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Assessing the Ecological Footprint of Ecotourism Packages: A Methodological Proposition

Author

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  • Maria Serena Mancini

    (Global Footprint Network, 18 Avenue Louis-Casai, 1219 Geneva, Switzerland)

  • Mikel Evans

    (Global Footprint Network, 426 17th Street, Suite 700, Oakland, CA 94612, USA)

  • Katsunori Iha

    (Global Footprint Network, 426 17th Street, Suite 700, Oakland, CA 94612, USA)

  • Carla Danelutti

    (IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation, Calle Marie Curie 22, 29590 Malaga, Spain)

  • Alessandro Galli

    (Global Footprint Network, 18 Avenue Louis-Casai, 1219 Geneva, Switzerland)

Abstract

Tourism represents a key economic sector worldwide, constituting great leverage for local economic development but also putting noticeable environmental pressures on local natural resources. Ecotourism may be a viable alternative to mass tourism to minimize impacts on ecosystems, but it needs shared sustainability standards and monitoring tools to evaluate impacts. This paper presents a first methodological proposition to calculate the environmental impact of ecotourism packages through the use of an ad-hoc, customized version of the Ecological Footprint methodology. It follows a participatory, bottom-up approach to collecting input data for the four main services (Accommodation, Food & Drinks, Activity & Service, and Mobility & Transfer) provided to tourists through the use of surveys and stakeholders engagement. The outcome of our approach materializes in an excel-based ecotourism workbook capable of processing input data collected through surveys and returning Ecological Footprint values for specific ecotourism packages. Although applied to ecotourism in Mediterranean Protected Areas within the context of the DestiMED project, we believe that the methodology and approach presented here can constitute a blueprint and a benchmark for future studies dealing with the impact of ecotourism packages.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Serena Mancini & Mikel Evans & Katsunori Iha & Carla Danelutti & Alessandro Galli, 2018. "Assessing the Ecological Footprint of Ecotourism Packages: A Methodological Proposition," Resources, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-37, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jresou:v:7:y:2018:i:2:p:38-:d:152943
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Evgenii A. Konnikov & Olga A. Konnikova & Dmitriy G. Rodionov, 2019. "Impact of 3D-Printing Technologies on the Transformation of Industrial Production in the Arctic Zone," Resources, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-15, January.
    2. David Lin & Laurel Hanscom & Adeline Murthy & Alessandro Galli & Mikel Evans & Evan Neill & Maria Serena Mancini & Jon Martindill & Fatime-Zahra Medouar & Shiyu Huang & Mathis Wackernagel, 2018. "Ecological Footprint Accounting for Countries: Updates and Results of the National Footprint Accounts, 2012–2018," Resources, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-22, September.

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