Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, United States of America.
Himalayan Conservation and Research Institute Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal.
PLoS One. 2022 May 27;17(5):e0268637. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0268637. eCollection 2022.
Ecotourism contributes to conserving natural resources and promoting natural and cultural resources stewardship. However, without the strong support and involvement of local people, it is not easy to achieve the stated goals. This study aimed to understand the local people's perception of the impacts and importance of ecotourism. We conducted a semi-structured interview of 167 respondents from Chitwan National Park (CNP), Nepal's prime center for ecotourism. The result revealed that more than 70% of respondents are interested in ecotourism activities, and their interests are significantly affected by their age, academic qualification, and occupation. Local people from the study area perceived that infrastructure development and increase in the knowledge base are significant impacts of ecotourism. The study showed that local people's socioeconomic and demographic characteristics significantly influenced their perceived impacts of ecotourism. Detailed understanding and consideration of socioeconomic and demographic characteristics can contribute to effective outreach and planning process, potentially resulting in the higher promotion of ecotourism.
生态旅游有助于保护自然资源和促进自然与文化资源的管理。然而，如果没有当地人民的大力支持和参与，要实现既定目标并不容易。本研究旨在了解当地人对生态旅游影响和重要性的看法。我们对来自尼泊尔生态旅游主要中心奇特旺国家公园的 167 名受访者进行了半结构化访谈。结果表明，超过 70%的受访者对生态旅游活动感兴趣，他们的兴趣受到年龄、学历和职业的显著影响。研究区域的当地人认为基础设施的发展和知识基础的增加是生态旅游的重要影响。研究表明，当地人的社会经济和人口统计学特征显著影响了他们对生态旅游的感知影响。详细了解和考虑社会经济和人口统计学特征可以有助于有效的推广和规划过程，从而可能促进生态旅游的更高发展。
