REBRANDING A COUNTRY WITH ECO-TOURISM: A CASE FOR BANGLADESH
01)Introduction:
Almost every country has lot natural resources, beauties by which it can make a gateway for tourism. According to World tourism organisation, in 2008 international tourist arrivals reached 924 million, up 16 million over 2007 and 11.3 million arrivals in South Asia (Bangladesh, India, Srilanka), a 4.3% rise from 2007. (World Tourism Barometer, 2009). Eco- tourism, a form of tourism which appeals to ecologically conscious individuals, put an impact on economy, the nature and environment, the local population at the places visited and the visitors themselves.
Bangladesh, that located conveniently on the east-west air- corridor making it a gateway to the far east and endowed with resources and the potential for a eco-tourism industry. The south east of the country has a 120 km long beach of soft silvery sand, is ranking one in seascapes category in the new seven wonders of nature. The Sundarbans Mangrove Forest, another natural iconic beauty, was declared as a world heritage by UNESCO in 1997. Moreover, the range of the hills clad in lush green thickets is treasured locations for eco-tourist and wild life watchers.
World tourism organisation forecasts that global tourism will hit 1.56 billion international arrivals by 2020. Therefore, as a developing country it would be worthwhile to study on eco-tourism in Bangladesh. The tourism industry is especially important to developing countries since it is the principal foreign exchange earner for 83% of developing countries. (Lisa Mastny, 2001)
Key words: Bangladesh, Eco-tourism, Nature, Tourist, environment
02) Brief review of related literature:
Ecotourism is responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well being of local people. (The International Ecotourism Society, 1990). It is one of the few viable alternatives for ensuring the sustainability of protected areas. This is because of its no-extractive -nature, in addition to a symbiotic and bi-directional relationship in which ecotourism can provide incentives for protection and we’ll manage protected areas offer encouragement for visitation. (Agardy, 1993).
Unfortunately most studies indicate that ecotourism is no panacea for development because of its potentially adverse economic, social & environmental implications. These include detrimental impacts on wild life and fragile ecosystem from nature based tourism (Butler 1991), a break down of local culture traditions (Crand all 2002), a lack of economic benefits to local people Eagles & Mccool 2002), and aggravated conflicts over access to resources (Barkia 1996)
Tourism is sustainable when its development and operation include participation of local population, protection of the total environment, fair economic return for the industry and its host community as well as a mutual respect for any gratification of all involved parties (Jafari, 1996 P -959)
03) Aims and objectives of research:
Ecotourism has been identified as one of the most important economy driver for most developing countries. My objective is to apply creative ideas to make competitive economic advantages from our natural wealth. Therefore,
- I will explore the possible ways to build up an attractive image of the country and sustainability of it
- I will focus the potential for establishing ecotourism that can empower local communities
- I will also examine some critical issues what is our barriers in the way to get benefit from ecotourism
- In particular, based on the strength of research findings, I will offer recommendation in the field of ecotourism of Bangladesh.
In summary, the overall objectives of this project are to research in depth the sector of ecotourism in Bangladesh in order to establish an attractive image of the country so that Bangladesh will be a fabulous and fascinating destination for the nature lovers eco-tourist.
04) Statement of the Design and Methodology:
It is obviously important to gain an understanding on the ecotourism industry and how it can be empowered the local community and put a positive growth in total economy of my proposed country Bangladesh. Qualitative approach will adopt in order to the aims and objectives of the proposed research. For the nature of my research, I suggest using a survey as it belongs to descriptive methods of research providing descriptive information, which enables generalisation to be made, surveys gather data at a certain point in time to describe the existing condition.
4.1) Methods of data collection:
Data collection requires conducting certain procedures for further analysis. For survey, researchers usually use questionnaires and interviews supporting each other. Questionnaires allow data collection from a wide group of participants and have a fair reliability. The questionnaires is a widely used and useful instrument for collecting survey information, providing structured, often numerical data, being able to be administered without the presence of the researchers, and often being comparatively straightforward to analyse. (Wilson and McLean 1994).
In my research I will study primary and secondary data as David (1990) defines that primary data collection is necessary when a researcher cannot find the data needed in secondary sources and Secondary research is another method that using in this research. Secondary data consist of information that already exists somewhere, having collected for another purpose. Secondary data can be obtained more quickly and at lower cost than primary data. Moreover, it can provide the data that individual cannot collect on his/her own. Emory (1991). Furthermore, I will get information from the nature of research such as books, articles, newspaper, journals and websites etc.
4.2) Data analysis:
Analysis of the gathered data is the phase when the mix of interviews and questionnaires discloses itself in the best life. Three main undertakings should be performed during questionnaire data processing: completeness, accuracy and uniformity. (Moser and Kalton, 1977). According to Cohen and Manion (2000) identify four important steps in the analysis of interviews: generating natural units of meaning, classifying, categorizing and ordering these units of meaning, structuring narratives to describe the interview contents and interpreting the interview data.
05) Rationale and limitations of study:
5.1) Rationale:
Where the rationality is the answer is prominently dominant in the why we make research? The easiest are as follows:
- to understand the practical field of ecotourism
- to help to pursue the study in better way
- To deserve the international recognition
- To fulfil the condition posed by the BA in Business Administration programme
5.2) Limitations:
Obviously chosen methods have certain weaknesses. For instance interviews are much differentiated depending on mutual trust or interviewee may feel ethics problem (question is too deep to answer). At the same time we are given three months to complete the dissertation which is not enough to purely justify my proposed research. As I should finish my research by 31st of August (16 weeks), work plan will be on next page:
5.3) Work plan:
| Weeks | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| Problem Identification | • | |||||||||||||||
| Introduction | • | • | ||||||||||||||
| Literature Review | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||
| Choice of Methodology | • | • | • | |||||||||||||
| Data Sources | • | • | ||||||||||||||
| Data Collection | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||||
| Evaluation | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||||||
| Editing | • | • | ||||||||||||||
| Final Document | • | • | ||||||||||||||
| Binding of Document | • |
06) Budget:
Budget of the research includes the following costs:
- publishing questionnaire (printing & postage)
- going to Bangladesh for research ( air fares)
Finally I will put distinctive efforts to carry out a logical research in order to rebrand my country Bangladesh with ecotourism that will empower local community as well as the economy.
07) References:
01) Agardy, M.T., 1993. Accommodating ecotourism in multiple use planning of coastal and marine protected areas. Ocean and Coastal Management, 20 (3): 219-239.
02) Butler, R. W., 1991. “Tourism, environment, and sustainable development”, Environmental Conservation, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 201-209.
03) Cohen, L. Manion, L., 2002. Research Methods in Education. Routledge Falmer, London.
04) Crandall, L., 2002. “The Social Impact of Tourism on Developing Regions and its Measurement,” In Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Research: A Handbook for Managers and Researchers, pp.373-383
05) Eagles, F. J. & McCool, S. F. H. C. D., 2002. Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas – Guidelines for Planning and Management, IUCN.
06) Jafari.J., 1996. world conference on sustainable tourism. Annals of tourism research, p-959.
07) Moser, C. and Kalton, G., 1977. Survey Methods in Social Investigation. Heinemann, London.
08) Lisa Mastny, Treading Lightly: New Paths for International Tourism, World watch Paper 159 (Washington, DC: World watch Institute, December 2001), p. 15.
09) Wilson, N. McLean, S., 1994. Questionnaire Design: a Practical Introduction. Newtown Abbey, Co. Antrim: University of Ulster press.
10) Unwto World Tourism Barometer volume 7. No-1, January 2007.
11) http:// www. Unwto.org/facts/eng/pdf/barometer/unwto-barom09_1_ (Access: 15/05/09)
12) http://www.new7wonders.com/nature/en/liveranking/ (Access: 16/05/09)
13) http://whc. Unesco.org/en/list/798 (Access: 16/05/09)
14) World Tourism Organization, Tourism 2020 Vision, at http://www.world-tourism.org/market_research/facts/market_trends.htm. (Access: 15/05/09)
15)http://www.ecotourism.org/site/c.orLQKXPCLmF/b.4835303/k.C64B/What_is_Ecotourism.htm——ecotourism (Access: 17/05/09)