Governing Ecotourism: Communities, Conservation and the Limits of Participation

Ecotourism promises a rare alignment of interests: travellers seeking authentic encounters with nature, governments seeking revenue, and conservationists seeking protected landscapes. But what happens to the communities who call those landscapes home?
Drawing on original discovery at two contrasting Malaysian sites, the limestone caves and border market of Perlis State Park, and the forested reservoirs of Ulu Muda, this book examines the gap between the participatory ideals of ecotourism and its everyday practice. Through the voices of villagers, cooperative members and local officials, the authors trace how power, policy and institutional design determine who actually benefits when a natural area becomes a tourist destination.
Neither a rejection of ecotourism nor an uncritical endorsement, Governing Ecotourism offers a clear diagnosis and a practical policy agenda for building community centred tourism that delivers on its promises, for conservation, for visitors, and for the people who live there first. A vital resource for tourism scholars, planners, policymakers and development practitioners working at the intersection of conservation and community welfare.