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| Ross K. Dowling
School of Marketing & Tourism Edith Cowan University July 1998 Abstract Ecotourism is booming in Asia and a number of countries have embarked on vigorous ecotourism development programs to bolster the perceived economic benefits of tourism. The environmentally sensitive zones of the region are just beginning to be studied, and planning and management are the keys to their survival. This paper examines ecotourism development in South East Asia in general, and Thailand in particular, and poses the question whether it is appropriate tourism or merely an appropriation of the natural and cultural environments purely for economic gain. It is suggested that ecotourism development in South East Asia should not be pursued as the panacea for the economic woes caused by the 'Asian Crisis' but rather viewed as a tool for fostering the sustainable advancement of local communities in a manner which is commensurate with sound environmental practice, cultural preservation and economic wellbeing. Introduction Tourism is often promoted as the world's fastest growing industry and ecotourism is quoted as the fastest growing component of this (The Economist 1998). The tourism potential to natural areas is vast. Reflecting the explosive growth in global ecotourism there has been a large number of ecotourism organisations and centres established (Dowling 1997a). Organisations include The Ecotourism Society (TES), a surrogate global ecotourism association which is based in the United States of America and The Ecotourism Association of Australia (EAA). Centres include The Institute of Ecotourism, Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, Thailand; the World Travel and Tourism Research Centre (WRTTERC) in Oxford, England; the International Centre for Ecotourism Research (ICER) Gold Coast, Australia; and the Centre for Ecotourism, at the University of Pretoria South Africa. Tourism, and in particular ecotourism, is growing rapidly in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Now many other South East Asian nations such as Brunei, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam are poised to benefit from the emerging popularity of ecotourism. Ecotourism has been defined as tourism and recreation that is both nature-based and sustainable (Lindberg and McKercher 1997). It is a subset of natural area tourism and may combine elements of both nature based tourism and adventure travel. However, it is also characterised by a number of other features - notably its educative element and conservation supporting practice. There are five key principles which are fundamental to ecotourism. They are that ecotourism is nature-based, ecologically sustainable, environmentally educative, locally beneficial and generates tourist satisfaction (Dowling 1997b). The first three characteristics are considered to be essential for a product to be considered 'ecotourism' while the last two characteristics are viewed as being desirable for all forms of tourism. Ecotourism has the potential to be a major market segment to be targeted for the expansion and promotion of nature based tourism resources within the countries of South East Asia. It has come to signify an attractive investment proposition especially in countries at a growing stage of development. Within developing countries it is estimated to earn US$12 billion from an overall US$55 billion in tourism earnings (Davison 1995). Therefore ecotourism, can provide the economic basis for the conservation and protection of natural areas. Moreover, since many of the natural attractions are located away from urban areas it has the potential for regional revitalisation (Khalifah & Tahir 1997). An indication of the commitment to ecologically sustainable tourism within the region is shown by the fact that over 500 South East Asian companies exhibited at the 18th annual Association of South East Asian Nation's (ASEAN) forum on tourism held on the Philippine Island of Cebu in January 1998. At the conference the three ASEAN travel associations, the Tourism Association, the Federation of Travel Associations and the Hotel and Restaurant Association, met to discuss plans to improve the quality and sustainability of tourism within the region. In addition, some South East Asian countries are to be commended for the legislation introduced in order to ensure the protection of the environment and organisations such as the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) were amongst the first to develop an environmental ethic (Jansen-Verbeke and Go 1995). The principles of sustainable tourism are to a large extent expressed in PATA's charter and include strategies for tourism development which benefits both the host country and population. Thus ecotourism is based on the premise espoused by PATA that environmentally responsible policies fully respect the natural and cultural identity of tourism resources. However, the development of ecotourism has not occurred without difficulties. Frequent problems associated with the advancement of ecotourism within these countries include the lack of infrastructure development, the need for, and adequacy of, personnel training, the implementation of plans, and political instability. This paper now addresses the impacts of ecotourism operations within selected ASEAN countries, focusing on Thailand, and poses the question 'is South East Asian ecotourism environmentally appropriate?' Ecotourism is South East Asia Issues of ecotourism development in a range of ASEAN countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam is now illustrated through a series of selected vignettes. Indonesia Tourism is of great importance to the Indonesian economy and has been accorded progressively higher priority in the Repelites or five year plans (Wall 1997). It is postulated that Indonesia brought ecoawareness to the South East Asian region with the 1991 PATA conference 'Enrich the Environment' being hosted in Bali. Traditionally tourism within Indonesia has been highly concentrated focusing on Bali and Jakarta (Gunawan 1997). Now the country is promoting ecotourism as a major income earner with the government's current policy being to expand tourism from the nation's traditional, developed sites into remote and sometimes sensitive areas. For example, Komodo National Park in eastern Indonesia, the nation's oldest park and home of the world's largest monitor lizard, the Komodo Dragon, is keenly touting for tourists. The island is becoming increasingly popular as an ecotourism destination and the number of visitors has risen from around 3,400 per year in the late 1970s to over 12,000 per year in the early 1990s (Campbell 1994). Unfortunately there is a tendency for investors to capitalise on the ecotourism market regardless of whether or not it is being practiced responsibly. This is illustrated by comparisons of tourism developments in Kuta Bali and Kuta Lombok. Both islands foster ecotourism but have not found an adequate balance amongst the elements of environmental, economic and social sustainability. Wall's (1996) summation of ecotourism development in the two destinations presents an interesting contrast. He concludes that tourism development has taken place rapidly, but haphazardly in Kuta, Bali in the absence of firm planning guidelines. As a result, the environment appears to be suffering many adverse consequences. In contrast the more detailed planning in Kuta, Lombok has encouraged greater environmental protection. However, he warns that there will be difficult challenges in providing an adequate water supply in the relatively remote and dry area if substantial development occurs along the southern coast of the island. Thus Indonesia is facing increased demand for ecotourism and appears to be keen to meet this demand, whatever the cost. Malaysia Another country which is progressively marketing ecotourism is Malaysia. As hosts of the XVI Commonwealth Games later this year Malaysia has launched a year-long global tourism promotion aimed at raising awareness of the country's new sport and leisure facilities. However, most of its attractions are nature based and ecotourism is being heavily promoted. Malaysia's tropical rainforests are amongst the oldest and most diverse ecosystems in the world (Khalifah & Tahir 1997). Current tourist visitation and consequent adverse environmental and social impacts are not a problem, but this is a situation which will have to be monitored especially with the government's aspiration that by the year 2000 there should be one tourist per head of population. The Seventh Malaysian Plan is designed to boost the country's tourism industry by popularising the country's considerable natural attractions (Sadi and Bartels 1997). The plan promotes ecotourism which is particularly targeted for intensive development. Eligible projects include the construction of new accommodation and recreational facilities. This strategy focuses on eight tourist destinations most of which are in natural areas. They include Langkawi, Penang, Pangkor, Taman Negara, Malacca, Sarawak and Mount Kinabalu. The plan emphasises capitalising on existing attractions and promoting the surrounding tropical hinterlands. One example occurs in Batang Ai, Sarawak. Here the development of ecotourism has created employment opportunities for the local villagers as well as helping to reduce the hunting pressure on exotic wildlife. Tourism Malaysia is heavily promoting Sarawak and Sabah as nature and adventure tourism destinations. Recent research at Bako National Park, an established ecotourism destination in Sarawak, clearly identifies some of the negative and positive impacts of ecotourism (Chin, Moore & Dowling In Preparation). A survey of 210 visitors indicates that the more common adverse environmental impacts observed includes litter, erosion and damage to vegetation. Specific issues are litter along the beach, soil erosion and vegetation damage along walk trails, the provocation of wildlife, and a lack of enforcement of park regulations. Most visitors strongly support the management strategies of educating visitors more about conservation; providing additional directional signs and maps; limiting overall number of visitors; limiting areas of forest use; and limiting the number of people in a group. Activities participated in by most respondents include photography, hiking, sightseeing and observation of wildlife. This study indicates that adverse ecotourism impacts are apparent at Bako National Park, and visitors generally notice their occurrence. The study has important implications not only for Bako's park managers, but also for managers of other national parks in Sarawak because it represents one of the first efforts to address conservation management based on the outcomes of nature tourism. Robert Basiuk, the managing director of the Kuching-based Borneo Adventure, feels that ecotour operators should focus on providing good guides (Lee 1996). He suggests that there is a need to raise the minimum standard to ensure that such tours are operated in a manner commensurate with the principles of ecotourism. He suggests that the protection of the natural environment is important if products are to be promoted for the long term. A similar view is shared by David Gill from the National Park and Wildlife Office of Miri's Forest Department. He believes that Sarawak should make it the highest priority to conserve what it has, in particular the rainforest which is its greatest asset. Sabah is also being promoted as an ecotourism destination with the recent completion of a number of new accommodation facilities (McNeil 1997). For example, last year Shangri-La opened a second, five star hotel in Sabah, located on the edge of the rainforest 40 minutes drive from the capital, Kota Kinabalu. The 330 room hotel has an 18 hole golf course and its own 64 hectare wildlife reserve Sabah's inbound operation also offers soft adventure activities such as natural history tours, including trips to the Sandakan orangutan sanctuary in the northeast of the island. However, despite the growth of ecotourism in Malaysia concerns for its future have been voiced by Geoffrey Davison, a conservationist with the World Wide Fund for Nature, Malaysia (Lee 1996). He states that Malaysia has about 20 ecotourism sites all of which are so over-used that new sites will have to be developed otherwise ecotourism will become unsustainable. He describes the attention given to ecotourism as slight and patchy and suggests that only a few operators have a credible ecotourism record. Operators have been slow to develop new ecotourism products mainly due to economic constraints and lack of expertise. In addition profit margins derived from ecotours in the country are slim. To minimise costs some operators have not invested in the research and development of new products. Brunei Tourism in Brunei is still in its infancy and it has not yet reached the level of development found in Sarawak and Sabah. However, ecotourism offers the country the promise of sustainable tourism development through its relatively low impact use of natural resources. Brunei's newly established tourism unit is currently positioning the country as the gateway to Borneo as a whole because it is considered too small to sell itself as a holiday destination in its own right (McNeil 1997). Brunei is beginning to work with its neighbouring states of Sabah and Sarawak to jointly promote Borneo and it is the only destination on the island with direct flights from Europe. The case for fostering ecotourism development in Brunei is suggested
as being "particularly attractive
In Brunei the development of ecotourism has been spearheaded by the Forestry Department and various blocks have been converted for recreation. The Batu Apoi Forest Reserve has been converted into a national park. A number of 50 metre high observation towers have been built which are linked by some of the longest aerial walkways in the world. In Brunei Bay and in the Belait District additional walkways have been built over mangrove swamps. Observation platforms have been erected in Batang Duri and the S. Liang Arboretum Forest Reserve and wooden chalets have been built at the beach park in Pantai Sri Kenangan, Tutong (Tan 1995). The parks are small and are unable to provide a wide range of ecotourism activities thus giving credence to the argument for the establishment of large integrated nature reserves with multi-faceted facilities for visitors (Tan 1995). However, it must be noted that to replace forest production by nature based ecotourism will not necessarily guarantee sustainability of the natural, cultural and economic environments. Vietnam The Socialist Republic of Vietnam has significant potential for tourism development and it is rich in natural and cultural tourism assets. Its new economic policy of 'doi moi' or 'openness' is facilitating considerable tourism development and it is anticipated that the country will attract about 1.5 million international visitors by the year 2000 (Jansen-Verbeke & Go 1995). In 1991 a tourism development master plan for the Vietnam was published by the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) in collaboration with a United Nations Development Plan. The government has recognised the importance of the development of tourism by making it a priority industry for national development (Cooper 1997). This has involved preparing a new master plan focussing on infrastructure requirements, education and the marketing of tourism. Vietnam has certain advantages as an international tourism destination through its central geographical location in South East Asia combined with its ability to cater for tourists all year round. One of the new tourism concepts proposed is 'Vietnam by train'. This will disperse tourism over many regions of the country with minimal environmental impact and low infrastructure costs (Jansen-Verbeke & Go 1995). In the future it is also proposed to build rail links with China and Cambodia. Tourism development is being concentrated in and around four main economic zones (Travel and Tourism Intelligence 1997). Northern Vietnam is to developed as the staging area for excursions to Ha Long Bay, with its famous scenery, beaches and ocean for cruising. The southern part of the central zone has greater potential for ecotourism. There is an abundance of natural resources favouring coastal resort development and consequent nature based activities in the terrestrial (mountain climbing and rafting) and marine (boating and recreational fishing) environments. The preservation of the environment is identified as a key issue for this area. For example, there is a need to prevent forest destruction, the pollution of the Perfume River (which flows through Hue) and the Han River (which flows through Danang) and in general the pollution of water, air and the coastline. Southern Vietnam will particularly foster ecotourism based on the central node of Ho Chi Minh City. It appears that the Vietnamese government is committed to develop tourism along sustainable guidelines. However, the achievement of this development will be difficult in light of the urgent need for Vietnam to earn foreign exchange and because of its limited resources and knowledge. The issue of sustainability therefore hinges on the political will of the government and the ability of the tourism sector to learn from other countries in the region which have developed sustainable types of tourism. Thailand Thailand is promoting itself as an international destination and the gateway to other Indo China countries, such as neighbouring Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore (McNeil 1997). The government is hoping that its current 'Amazing Thailand' campaign will attract approximately 18 million visitors over the next two years. As part of the promotion cultural performances are being held across the country during 1998 and 1999. Today Thailand is at the forefront of ecotourism development within the South East Asian region with the release of its national ecotourism strategy (TAT 1995). Further enunciation of their interest is demonstrated in the holding of a large number of ecotourism conferences within the past three years. These include two international ecotourism conferences hosted by The Institute of Ecotourism Srinakharinwirot University Bangkok held in February 1995 (Dowling 1996) and July 1996 (Dowling & Weiler 1997) and the New Zealand - Thailand Ecotourism Forum held in Bangkok July 1997. As part of the 'ecopush' the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is assisting in the design of new hotels to minimise environmental impact. Other measures already undertaken include electrifying Bangkok's tuk-tuks and installing water purification plants to clear Pattaya's beaches. The push for ecotourism development in Thailand now has the country being marketed as three distinct destination regions - mountains in the north, culture in the centre and beaches in the south (Smith 1996). Ecotourism issues in each of the three zones is now presented followed by a specific focus on Phuket. Northern Lisu Lodge in northern Thailand is approximately one hour's drive from Chiang Mai. It has been upheld as an exemplar in ecotourism building design, environmental interpretation and community involvement (Muqbil 1994). Established by John Davies the lodge plays a central role in the creation of low-density, high-quality ecotours with minimal environmental impact. It promotes exotic experiences for ecotourists while providing the Lisu hill tribe people with an economic alternative to fanning as well as a renewed interest and pride in their culture. Park entrance fees have the potential to contribute directly to management expenses, but are currently channelled into the Thai government's general revenues. Doi Inthanon, a national park, world renowned for its 'birding' or 'du nok' now has a two tiered fee system, where foreigners pay a higher amount US$ 1.00 compared to $0.20 per person approximately). Recent research in the park indicates that 80% of tourists state they are willing to pay more for conservation (http://www.spectrav.com/ecotour thai.html). Birding is a popular form of ecotourism but it has the potential to cause adverse environmental impacts. The possibility of the harassment of wildlife is a negative outcome of ecotourism development. For example, some birders attract birds by whistling or playing a tape recorded song, which brings them out into the open to confront the 'intruder'. However, when used too often, this strategy may cause birds undue stress. Other environmental issues include trampling, litter and air pollution. Attempts are being made to mitigate these, for example, through the construction of a board-walk around the summit of Dol Inthanon and through increased tourist awareness of litter and pollution. One of the key elements of ecotourism is that it should be locally beneficial. Within Doi Inthanon there are 600 villages located in the park and the residents earn their living by growing rice and cash crops and through collecting plants and fuel wood for personal use or sale. If hill tribes can benefit economically from ecotourism they may support habitat protection initiatives and depend less on unsustainable uses of park resources. However, according to Jean Michaud from Montreal University after a village has been overexposed the tour guides move onto newer, more 'authentic' territories (Gill & Satyanarayan 1995). In a similar vein it has been suggested that ecotourism may exacerbate social and cultural impacts by intensifying the degree of contact between hosts and tourists. Central Today 13% of the land base of Thailand is environmentally protected. However, efficient management of the protected areas is constrained by low budgets. Attempts to alleviate this have been made by the construction of resorts within natural areas to create funds. This has not always been successful as demonstrated by occurrences at Khao Yai National Park. In the late I 980s TAT constructed a resort and golf course inside the park. The finding of dead deer in the park which had eaten golf balls, and incidents of elephants killed by falling off steep cliffs after new roads in the park obstructed their normal feeding routes, finally led to the closing down of these projects (Gill & Satyanarayan 1995). One of the benefits of ecotourism is that it acts as an exemplar for tourism through the promotion of sustainable development principles, especially in the area of the 'greening' of tourism. The Thai Hotel Association is urging its members to 'turn green' (Smith 1996). It has conducted a seminar series on the economic benefits of being 'environmentally friendly' and it has implemented a 'Green Leaf' program. The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand has offered interest free finance to re-equip buildings with energy saving equipment. The Tourism Authority of Thailand also helps in the design of new hotels to minimise adverse environmental impacts. The Marriott Royal Garden Riverside Bangkok and the Royal Garden Resort
Hua Hin are exemplars within the field of green practices. The former has
an eco code of ethics and in addition fosters environmentally friendly
practices outside the immediate hotel environment. Its 'Preserve
the Kingdom' environmental awareness campaign raises public awareness of
some of Thailand's endangered species
Southern Another model in the field of ecotourism in Thailand is Sea Canoe. It is the only internationally acclaimed eco development laboratory applying innovative economic and management principles to conservation-based, locally owned rural development. (http://www.seacoe.com/seamore.htm) Sea Canoe International began operating canoe expeditions in Phuket after years of operating open sea expeditions on the Pacific Ocean's coastlines. It has a strong environmental protection policy and the company "talks environmentalism to three publics -customers, staff and the host community" (Gray 1992:107). The company attributes its success to its commitment to the environment and its requirement of maintaining low tourist volumes. Another key element is Sea Canoe's desire to creatively seek out ecotourism experiences and hence business opportunities. Siam Safari's Eco-Nature Tours was the first specialist ecotour company to be formed in Phuket. It was founded by Lerd Sun Khomkrit in 1989 and it organises 1-4 day safaris in Southern Thailand. The one-day Phuket Island Eco-Nature Safari by four-wheel drive Land Rover takes visitors off the beaten track, giving four to six people at a time a variety of insights into traditional rural life on the island. The two-day Tropical Rainforest Explorer tour encompasses Khao Sok National Park, 150 kilometres northeast of Phuket on the mainland. The trek in the rainforest with knowledgeable guides offers an opportunity to observe an environment with some of the greatest diversity of life forms on the planet. In 1996 TAT invested a large sum of money towards developing facilities at Khao Sok National Park. Despite the interest in Khao Sok National Park by the TAT concerns have been voiced over the lack of apparent control or involvement from the National Parks Division and conservation groups. There are few plans for initiating scientific research or environmental or conservation programs in the park. To date there has been very little research carried out on the flora and fauna of Khao Sok, similarly in other protected areas in Thailand (Dowling and Hardman 1995). However, if we do not know and understand the resource we cannot hope to manage it effectively. In addition if the intricacies and fragile life systems of the park are not understood by scientists then it stands to reason that the ecotourist will not either. To overcome this it has been suggested that ecotourism provides a ready made vehicle for the Royal Forest Department's National Parks Division and the TAT to work together to protect the environment, increase the scientific knowledge of the area, and to work with the local community (Hardman 1997). Phuket The tourist destination of Phuket is a microcosm of the issues affecting tourism and the environment in Thailand. It has a history of a litany of tourism induced environmental problems but also includes some sound examples of tourism - environment symbiosis. For example, in 1992 the Laguna Beach Resort located in Phuket was awarded the International Hotel Association's Environmental Award due to its transformation of a polluted tin mine into an ecosystem of indigenous vegetation which utilizes recycled water, organic waste and treated sewage (Ayala 1995). The International Hotel & Resorts Association 1996 Green Hotelier of the year was awarded to Peter McAlpine then manager at the Phuket Yacht Club Hotel & Beach Resort. McAlpine's efforts reached beyond the walls of the resort to the wider area of Phuket, a once pristine island threatened by overdevelopment, mismanagement and a rapid increase in tourism. His first step was to raise the environmental awareness of the Phuket Yacht Club's 245 employees, organising staff beach cleanups and tree plantings. Gradually, energy and waste reduction programs were implemented. He organised environmental workshops at the hotel and in surrounding villages. With the help of two other hoteliers, he held a Bike-A-Thon a cycling fundraiser. Hotels in Phuket have now agreed to accept a set of minimum standards for environmental protection. To embrace the flow of ideas McAlpine hopes to implement a formal structure for ecotourism in Thailand through a system of regional councils. A further initiative is to educate primary school teachers in Phuket on environmentally friendly practices through workshops with follow up seminars (Shundich 1997). Largely due to McAlpine's efforts Phuket has agreed to accept a set of minimum standards for environmental protection and a resource management act to protect new environmental initiatives is on the government's agenda A major survey of the tourism - environment relationship in Phuket has been undertaken in the western bays (Wong 1995). This study indicates that increased tourism development causes adverse environmental impacts often leading to a complete alteration of the natural environment. However, the increase in tourism pressure continues. For example UK long haul specialist Silk Cut Travel has expanded its programme to the Far East with the launch of its 1998 'Hotels of Character' (McNeil 1997). Over the past two years client feedback has confirmed that the real appeal of the programme is for the character in the hotels featured combined with locational individuality, management and atmosphere. In Thailand, the operator has re-introduced its resort of Krabi, which it dropped two years ago, and has added hotels in the resorts of Phuket and Koh Samui. Phi Phi Island and northern Thailand itineraries featuring Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangle remain in the programme. An important feature of the tourism industry in Thailand is its close association with ecosystems which have proven to be of only marginal value for other forms of economic activity (Parnwell 1993). These include the mountain regions of the north as well as the coastal areas of the south. Parnwell's 1993 study of Ko Samui provides an illustration of some of the environmental pressures which have been associated with the relatively unplanned and uncontrolled growth of tourism. Although very small in size the island is estimated to host a projected 1.1 million visitors annually within two years. Ko Samui has been vigorously promoted as a major tourism destination by both private sector firms and the Tourism Authority of Thailand. As a consequence the environment is under increasing pressure from the tourism boom and the coast line has been changed dramatically. The coral reefs and their associated marine life have come under considerable pressure from scuba-diving and souvenir-hunting (Parnwell 1993). This has caused considerable damage to the reefs. So has the large volume of untreated effluent which is discharged into the sea from the island. It is not tourism in itself that is destructive, but rather it is a consequence of the lack of tourism planning and management. Discussion The above examples indicate that Thailand's record of fostering environmentally sensitive tourism development is increasing. However, in addition to the problems cited earlier, others have been noted by Gill and Satyanarayan (1995). They state that with barely 15 to 20 percent of forest area remaining in Thailand the increasing demands on them made by ecotourism are now causing intrusions into the last few patches of 'unopened' territories. They conclude that Thailand may be treading into dangerous territory as watershed areas become exposed and polluted, natural forests are destroyed, and the remaining biodiversity of the country is lost. For example, on Ko Taen the local community has established a conservation club to 'conserve the unity of the people and to control the island's tourism to be real ecotourism' (Leksakundilok and Klinsukont 1997:149). The theme of the 7th PATA Adventure Travel and Ecotourism Conference and Mart held in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia from 15-18 January 1995 was Nature and Adventure Tourism: Megatrend or Niche. A key outcome was that in order for ecotourism to remain environmentally and socially responsible in future, it will be necessary to limit tour group size and frequency. Therefore, ecotourism will always remain a 'niche' market. Another major issue is the problem of 'ecopirates', that is, companies which copy existing responsible tourism products, but in a non-responsible manner (Lew 1996). Such copies typically offer lower prices, inferior experiences, and detrimental environmental and social impacts. The advancement of ecotourism in South East Asia has obviously had positive and negative impacts on the natural and cultural environments. From a positive perspective ecotourism fosters a better appreciation of natural environments and their intrinsic and economic worth for protection and conservation. It also provides greater exposure both for the public and governing institutions to nature and conservation and it also has the potential to motivate the designation of natural areas for conservation and protection. On the other hand pressures originating from ecotourism can and do result in degeneration of the very ecosystems on which they depend. Impacts can be particularly severe when there is visitor intrusion where there had been none previously (Wall 1997). Another important, and often overlooked, factor is that local communities involved in the industry may not have sufficient knowledge to organise a conservation program involving visitor management techniques. Hence they may prioritise visitor satisfaction over the needs of the natural resource (Long 1991). In the case of the South East Asian countries extra pressure will be brought to bear to hasten development in order to build up foreign exchange earnings particularly in the light of the current economic crises. Tourism to these countries has never been cheaper hence it is envisaged that there will be a large influx of Australian, American and European travellers. Demand could well outweigh supply and hence put unsustainable pressure on the environment. The fostering of cruise ship tourism within the region is viewed as one way of bringing in foreign exchange earnings without the necessity of having the infrastructure in place and with minimal environmental impact. Robost growth is forecast for the cruise industry between now and the year 2000, with the Asia Pacific region rapidly gaining market share. It is the vision of the Singapore government that it become a cruise hub (Travel Talk 1998). From here can be generated an exciting multi - destinational ecotourism development program taking in many of the countries of South East Asia. Since the region has so much to offer naturally, historically and culturally. Conclusion Earlier this decade it was clear that tourism in Thailand had developed at the expense of its environment (Chon and Singh 1994) and the question was asked "is Thailand's tourism boom environmentally sustainable?" (Parnwell 1993: 287). The question has as much validity today and can be widen to include the whole SE Asian region. Environmental issues in Thailand are still a pressing concern, but despite important gains such as the 1992 Environmental Act, the incapacity of provincial governmental bodies to enforce legislation against polluters and illegal builders in big resorts like Phuket Island and Pattaya is still evident (Peleggi 1996). The extent of ecotourism impacts depends on their efficient detection and identification (either through baseline monitoring of the natural resource or through indicators) and subsequent management actions. Impact identification requires some form of baseline data or indicators to determine acceptable limits of the impacts/changes to the natural environment. Resolving these impacts requires the formulation of management strategies that are able to maintain them at a level that is acceptable for both nature conservation and nature based recreation. Tourism and the natural environment can form a symbiotic relationship (Dowling 1997c). This can be achieved by developing purpose built tourist resort complexes; investment in and careful design of tourism infrastructure; and the hardening of sites to carry more tourists whilst conserving the natural environment. Thus there is a strong case for promoting 'sustainable' forms of tourism such 'ecotourism', as a way of fostering harmony between people and nature through tourism. Unfortunately, such principles would appear to be at variance with the economic arguments in favour of mass tourism Finally, it is suggested that ecotourism development in South East Asia should not be pursued as the panacea for the economic woes caused by the 'Asian Crisis', but rather viewed as a tool for fostering the sustainable advancement of local communities, in a manner which is commensurate with sound environmental practice, cultural preservation and economic wellbeing. In this way the development of ecotourism in South East Asia will advance tourism that is appropriate for the region when based on the principles of community participation and environmental sustainability, a philosophy advocated and pursued by the Thailand Environmental Institute (TEI 1996). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author wishes to thank Sarah McNee, Research Assistant, Edith Cowan University, for her contribution to the background research for this paper. |
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