International Conference on Eurasian Economies
11-13 October 2012 – Almaty, KAZAKHSTAN
Paper detail
Paper ID : 522
Status : Paper published
Language : Turkish
Topic : Sectoral Analyses
Presenter: Asst. Prof. Dr. Zerrin Sungur
Session : 4C Turizm
Social Impact of Sustainable Ecotourism: Cases from Turkey
Sürdürülebilir Ekoturizmin Toplumsal Etkileri: Türkiye’den Örnekler
- Asst. Prof. Dr. Zerrin Sungur (Anadolu University, Türkiye)
Abstract
The concept of sustainability began to dominate tourism debates after the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development, the Earth Summit in Rio de Janerio in 1992. Ecotourism is the fastest growing sector, with an estimated growth rate of 25 to 30 percent, of one of the largest industries in the world. The motto of Action Program for Sustainable Development was that “Only whatever can be sustained by nature and society in the long term permissible.” The World Conservation Union expanded this definition as follows: “Ecotourism is environmentally responsible travel and visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature that promotes conservation, has low negative visitor impact, and provides for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local populations.” There are two major problems with respect to ecotourism: achieving ecologic integrity of the ecotourism resource and, increasing and ensuring consistency of quality of the recreation experience for the ecotourist. Economic, environmental and social impacts involved in ecotourism should be balanced within ethical principles. The first official reference to the concept of ecotourism in Turkey was made in the Eighth Five-Year Development Plan (2001-2005). The aim of this study is to explore social impacts of ecotourism in Turkey. Some projects and surveys related with ecotourism will be considered in order to get better understanding of social impacts of ecotourism on the lives of local people in Turkey.
JEL codes: A14, L83, Q01
Sungur, Zerrin (2012). "Social Impact of Sustainable Ecotourism: Cases from Turkey" in Proceedings of International Conference of Eurasian Economies 2012, pp.338-344, Almaty, KAZAKHSTAN.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36880/C03.00522
