OPTION ................................................................ 22

1-B.3 TOURISM PLANNING MODELS .............................................................................. 23

1-B.3.1 The PASLOP Technique: Early Attempts at Integrated Tourism Planning . 24

1-B.3.2 Expert Driven-Local Participatory Planning .............................................. 25

1-B.3.3 A Team Approach to Regional and National Level Tourism Planning ....... 26

1-B.3.4 An Integrated Approach to Sustainable Tourism and Resort Development 28

1-B.3.5 Nature Based Tourism Planning for Rural America.................................... 28

1-B.3.6 Ecosystem Based Planning that Empowers Communities ........................... 28

1-B.3.7 Ecotourism Planning for Individual Businesses .......................................... 29

1-B.3.8 Collaborative and Participatory Planning Models...................................... 29

1-B.4 CONCLUSIONS ...................................................................................................... 30

CHAPTER TWO: THE METHODOLOGY USED FOR THIS PROJECT ............ 31

2.1 AN INTRODUCTION TO RAPID RURAL APPRAISAL .................................................... 31

2.1.1 Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) vs. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) ........ 31

2.1.2 RRA in this Report ........................................................................................... 31

2.2 INFORMAL RAPPORT BUILDING WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS ................................ 32

2.3 PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION .................................................................................. 33

2.3.1 Exploratory Interviews with Local Community Members ............................... 33

2.3.2 Interviews with Foreign Tourists ..................................................................... 35

2.4 SECONDARY DATA COLLECTION ............................................................................. 35

CHAPTER THREE: A PROFILE AND ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL PARK

MONTANA DE COMAYAGUA (PANACOMA) ....................................................... 37

3.1 INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................... 37

3.2 HISTORY AND BACKGROUND OF PANACOMA....................................................... 37

3.3 PARK OVERVIEW...................................................................................................... 38

3.4 GEOGRAPHIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL ORIENTATION ................................................ 39

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3.5 MANAGEMENT ZONES AND SUBZONES .................................................................... 40

3.5.1 Core Zone......................................................................................................... 40

3.5.2 Special Use Zone.............................................................................................. 41

3.5.3 Buffer Zone....................................................................................................... 42

3.6 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND THE PARK ................................................................... 43

3.7 FUTURE MANAGEMENT PLANS ................................................................................ 44

3.8 BARRIERS TO DEVELOPMENT ................................................................................... 45

3.8.1 Environmental Factors .................................................................................... 45

3.8.2 Political Factors .............................................................................................. 45

3.9 TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN PANACOMA IN RELATION TO OTHER PARKS ........... 46

3.9.1 Profiles of Other Parks .................................................................................... 46

3.9.2 National Park Cerro Azul Meambar................................................................ 46

3.9.3 National Park Montana de Celeque ................................................................ 46

3.9.4 National Park Trifinio-Montecristo ................................................................. 47

3.9.5 Cerro Azul National Park ................................................................................ 47

3.9.6 National Park Cusuco ...................................................................................... 47

3.9.7 La Tigra National Park .................................................................................... 47

3.9.8 La Muralla National Park ............................................................................... 47

3.9.9 Montana de Yoro National Park ...................................................................... 48

3.9.10 Pico Pijol National Park ................................................................................ 48

3.9.11 Santa Barbara National Park ........................................................................ 48

3.9.12 Sierra de Agalta ............................................................................................. 48

3.9.13 Pico Bonito..................................................................................................... 48

3.10 SUMMARY OF COMPETITIVE FACTORS ................................................................... 49

3.10.1 Natural Resources .......................................................................................... 49

3.10.2 Level of Infrastructure ................................................................................... 49

3.10.3 Location ......................................................................................................... 49

3.10.4 Ability to Customize ....................................................................................... 49

3.10.5 Major Competitors ......................................................................................... 50

3.10.6 Options for Attracting Visitors....................................................................... 50

3.11 SWOT ANALYSIS FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN PANACOMA ....................... 50

3.11.1 Strengths ........................................................................................................ 50

3.11.2 Weaknesses .................................................................................................... 50

3.11.3 Opportunities ................................................................................................. 51

3.11.4 Threats ........................................................................................................... 51

3. 12 CHAPTER CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................... 51

CHAPTER FOUR: A PROFILE AND ANALYSIS OF THE COMMUNITY OF

RIO NEGRO ................................................................................................................... 52

4.1 INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................... 52

4.2 HISTORY AND BACKGROUND OF RIO NEGRO ........................................................... 52

4.3 ACCESSIBILITY ......................................................................................................... 53

4.4 LIVELIHOOD ............................................................................................................. 53

4.5 INFRASTRUCTURE .................................................................................................... 54

4.5.1 Potable Water .................................................................................................. 54

4.5.2 Refuse Disposal ................................................................................................ 54

4.5.3 Electricity ......................................................................................................... 54

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4.5.4 Communication ................................................................................................ 55

4.5.5 Health Care ...................................................................................................... 55

4.5.6 Crime................................................................................................................ 55

4.5.7 Education ......................................................................................................... 55

4.6 ORGANIZATIONS AND CIVIC STRUCTURE ................................................................. 55

4.6.1 Local Organizations......................................................................................... 56

4.6.2 Outside Organization Operating Within Rio Negro and the Region ............... 57

4.7 SPECIAL EVENTS AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES ............................................................. 59

4.7.1 Fiesta Patronal de Cristo Negro...................................................................... 59

4.7.2 Ferria Artesenal ............................................................................................... 59

4.7.3 Recreation ........................................................................................................ 59

4.8 PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES FACING RIO NEGRO .................................................. 59

4.9 HUMAN RESOURCES................................................................................................. 60

4.10 RIO NEGRO, PANACOMA, AND TOURISM............................................................ 61

4.11 PROFILE OF TOURISM IN RIO NEGRO ...................................................................... 62

4.11.1 History............................................................................................................ 62

4.11.2 Tourism Resources and Public Opinion ........................................................ 63

4.11.3 Attractions in Rio Negro ................................................................................ 64

4.11.4 Gauging Visitor Reaction .............................................................................. 64

4.11.5 Inventory of Tourism Resources .................................................................... 65

4.11.6 Residents’ Prior Experience Working with Tourists ..................................... 65

4.11.7 Residents’ Desire to Work With Tourists ....................................................... 66

4.11.8 Potential Deterrents ....................................................................................... 67

4.11.9 Potential for Negative Impacts of Tourism .................................................... 67

4.12 SWOT ANALYSIS OF FACTORS RELATED TO TOURISM DEVELOPMENT WITHIN

RIO NEGRO .................................................................................................................... 68

4.12.1 Strengths ........................................................................................................ 69

4.12.2 Weaknesses .................................................................................................... 69

4.12.3 Opportunities ................................................................................................. 69

4.12.4 Threats ........................................................................................................... 70

4.13 CHAPTER CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................ 70

CHAPTER FIVE: A PROFILE AND ANALYSIS OF THE MARKET .................. 71

5.1 INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................... 71

5.2 TOURISM WORLDWIDE............................................................................................. 71

5.3 TOURISM IN CENTRAL AND LATIN AMERICA ........................................................... 72

5.4 TOURISM IN HONDURAS ........................................................................................... 72

5.4.1 Arrivals at a National Level ............................................................................. 72

5.4.2 Tourism Revenues at a National Level ............................................................ 73

5.4.3 Tourist Origins and Ports of Entry .................................................................. 73

5.4.4 High and Low Season Travel Patterns ............................................................ 73

5.4.5 Types of Travel ................................................................................................. 73

5.4.6 Travel Motives ................................................................................................. 74

5.4.7 Length of Stay .................................................................................................. 74

5.4.8 Travel Spending ............................................................................................... 75

5.4.9 Tourist Demographics ..................................................................................... 75

5.4.10 How Tourists Learn About Travel to Honduras ............................................ 77

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5.5 TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE AND ATTRACTIONS IN HONDURAS ............................... 78

5.5.1 Attractions and Destinations............................................................................ 78

5.5.2Hotels and Tourism Services ............................................................................ 79

5.6 TOURISM IN COMAYAGUA........................................................................................ 79

5.6.1 General Visitor Statistics ................................................................................. 79

5.6.2 Tourism Infrastructure and Services in Comayagua ....................................... 80

5.7 SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE MARKETPLACE IN RELATION TO TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

IN RIO NEGRO ................................................................................................................ 80

5.7.1 Strengths .......................................................................................................... 81

5.7.2 Weaknesses ...................................................................................................... 81

5.7.3 Opportunities ................................................................................................... 81

5.7.4 Threats ............................................................................................................. 81

5.8 CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................................................... 82

CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSIONS AND REVIEW OF EXTERNAL AND

INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTS IN RELATION TO TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

IN RIO NEGRO .............................................................................................................. 83

6.1 INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................... 83

6.2 SUMMARY OF STRENGTHS FROM PREVIOUS CHAPTERS ........................................... 83

6.2.1 Conclusions from list of Strengths ................................................................... 84

6.3 SUMMARY OF WEAKNESSES FROM PREVIOUS CHAPTERS ........................................ 84

6.3.1 Conclusions from the list of Weaknesses ......................................................... 84

6.4 SUMMARY OF THREATS FROM PREVIOUS CHAPTERS ............................................... 86

6.4.1 Conclusions from the list of Weaknesses ......................................................... 87

6.5 SUMMARY OF OPPORTUNITIES FROM PREVIOUS CHAPTERS ..................................... 87

6.5.1 Conclusions from the list of Opportunities ...................................................... 88

6.6 FINAL REVIEW ......................................................................................................... 88

CHAPTER SEVEN: AN IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY FOR DEVELOPING

ECOTOURISM WITHIN RIO NEGRO ...................................................................... 89

7.1 INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................... 89

7.1.1 List of Tutorials: .............................................................................................. 89

TUTORIAL ONE: HOW TO INVOLVE THE COMMUNITY IN USING THIS PLAN ................... 90

7.2.1 Tutorial Goals:................................................................................................. 90

7.2.2 Why Community Involvement Important? ....................................................... 90

7.2.3 Ensuring Full Community Participation ......................................................... 90

7.3 TUTORIAL TWO: DEVELOPING AND PRICING PRODUCTS .......................................... 92

7.3.1 Tutorial Goals:................................................................................................. 92

7.3.2 Why is Developing and Pricing Products Important? ..................................... 92

7.3.3 Part I: Product Development ........................................................................... 93

7.3.4 Part II: Pricing the Products ........................................................................... 98

7.4 TUTORIAL THREE: DEVELOPING A MARKETING PLAN FOR RIO NEGRO ................. 101

7.4.1 Tutorial Goals:............................................................................................... 101

7.4.2 Why is Developing a Marketing Plan Important? ......................................... 101

7.4.3 How This Section is Organized ...................................................................... 101

7.4.4 What is Marketing? ........................................................................................ 101

7.4.5 What is a Marketing Plan? ............................................................................ 102

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7.4.6 Understanding Business Objectives and the Situational, Marketing, and

Competitive Analyses .............................................................................................. 103

7.4.7 Product-Market Match................................................................................... 106

7.4.8 Marketing Objectives ..................................................................................... 113

7.5 TUTORIAL FOUR: DEVELOPING MARKETING STRATEGIES ..................................... 116

7.5.1Product Promotion and Placement in the Domestic Market .......................... 116

7.5.2 Product Promotion and Placement When Marketing to 1) Foreign

Professionals, Missionaries, and Servicemen living In and Around Comayagua and

2) Foreign Business Travelers in Comayagua........................................................ 117

7.5.3 Product Promotion and Placement when Marketing to Foreign Recreation

Travelers in Comayagua ......................................................................................... 117

7.5.4 Product Promotion and Placement When Marketing to ................................ 118

Honduran School Children, University Groups, and Civic Organizations In and

Around the Comayagua Area.................................................................................. 118

7.5.5 Product Promotion and Placement for International Tourists ...................... 118

7.6 TUTORIAL FIVE: IDENTIFYING EFFECTIVE MARKETING ACTIVITIES ...................... 120

7.6.1 Effective Marketing Activities for Rio Negro ................................................. 120

7.6.2 Creating a Theme or Brand ........................................................................... 121

7.6.3 Designing and Distributing Brochures .......................................................... 124

7.6.4 Developing a Press Kit .................................................................................. 125

7.6.5 Using Signs .................................................................................................... 126

7.6.7 Monitoring Marketing Efforts ........................................................................ 127

7.7. TUTORIAL SIX: DEVELOPING AND MAINTAINING A COMMUNITY IMAGE .............. 129

7.8 TUTORIAL SEVEN: HOW TO ENSURE THAT EVERYONE IN THE COMMUNITY WILL

BENEFIT FROM TOURISM DEVELOPMENT ..................................................................... 131

7.8.1Creating a Community Development Fund .................................................... 131

7.8.2 How to Spend the Community Fund .............................................................. 132

7.9 TUTORIAL EIGHT: .................................................................................................. 134

MINIMIZING THE NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTS ASSOCIATED WITH

TOURISM DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................................. 134

7.9.1 Positive and Negative Impacts of Tourism .................................................... 134

7.9.2 Developing a Code of Conduct ...................................................................... 135

7.9.3 Implementation Strategy for Developing Codes of Conduct ......................... 135

7.9.4 Creating Regulations for Physical Infrastructure ......................................... 137

7.10 TUTORIAL NINE: CREATING A CONTRACT WITH OUTSIDE AGENCIES INTERESTED IN

DEVELOPING PROJECTS WITHIN RIO NEGRO ............................................................... 139

7.10.1 Working With the Municipality .................................................................... 139

7.10.2 Avoiding Competition With Locally-Run Businesses ................................... 139

7.10.3 Uses for the Purchased Land ....................................................................... 139

7.10.4 Negotiating a Contract with the Municipality ............................................. 139

7.10.5Types of Financial Arrangements ................................................................. 142

7.10.6 Park Visitor Registration ............................................................................. 143

7.10.7 Park Entrance Fee ....................................................................................... 144

7.11 TUTORIAL TEN: FURTHER TRAINING.................................................................... 147

7.11.1 Food Safety and Sanitation .......................................................................... 147

7.11.2 Water ............................................................................................................ 148

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7.11.3 Food ............................................................................................................. 148

7.11.4 First Aid ....................................................................................................... 149

7.11.5 Hospitality/Personal Services ...................................................................... 150

7.11.6 Interpretation ............................................................................................... 151

7.11.7 Speaking and Understanding English .......................................................... 152

7.11.8 Conclusions .................................................................................................. 152

CHAPTER EIGHT: SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS .......................... 153

8.1 INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................... 153

8.2 INITIAL RESULTS SHOWN IN THE COMMUNITY PRIOR TO THE PRESENTATION OF THIS

REPORT ........................................................................................................................ 155

8.3 AN ONGOING PROCESS .......................................................................................... 155

8.4 CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................ 156

8.4.1 Recommendations for Future Work Within Rio Negro .................................. 156

8.4.2 Recommendations for Future Research ......................................................... 158

8.5 FINAL WORDS ........................................................................................................ 158

REFERENCES .............................................................................................................. 159

APPENDIX A ................................................................................................................ 165

APPENDIX B ................................................................................................................ 166

APPENDIX C ................................................................................................................ 167

APPENDIX D ................................................................................................................ 171

APPENDIX E ................................................................................................................ 174

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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Section A: Project Introduction and Overview

Section B: A Review of the Literature

1-A.1 Introduction

The objective of this project is to develop a community-based ecotourism

development strategy for the community of Rio Negro, Honduras. According to

ecotourism consultant Carol Patterson, a good plan “. . . identifies opportunities, outlines

ways to capitalize on these opportunities, and develops an implementation strategy”

(Patterson, 1997). After extensively reviewing planning models used by development

agencies around the world, I determined that a new model needed to be developed for this

project, due to its unique nature. Some of the most salient features setting this project’s

planning model apart from others include:

1. Placing local entrepreneurs and established community organizations at the center of the development process

2. Using action research, particularly by providing technical assistance to the local community and running pilot projects during the planning and

research phase in order to build community trust, test implementation

strategies, determine feasibility, and build experience/promote greater

participation amongst community members.

The planning model developed for this project builds on a number of other

planning models in order to develop a process which “links resource conservation and

local participation with professionalism in the tourism business, entrepreneurial thinking

and market orientation” (Steck, Strasdas, Gustedt, 2001).

The remainder of this chapter presents the history of this project, justification for

this project, an overview of this planning model, how and why this planning model was

formulated, and how this planning model is used and presented in this text

1-A.2 Genesis of This Project

In January of 2001, Partners of the Americas (POA), an U.S.-based non-

governmental organization (for more information about Partners of the Americas, please

see Appendix A), worked with the University of Vermont to run a three week course on

ecotourism and environmental interpretation in Honduras. The student body for this

course was comprised of Honduran conservationists, as well as North American

undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Vermont. My role during this

course was to assist with the teaching of the ecotourism component, provide Spanish to

English and English to Spanish translations, and promote cultural exchange between the

North American and Honduran students (for more information about the author, please

see the Author’s Biography in Appendix B).

As one of the instructors for this course, I shared information about my life and

expertise in the area of tourism development. At the same time, I had the opportunity to

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learn a great deal about Honduras, its people, -- and on a larger scale, the world -- from

the Hondurans I traveled with. During our time together, I had the chance to develop a

special bond with each of the class’s twelve students, including our “resident practical

joker,” Jose Avilio Velasquez. (See Figure 1-A.1)

Avilio, as his friends call him, is from Rio Negro – a small farming community

located on the steep slopes of a national park (Montana de Comayagua National Park, or

PANACOMA). He is a coffee farmer and an environmentalist in his mid-thirties who has

a wife, two young boys, and a small farm located within the buffer zone of

PANACOMA.

At every opportunity, Avilio approached me with questions about ecotourism.

Particularly, he shared his own ideas and solicited my advice concerning ecotourism

development within his community. This project has its roots in my early conversations

with Avilio.

Figure 1-A.1 Sustainability, Ecotourism and Environmental Interpretation

in Honduras at NACIFOR Chad, Sam, Renato, Avilio(Bottom Center),

Isaac, Jim, Eddie, George, and Helder

1-A.3 An Introduction PANACOMA and Rio Negro

PANACOMA was declared a national park to protect the watershed and to exploit

the land’s potential for tourism development. Avilio explained to me that when the park

was declared in 1987, many local people as well as national and international agencies

and organizations talked about the economic benefits Rio Negro would receive from

being integrated into the park. Today, most residents of the area do not believe they have

seen any benefits from the park and a large number of residents even resent the park’s

presence because the increased land-use regulations have limited their development

options. Avilio went on to explain that he is strongly in favor of the park’s presence, but

is frustrated because in over 14 years, there has been little success in either conservation

or tourism development. Conservation efforts will only be successful when the poor

communities living within the park begin to receive direct benefits from protecting the

land.

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Figure 1-A.2 PANACOMA primary Growth

Figure 1-A.3 Sunset in Rio Negro

1-A.4 Ecotourism as a Way of Integrating Conservation with Development

Because tourism is one of the only major industries suited for “rural, remote

and/or undeveloped areas, and marginal lands” (Ashley, Roe, 1998; IIED, 1994; Fredrick,

1993), it is a prime development alternative that could solve the park’s problem of

integrating conservation with development. Avilio was particularly taken by the concept

of ecotourism, defined by author Martha Honey as:

Travel to fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas that strives to be low

impact and (usually) small scale. It helps educate the traveler, provides funds for

conservation; directly benefits the economic development and political

empowerment of local communities; and fosters respect for different cultures and

for human rights (Honey, 1999).

Avilio believes that ecotourism, if implemented correctly, presents a win-win

scenario for all the people who have a vested interest in PANACOMA including:

The National System of Protected Areas (SINAP).

Comayagua Mountain Ecosystem (ECOSIMCO)

States Forestry Administration -- the Honduran Corporation of Forestry Development (AFE-CODEFOR).

The municipalities of Comayagua, Esquis, and San Jeronimo.

After years of talk about ecotourism development in PANACOMA, little has been

accomplished. According to Avilio, this is due to a variety of factors, the biggest of

which is a lack of local know-how. Avilio went on to ask me if I would visit his

community and assist him by providing some ideas that would help his community

develop ecotourism.

1-A.4.1 Determining the Feasibility of Ecotourism Development within Rio Negro

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In order to better orientate me to the situation in PANACOMA and help convince

me to visit Rio Negro, Avilio told me at length about the tourism resources within his

community and described amongst other things the layout of PANACOMA, the region’s

diverse flora and fauna, and the area’s human resources.

From Avilio’s description, it was apparent that Rio Negro possessed many of the

basic elements for ecotourism development including:

A populace interested in ecotourism development.

Beautiful and diverse flora and fauna.

The protected status of a National Park.

Relatively close proximity to major population centers and transportation routes (Steck, 1999).

However, from Avilio’s description it was also evident that his community

possessed many serious barriers to ecotourism development, including:

Lack of a tourism culture within the country or the region.

Lack of tourism expertise on the part of community members.

Potential interference by outside organizations with little tourism experience or expertise.

Poor access roads.

Poor communication infrastructure.

Poor hygiene and sanitation practices.

Lack of access to capital and technical expertise (Steck, 1999).

In most cases, these barriers would have led me to advise Avilio that ecotourism

development would not work in his community. The tourism resources within Rio Negro

are not much different than those possessed by many other small communities and the

obstacles are significant enough that they have caused similar tourism development

projects to fail (Steck, 1999).

In fact, a number of rapid appraisal systems used to determine the feasibility of

tourism development in a region suggest that ecotourism development would have little

or no chance of success in Rio Negro. The result of one rapid appraisal system developed

by the German development agency (GTZ) suggested that tourism development in Rio

Negro makes “limited sense” or “no sense” (Steck, 1999), when considering the enormity

of the barriers listed above.

However, upon further study, there are reasons why this project can work where

others like it have failed. Many ecotourism development projects geared toward small

communities have a tendency to impose the idea of tourism development onto individuals

whose main interest is not tourism. Projects with this philosophy are often unsuccessful

because their top-down nature ignores the very culture of the industry, which they are

trying to develop. Instead of top-down approaches, bottom-up approaches to ecotourism

development that place local entrepreneurs with a passion for conservation at the center

of the process can have a greater probability for success. Because of this, and because I

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was struck by Avilio’s entrepreneurial spirit, I agreed to work with him and his

community.

1-A.4.2 A Bottom-Up Approach to Feasibility Assessment

While it is true that ecotourism projects around the world have failed because

developers and consultants often overestimated the capacity of local communities (Steck,

1999), it is also true that many projects, which could have been successful, have not been

pursued because to date no ecotourism planning model has been developed that

adequately considers 1) the abilities of individuals within a community to be innovative

or entrepreneurial or 2) the Entrepreneurial Social Infrastructure (ESI) possessed by the

community at a systems level (Flora & Flora, 1993) when determining feasibility.

Traditional business models that rely solely on supply and demand as the driving

forces for economic development are short-sighted (Marcoullier, 1997) because they fail

to emphasize the importance of human capital – or more importantly, entrepreneurship

and innovation.(Eliasson, 2000) These factors play an equally important role in a post-

modern economic system as supply and demand (Drucker, 1985).

1-A.4.3 Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Tourism by nature is a disjointed and segmented industry, with a large number of

small providers and individual entrepreneurs (Ceballos-Lascurian, 1996). In the tourism

industry, passionate and hardworking individuals have the potential to turn projects with

few resources into great successes while bad managers, employees, or planners can make

businesses with plentiful resources utter failures. In the end, people with the appropriate

skills and attitude play just as important a role in successful tourism development projects

as do the natural and financial resources of an area.

Many arguments can be made for the importance of taking the local capacity for

innovation and entrepreneurship into consideration. For example the Cultural Tourism

Program (CTP) currently being run in Tanzania was built through a collaborative effort

between local entrepreneurs, the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV), and the

Tanzanian Tourism Board (TTB). To date this program is considered quite successful in

that it has diversified the economies of many small communities, provided quality

products to guests, and provided direct assistance to thousands of individuals through

development projects such as schools, irrigation systems, and tree nurseries. In brief the

main way this program operates is by the SNV and TTB, providing marketing and

technical assistance to local entrepreneurs.

Each of the communities affiliated with the CTP has experienced varying levels

of success. Representatives of these communities, the SNV, and the TTB believe that the

level of success in each community relates directly to the capacity of local individual

entrepreneurs (T.O. Sikar, Representative of the CTP and SNV, Personal

Communication, July, 14 and August 12, 2000; P. Mwenguo, Representative of CTP and

TTB, Personal Communication, July 6 and August 6, 2000; Dixon, local guide for CTP,

Personal Communication August 8, 2000; Bobfas, Local guide for CTP, Personal

Communication, August 14, 2000).

- -

15

These small community based tourism projects in Africa exist in a number of

different environments, some which have faced much greater barriers to development

than those that exist in Rio Negro. In fact, some of the CTP sites exist in communities

where other tourism development strategies have failed in the past (T.O. Sikar,

Representative of the CTP and SNV, Personal Communication, July, 14 and August 12,

2000; P. Mwenguo, Representative of CTP and TTB, Personal Communication, July 6

and August 6, 2000; Dixon, local guide for CTP, Personal Communication August 8,

2000; Bobfas local guide for CTP, Personal Communication, August 14, 2000).

1-A.5 Why Ecotourism Can Work in Rio Negro

When I met Avilio, I thought he possessed that same entrepreneurial spirit,

charismatic personality, and creative edge that made some of the most unlikely projects

in Africa successful. From my conversations with Avilio, I also concluded that if just a

few of Avilio’s neighbors shared some of these characteristics, then community-based

ecotourism would have a real chance of diversifying the local economy while at the same

time promoting conservation and community development.

Rio Negro clearly has the natural resources and potentially the

entrepreneurs/leaders needed for tourism development, but a development project will

not be successful on the community level unless a third component exists. This third

component is entrepreneurial social infrastructure, or the group-level interactive quality

of the local community that is vital in linking leadership and resources together (Flora &

Flora, 1993).

Flora and Flora (1993) explain that ESI has three key components: symbolic

diversity, resource mobilization, and quality of linkages.

Symbolic diversity is a community’s ability to engage in constructive controversy

to arrive at workable community decisions by focusing on community processes,

depersonalization of politics, and broadening of community boundaries.

Resource mobilization involves generating some surplus within the community

beyond basic subsistence with relative equity in resource risk and distribution,

investment by residents of their own private capital locally, and collective

investment in the community.

Quality networks include establishing linkages with other similar circumstances

and developing vertical networks to provide diverse sources.

Research indicates that in communities where the resources and leadership for

development exist, development strategies that act to change particular facets of ESI can

result in concrete “economic change through community based initiatives” (Flora &

Flora, 1993). It was apparent from early conversations with Avilio that certain levels of

ESI existed in Rio Negro, and that with a good planning model it would be possible to

develop ecotourism that would benefit not only a few family-owned businesses, but the

entire community. After completing these initial assessments and conferring with Avilio,

- -

16

I concluded that the next logical step in creating an ecotourism plan for Rio Negro was

for me to visit.

1-A.5.1 Minimizing the Skepticism Within Rio Negro

I first visited Rio Negro in January of 2001. During this visit I learned a great deal

about the community’s interest in diversifying the local economy with ecotourism, and I

learned about the community’s skepticism toward assistance provided by so-called

“outside experts” like myself. It seems that over the years different development agencies

have come to Rio Negro with all sorts of advice and promises regarding ways to develop

successful and appropriate economic activities in order to diversify and strengthen the

local economy. For instance, community members told me stories about development

projects that promoted the planting of cardamom and ginger, which not only proved

unsuccessful, but oftentimes left many community members poorer than they were before

the project began.

Through a number of informal interviews I concluded that a large percentage of

community members were concerned that a development project led by outsiders might

build up false hopes and expectations, produce a plan, which was never delivered to the

community, or prescribe inappropriate implementation strategies.

In order to avert these problems, I devised a strategy for ‘action research’

(Checkland,1992) or ‘active advisory’ (Steck, Stradas & Gustedt, 1999) based on the

rapid rural appraisal (RRA) methodology (Dunn, 1994). This strategy involved

simultaneously providing technical assistance while conducting research for this report.

By integrating technical assistance into the planning process my aim was to:

prevent the plan from getting bogged down in the planning phase;

help the citizens of Rio Negro get a feel for ecotourism;

build a working relationship between myself and the community;

assist the community in understanding my perspective on ecotourism;

enable the community to determine the effectiveness of suggested strategies early on in the process;

build trust with the community;

increase my ability to learn more about the community; and

determine how the community and individuals performed when dealing with change and unknown factors.

“Building on particular principles of social anthropology such as: field learning

and residence, participant, observation, appropriate attitudes, behavior and report, and

value validity of indigenous technical knowledge” (Dunn, 1994), this strategy also

worked well to increase the level of community participation within the research and

planning phase of this report.

In fact, every time positive results were generated with the implementation of

some technical advice, more and more community members volunteered to participate in

and assist in this research. This supports the hypothesis of the German Development

- -

17

Agency (GTZ) that technical co-operation projects can mediate development and act as a

catalyst for development (Steck, Stradas & Gustedt, 1999) To give an example of how I

combined research and planning with technical assistance, it may be beneficial to

understand that during the research and planning phase for this report I:

1. Conducted a survey of every household in the community. 2. Worked with community members to gather information. 3. Brought in groups of tourists to Rio Negro to participate in many of the

activities we developed during brainstorming sessions with the

community members.

4. Set up focus groups with the tourists we brought to Rio Negro. 5. Had the tourists share their thoughts and feelings with community

members regarding the potential for tourism development within

PANACOMA.

6. Developed a community fund with 15% of the revenues generated from the tourists I brought to the community. The money was put aside and

given to the guide association to use toward social projects that would

benefit the entire community – not just those involved in tourism.

7. Drew up designs for and began construction of the area’s first lodges. 8. Developed connections between local tour operators and the local guide

association.

For more detailed information about these activities, see Appendix C (Farmer-to-

Farmer Trip Report April 2001).

1-A.6 Building on Other Planning Models

To develop the proper planning model for this project, I reviewed planning

models from the fields of small business management, tourism development, and

integrated conservation development. As mentioned earlier, this project required a

uniquely formatted plan and so did not rely entirely on previously formatted plans for

development. Nonetheless, most of the plans proposed by other authors had some

interesting and unique features to lend to this project.

One model which did prove particularly useful for this project was developed and

described by Patterson in her 1997 book The Business of Ecotourism, which provides a

guide for planning and starting an ecotourism business. Patterson’s guide covered all the

necessary steps to developing an ecotourism business. The necessary steps in this

process are illustrated in Figure 1.5.

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18

Figure 1-A.4 Patterson’s Strategic Planning Process

(Patterson, 1997, Page 13).

Since Patterson’s model was geared more toward planning an individual business

rather than guiding an entire community’s development process, I adapted her process as

follows:

A community development process instead of that of an individual business

Considered individual capacity for innovation and entrepreneurship as well as a community’s system level Entrepreneurial Social

Infrastructure (ESI) when determining feasibility and implementation

strategies.

A project with extremely limited funding

A project with a limited time-line

A region with no tourism culture

My preference to place an emphasis on making use of local entrepreneurs and established community organizations

My preference to provide technical assistance during the planning process.

The resultant amalgamation is an endogenous circular planning model presented

in figure 1-A.5.

Mission

Statement

Review of the

Environment

Review of

Business

Capabilities

Set

Objectives Analyze

Market

1 Define

Product

Identify &

Select Strategies Implement

1

- 19 –

Figure 1-A.5 Rapid and Active Tourism Development model

Define Project Objectives

Provide

Technical Assistance

Pilot Projects

Monitoring

Recognized

Desire to Capitalize

on

Ecotourism

Development of

Community fund

Review and Analysis of

Community resources

Participatory and

Active Research

Review and Analysis of

PANACOMA

(Natural Resources)

Market

Analysis

Summary and

Analysis

Look For other

Development

Option

Implementation

Tutorials

Recommended

Products

Recommended

Implementation

Strategies

Reasoning and

Explanation

for

Recommendations

Monitoring

Recommendations

Implementation

Tool Kit

- 20 –

1-A.7 The Layout of this Document

The remainder of this document provides an overview of these steps; upcoming

chapters define the objectives of this project, provide a thorough analysis of the three

major factors which will contribute to the success or failure of these objectives, provide a

thorough overview of the community of Rio Negro and National Park Montana de

Comayagua (PANACOMA), the tourism marketplace, and finally, suggests ways to

capitalize on the existing opportunities by providing an implementation strategy. A

chapter-by-chapter breakdown is as follows:

Chapter one is divided into two distinct sections, sections A and B. In Chapter

One section A, I have provided the objectives of this report, a justification as to why this

report was prepared, and an outline of the planning model. In the remainder of this

chapter, section B, I will provide a brief literature review of tourism planning models

used by other authors and that have influenced the development of this document.

Chapter Two outlines and describes the methodology used in preparation of this

document and explains the reasoning behind the methods chosen.

Chapters Three, Four, Five, and Six provide the review and analyses of the

internal environment, external environment, and market. These are the three major factors

that need to be analyzed in order to determine if ecotourism is a feasible development

option.

Chapter Three begins this process by providing a detailed profile of the National

Park Montana de Comayagua (PANACOMA). The chapter begins by providing a general

description of the park’s geography, policy, zoning, management, administration, major

problems, and plans for the future. This background information on the park is quite

detailed and most of it was extracted from the park’s management plan, prepared by

Karla J. Cantarero in 2000. Once this general background information is presented, the

chapter shifts its focus to concentrate more closely on tourism development and the park,

including a brief overview of the tourism resources possessed by other parks within the

Honduran park system and a summary and analysis of the Strengths, Weaknesses,

Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT analysis) that exist for tourism development in

PANACOMA.

Chapter Four provides a detailed profile of Rio Negro and is set up in a similar

manner to the profile of the park presented in Chapter Three. This chapter begins with a

review of general demographic information such as population, education levels, etc, and

gradually shifts its focus to concentrate more on specifics relating to ecotourism, such as

the community’s tourism resources and the opinions of people in the local community

regarding tourism development. The chapter then concludes with a SWOT analysis

relating to ecotourism development in Rio Negro.

Chapter Five analyzes and describes the national and local tourism market. The

chapter begins by describing international and national travel trends, and continues with a

- 21 –

description of tourism resources on a national level. The chapter concludes with an

examination of more local level trends and resources and a SWOT analysis related to the

possibility of developing ecotourism within Rio Negro.

Chapter Six summarizes the SWOT analyses from chapters 3, 4, and 5 and draws

a series of conclusions and recommendation regarding tourism development in Rio

Negro. This chapter acts as a conclusion to the first section of this report, which

concentrates on defining the objectives of this project and reviewing the internal and

external environments as they related to meeting the objectives of this report.

Chapter Seven is essentially the toolkit that describes various implementation

strategies for developing ecotourism within Rio Negro. The chapter is full of practical

information including recommended implementation strategies, product definitions,

explanations of how these strategies and product definitions where formulated, and a

series of tutorials aimed at instructing community members in either implementing or

improving upon the recommended strategies.

Chapter Eight contains a number of critiques, conclusions, and recommendations

regarding this document and its preparation. I have included some retrospective insights

and suggestions for future work. The document concludes with a series of appendices

and a list of references.

- 22 –

CHAPTER ONE CONTINUED SECTION B: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

1-B.1 Impacts of Tourism Over Time

The travel industry has had its greatest influence on human culture since 1950.

(Angelo & Vladimir, 1991; Sweeting, Bruner & Rosenfeld, 1997; Ceballos-Lascurian,

1996; Honey, 1999; Goodwin, et al. 1998; Patterson, 1997). Growing at an average rate

of 7 percent annually from approximately 25 million arrivals in 1950 to 664 million

arrivals in 1999; tourism has become the world‘s largest industry over the last half

century, producing 8% of all export earnings worldwide (WTO, 2000). International

tourism receipts including those generated by international fares, amounted to an

estimated 532 billion dollars in 1998, higher than any other trade category (WTO, 2000).

As tourism has grown worldwide, it has expanded its geographic reach. In the

1950’s less than 10% of travel worldwide was to developing nations and today non-

OECD states receive almost 30% of the global total. (Goodwin, et al. 1998; Prosser,

1994; WTO, 1997; WTO, 2002) According to the World Travel and Tourism Council

(WTTC), tourism is currently responsible for 8.2% of employment worldwide and will

indirectly produce 5.5 million jobs per year during the next decade (WTTC, 2001a).

Banning worldwide disaster the WTO predicts international tourist arrivals will grow at

an average rate of 4.1 percent until the year 2020 with 1.56 billion arrivals in the year

2020. (WTO, 2001)

As the world’s largest industry, tourism produces a number of positive and

negative impacts on the earth (Goodwin, et al. 1998;Turner and Ash; Prosser, 1994). The

majority of tourism is “mass tourism” driven by the pursuit of sun, sea, sand, and sex.

(Honey, 1999; Ceballos-Lascurian, 1996) This type of tourism has traditionally attracted

a large number of clients, and produced a great deal of money to circulate in the global

economy. However, this type of tourism has also produced a great deal of negative

impacts. From an environmental perspective, tourism pollutes through greenhouse gas

emissions produced by the planes, trains, automobiles that transport travelers, and the

impacts of mass migrations of temporary residents to different ecosystems. From a social

perspective, mass tourism often brings higher levels of crime, prostitution, and noise to a

community. Other problems development agents have cited with mass tourism are that

local communities often only benefit slightly because the industry is controlled by large

multinational corporations and only provides low-level service jobs and the majority of

revenues leak out of the host community. (Mathieson & Wall, 1983; Marcouiller, 1997;

Milman, and Pizam, 1998; Honey, 1999; Pattulo, 1996; Kuss, Graffm & Vaske, 1990;

Sweeting, Bruner, & Rosenfeld, 1999; Patterson, 1997)

1-B.2 Tourism as a Development Option

In spite of its negative impacts, many rural communities see tourism as a

sustainable development option that will have less environmental and cultural impacts

than traditional development options such as agriculture, manufacturing, oil, forestry,

mining, etc. One reason rural communities are embracing the idea of tourism

- 23 –

development is because the tourist demand continues to expand and the “fragmentation

and specialization” (Marcouiller, 1997) of the tourism market has resulted in larger

demand for products which depend on the environmental and cultural resources available

in rural and marginalized areas. (Marcoullier, 1997; Fredrick, 1993; Edgell & Edwards

1993; Edgell & Cartwright 1990; Kieselbach & Long 1990; Marcouiller, 1997;Young,

1992)

In practice, the development of sustainable tourism in rural communities has been

rare due to rural communities having little or no experience with tourism, which has led

to inappropriate or poor tourism planning and development. (Marcoullier, 1997; Milman

& Pizam 1988; Jordan, 1980; de Kadt, 1976) and environmental impacts (Becker &

Bradbury, 1994) and environmental (Romerill, 1989; Budowksi, 1976; Sweeting, Bruner,

Rosenfeld, 1999; Honey, 1999).

1-B.3 Tourism Planning Models

Research suggests that traditional tourism planning models, which focus on

supply and demand economics have been too narrow in nature and are inappropriate for

developing sustainable tourism in rural communities. These traditional planning models

have placed a great deal of emphasis on promotion and revenue maximization and the

business end of tourism such as strategic marketing initiatives, destination zone tourism,

demand planning, and site facility planning while ignore other factors. (Gunn, 1994;

Morrision, 1989 as sited in Marcoullier, 1997). These planning models are limited in

scope and do not produce sustainable forms of tourism development because they cannot

deal with the complexity and sensitivity of rural communities and ecosystems.

(Marcoullier, 1996;Ceballos-Lascurian; Steck et al (1999); Steck (1999); Gibson, 1993;

Johnson and Thomas 1993; Murphy, 1988, 1985, 1983; Ceballos-Lascurian, 1996;

Lawrence, 1992)

Research shows that tourism planning needs to be expanded in scope from

concentrating mostly on economic models to embrace a more holistic or integrated

planning framework that uses research from multiple fields. (Marcoullier, 1996;

Ceballos-Lascurian, 1996; Steck et al (1999), Steck (1999); Fletcher and Cooper (1999);

Gibson, 1993; Johnson and Thomas, 1993; Murphy 1988, 1985, 1983; Ceballos-

Lascurian, 1996)

Integrative or more holistic planning strategies “explicitly incorporate regional

economic, social, political, and environmental context of the environments and

community in which tourism operations are going to operate. Integrated plans are also

characterized by being inclusive and collaborative with all parties that will be affected by

development”. (Marcoullier, 1996)

A host of authors have provided a range of approaches to achieve more integrated

or holistic methods of tourism planning. The section below provides a review of selected

planning models developed by, Ceballos-Lascurian, Boo, Baud-Bovy and Lawson ,

Sweeting Burner, Rosenfeld, 1999, Patterson, Potts, Jamieson & Noble, and Ashley and

Roe.

- 24 –

1-B.3.1 The PASLOP Technique: Early Attempts at Integrated Tourism Planning

In 1977 Baud-Bovy and Lawson developed the PASLOP technique for tourism

planning. The PASLOP technique presents a linear planning model with extensive and

adaptable feedback and monitoring systems. The PASLOP planning model recognizes

the interdependencies between the tourism industry and the regional social, economic,

environmental, cultural, and political resources of an area. Based on these resources

tourism planners propose a variety of possible tourism development options (or tourism

scenarios). These possible tourism development options are then analyzed and a best

case scenario tourism development option is chosen based the natural, cultural, and

human resources of a region and the tourism market demand as well as local political and

economic factors. This planning model also makes use of extensive monitoring and

feedback systems, which permits flexibility and adaptability. Marcoullier, 1996). Figure

1b.1 is a Conceptual representation of this model.

Figure 1B.1 Conceptual Representation of the PASLOP Model

Sociopolitical Structure of

Destination

social, economic, environmental

cultural, and political resources of

an area Supply, Demand, and

trends

Of the tourism market

Creation of Different Tourism

Development Scenarios

And Cost Benefit Analysis regarding

Each development option conducted

Taking into consideration positive and

negative

Development impacts

Best Tourism

Development

Scenario chosen and

implemented

Factors Summarized

- 25 –

Revolutionary and advanced for the time, the PASLOP approach has been used as

the foundation for other planning models but has been criticized for being a top down

approach, for having little citizen participation, and for not providing details regarding

decision making processes to determine tourism products when dealing with complex

economic and social impact s (Marcoullier, 1996; Allen, et. al. , Haywood 1998, Milman

and Pizam, 1988)

1-B.3.2 Expert Driven-Local Participatory Planning

Elizabeth Boo (1992) describes an integrated planning model for developing

tourism in protected areas. Boo’s model is an expert-driven, four step linear process

Figure 1.B.2 Coceptual Representation of Boo’s Expert Driven Four Step Model

Step one of Boo’s model calls for an assessment of the tourism environment and

directs planners to ask the following questions:

1) Where are we now? 2) What is the status if the natural resource? 3) What is the level of the tourist demand? 4) What facilities are available? 5) Who are the beneficiaries of current tourism? 6) What are the costs? 7) What is the internatl/external situation with respect to the park and the

surrounding areas/communities?

8) What cultural resources are present? 9) What do tourists come to do? 10) What could they come to do? (Boo Cited in Ceballos-Lascurian, 1996)

Step two of Boo’s process calls to planners to set goals using a best case scenario

model by asking the following questions:

1. Where would we like to be?

Step 1

Assessment of

tourism

Environment-

using specific

questions

Step 2

Goal

Setting

Best case

scenarios

Step 3

Expert led

Community

oriented

strategic

planning

Step 4

Print and

distribute

Finalized plan to

potential

collaborators

- 26 –

2. How could tourism management be improved? 3. If started from scratch, what might be done differently? 4. How could the tourism experience be enhanced? 5. How might the impact of the tourists be minimized? 6. What opportunities are being missed? 7. What would the park like to communicate to the visitor? 8. This discussion should include considerations of local communities, development

of facilities, government involvement etc. (Boo Cited in Ceballos-Lascurian,

1996)

Step three of Boo’s process calls for an expert-driven, community oriented

Strategic planning process, which makes use of group processes and outside facilitators.

Boo’s plan highlights the importance of identifying the level of tourism desired by a

community during this phase to properly identify action strategies for the

implementation of all the specific tasks required to reach this desired level of tourism

development.

Step four of Boo’s process is calls for the printing and distribution of formal

tourism strategy document describing the planning processes and the action strategies

identified in step three and distributing it to potential contributors of technical or financial

assistance.

Much like the PASOLP process, Boo’s model has multiple and flexible feedback

loops; However, unlike the PASLOP process, Boo’s model is geared toward grassroots

planning and provides a number of tools specifically designed to ensure local level

community participation.

1-B.3.3 A Team Approach to Regional and National Level Tourism Planning

Ceballos Lascurain embraces Budowski’s 1976 argument that “If tourism is to

become sustainable, efforts must be made to improve the links between nature

conservation, local community development, and the tourism industry…and this can only

be achieved is through an integrated and regional approach to planning”(Budowski,

1976) Responding to Budowski’s comments, Ceballos-Lascurian developed a

government and expert driven planning model which draws on the work of a host of other

authors including Boo. (1992) (Ceballos Lascurian, 1986;Garcia Villa, 1984; McIntyre

and Hetherington, 1991, Boo, 1992)

The first step of Ceballos-Lascusrian’s planning process is very much designed

for planning on the national or regional level and calls for governments to work with

outside experts to determine study objectives.

The second step in Ceballos-Lasacurian model is collaborative decision making

process that includes the team of outside experts and the government working together to

determine more specific short, medium and long-term objectives of tourism development.

Ceballos-Lascurian then recommends that the interdisplinary team of outside

experts leads research process to determine the unique features of an area that could be

developed for tourism research

- 27 –

Step four is an analysis of the overall environment to determine the types of

tourism possible in the region. Ceballos-Lascurian calls for a review of present tourism

development, historical background of the project, a review of the main obstacles to

further development, prospects and potentials for further development, demographics, etc

and how all of these factors will be affected by tourism development.

Step five of Ceballos-Lascurians process is policy and plan formulation in which

all information gathered in the surveys and the analyses are reviewed and a series of

development options are proposed in collaboration with government officials. The author

emphasizes the importance of providing detailed written reports on the development of

infrastructure, training and human resources, development of transportation for tourism,

coordination with other sectors, setting up of councils, and tax incentives , creation of

regional and local programs, guidelines for promotion and marketing, and guidelines for

minimizing the environmental impacts.

Step six is to provide a recommended development strategy along with

implementation guidelines and the final step of this process is a reminder to include some

form of monitoring program. Figure 1b.3 is a representation of this model.

Figure 1.B.3 Conceptual Representation of Ceballos-Lascurian’s Planning Model

Ceballos-Lascurian’s model combines many elements of both Baud-Bovy and

Lawson and Boo’s model. It promotes a participatory and collaborative decision making

process like Boo using many of the same tools; it takes a much more regional approach to

tourism planning like the PASLOP model.

Study objectives determined

By National or Regional

Government

(Normal calling on the

Involvement of Outside

Experts to facilitate planning

process)

More Specific Short,

medium, and

Long term objectives

developed

Through collaborative

efforts between

Outside Experts and

Government

Officials

Survey Conducted by Expert led

team

To Determine potential

attractions

and Unique Features

Holistic Review of

Development Obstacles

A Holistic Review of

Multiple development

Scenarios is conducted

By the Government and

Outside Experts

Detailed Implementation

Strategy

Provide as well as a

Monitoring system

- 28 –

1-B.3.4 An Integrated Approach to Sustainable Tourism and Resort Development

With the dual mission of conservation and development, Sweeting, Bruner and

Rosenfeld have developed an Integrated Approach to Sustainable Tourism and Resort

Development, which attempts to combine “intelligent policy instruments, sound science,

the use of innovative technology, the establishment of protected areas with environmental

education”. These authors believe that tourism developed with their model can have

minimal environmental impacts and act as a catalyst for social development and

biodiversity preservation. These authors offer a planning model, which depends on

national or regional implementation and acceptance prior to implementation on the local

level. The defining feature about their strategy is that they provide a list of tools for

planners to use and incorporate social and environmental factors into traditional planning

processes. These tools are for both the private and public sector and address issues such

as environmental impact assessment, land-use practices, facility construction and design,

daily operations and tourism activities, guest education, energy use, water use, solid

waste and product purchasing, waste water and sewage, tourist interactions with local

peoples, tourist transportation, and participatory land-use planning, to name a few. The

planning processes suggested by Sweeting, Bruner, and Rosenfeld are very much geared

to larger projects; however, because of the great detail in which they explore the

development of specific tools, their planning model offers a great deal of flexibility and

creative methodologies for adapting these processes to work in different sociopolitical

situations around the world and can even offer some very valuable tools to be used in

small scale development projects.

Aside from Boo’s model, the development strategies discussed above tend to

concentrate on the development of tourism from the national or regional level and place

little emphasis on site specific or small to medium sized development.

1-B.3.5 Nature Based Tourism Planning for Rural America

Concentrating more on the community level, Potts (1994) provides a step-by-step

guide for communities to follow to develop nature-based tourism within the Unites

States. Potts’s model recognizes the importance of community involvement in the

planning process, helps determine feasibility of tourism, promotes awareness of the

positive and negative impacts of tourism on a community and the environment, and

provides easy to follow step by step procedures. Potts’s handbook, however is very much

reliant on the rules, regulations, infrastructure, and organization resources available in the

United States and can be a very useful tool for community based tourism development

elsewhere but has limited applicability in the international arena, especially within

developing nations.

1-B.3.6 Ecosystem Based Planning that Empowers Communities

Jamieson & Noble (2000) recognize that strategic planning and sound

management are crucial when trying to develop sustainable community based tourism or

ecotourism and have developed a model that is not reliant on the infrastructure and

policies that only exist within developed nations. They call on planners to use an

integrated approach in regards to both the municipal concerns about tourism and the

cultural and heritage dimensions of a community. They believe that an integrated view of

destination management serves to:

- 29 –

1. address the needs of tourists and the economic interests of the tourism industry 2. approach tourism development in a way which reduces the negative impacts 3. protect local people’s business interests, heritage and the environment 4. protect the local environment in part because it is the livelihood of the destination

(Jamieson & Noble, 2000)

Their approach mimics the planning strategies presented by Potts, Ceballos-

Lascurian, and Boo discussed above but is unique in that it is ecosystem based and

recognizes local communities as being the final voice in all decision making processes.

To assist planners,Jamesion and Noble provide more than just a conceptual framework

but, like Potts, provide specific tools to implement these concepts.

1-B.3.7 Ecotourism Planning for Individual Businesses

Focusing on the development of individual businesses, Patterson (1997) offers a

linear planning model that focuses on the planning, marketing, and operational

requirements unique to ecotourism businesses. Patterson presents her model in the form

of a handbook and although conceptually it is a based on traditional supply and demand

strategic planning models, she provides methods for integrating environmental ethics and

personal values regarding operating responsible and equitable businesses into all decision

making processes. Unlike other planning models, Patterson presents her model both

conceptually and also provides step by step instructions regarding the implementation of

this model on the ground.

1-B.3.8 Collaborative and Participatory Planning Models

Recognizing that multi-models for integrated tourism planning exist, Ashely and

Roe (2000) and Jamal and Getz (1994) support the notion that sustainable tourism can be

developed using a variety of planning models as long as collaboration and participatory

decision making are embraced in the process. Jamal and Getz provide a set of guidelines

for planners to use throughout the planning process. These include: 1) recognizing

interdependencies, 2) recognizing benefits 3) perception that decisions will be

implemented 4) incorporating key stakeholders 5) specific suggestions for the role of a

convener and the flow of the general process. Ashley and Roe believe that the most

important facet to designing sustainable forms of tourism is ensuring that communities

are informed enough and empowered to be the ultimate decision makers when the

tourism development in question depends on the cultural and environmental resources

which they are the stewards of. Ashley and Roe provide a continuum showing the

different ways communities can be involved in tourism from tourism fully run and

controlled by local communities on one end of the spectrum to tourism run by outsiders

with minimal involvement from the community. Ashley and Roe then provide tools,

which communities can use to ensure that they receive equitable benefits from tourism no

matter what their level of involvement happens to be. Ashley and Roe state there are

three main goals for promoting community involvement in sustainable tourism

development 1) rural development 2) conservation, and 3) industry development.

(Ashley and Roe, 2000)

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1-B.4 Conclusions

In conclusion, the growth of the tourism industry since the 1950’s has had both its

positive and negative effects on societies, economies, and environments around the

world. Researchers have reached the common ground that traditional planning models

based on supply and demand factors have failed to be sustainable, most notably for not

taking into consideration the importance of minimizing the negative environmental and

social impacts of tourism. The call from researchers has been for planners to embrace

integrated or holistic planning models to promote tourism development, which fits into

the concept of sustainable development; however, experts have yet to agree on a singular

model for this type of planning. Whether experts should or need to agree on a singular

planning model is still a question that needs to be determined; however, researchers seem

to agree upon the importance of balancing social, economic, and environmental factors

into the decision-making processes along with the importance of participatory planning.

However, other than these suggestions, the literature on integrated or holistic tourism

planning is seemingly disjointed in that it addresses the subject matter from a variety

perspectives and has little cohesiveness when talking about tailoring the size and scope of

the tourism planning process to the goals, objectives, size and/or scope of individual

projects. The literature also does not provide one plan which:

1. Takes the capacity of local community members for innovation and entrepreneurship into consideration when determining feasibility of tourism

development options and implementation strategies.

2. Takes Entrepreneurial Social Infrastructure into consideration when determining feasibility of tourism development options and implementation strategies.

3. Addresses the realities of and provides systems to deal with limited funding and unpredictable political environments which often damper planning efforts.

4. Addresses how to include local people in areas with little or no tourism culture. 5. Makes use of local entrepreneurs and established community organizations 6. Discusses the importance active research particularly the use of pilot projects

and/or providing technical assistance during the planning process.

As discusses earlier in chapter one section A of this report the planning model

developed for this project in Rio Negro attempts to combine the factors listed above into

one model setting this planning model apart from others in the field. The most unique

feature of this planning model is its blending of action research, pilot projects, and the

Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) methodology discussed in the following chapter.

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CHAPTER TWO: THE METHODOLOGY USED FOR THIS PROJECT

2.1 An Introduction to Rapid Rural Appraisal

This project uses a qualitative survey methodology called Rapid Rural Appraisal

(RRA). First defined in 1985 by Grandstaff and Grandstaff, “Rapid Rural Appraisal

(RRA) is a process of learning about rural conditions in an iterative and expeditious

manner. More often than not, it is multi-disciplinary in nature and has an in-built

flexibility in the process of collecting information. It has been defined as ‘any systematic

activity designed to draw inferences, conclusions, hypotheses or assessments, including

acquisition of new information in a limited period of time”(Kashyap, 1992). Dunn builds

on Grandstaff & Grandstaff’s definition and considers RRA to be a “qualitative survey

methodology using a multi-disciplinary team to formulate problems for agriculture and

research development” (Dunn, 1994). This report uses many qualities of RRA while

borrowing from a similar methodology known as Participatory Rural Appraisal.

2.1.1 Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) vs. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)

Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) (Dunn, 1994; Chambers, 1992) is an

outgrowth of and often confused with RRA. PRA is an “approach and method for

learning about rural life and conditions from, with