DEVELOPING ECOTOURISM IN YUNNAN: THE KEY ROLE OF EDUCATION IN ACHIEVING LONG TERM SUSTAINABILITY
Abstract
Possessing a unique range of high value ecosystems, landscapes, heritage and indigenouscultures, Yunnan (China) has embraced ecotourism as the major form of tourism activitypromoted by the provincial authorities. Unfortunately, few government officials or privatesector investors are aware of the requirements for establishing and maintaining a longterm sustainable industry based on the principles of ecotourism and sustainabiity. Manyof the tourism projects labelled as 'eco' have all the hallmarks of mass tourism development.This paper argues that one effective measure to overcome this problem of understandingis through education and suggests a Tourism Education Framework based on the majorstakeholder groups who are involved either directly or indirectly in the provinces'ecotourism industry.
References
Barron, P. & Prideaux, B. (1998). Hospitality education in Tanzania: is there a need to develop environmental awareness. The Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 6(3), 224-237.
Cao, M. (1999, April 22). Expo 99 preparations finished. China Daily Beijing, p. 7.
China Daily. (1999a, April 18). Hainan strives for sound ecology. China Daily Beijing, p. 8.
China Daily. (1999b, January 23). Travel notes. China Daily Beijing, p. 5.
China Daily. (1998, October 24). Focus on forest tourism fosters income ecology. China Daily Beijing, p. 5.
China National Tourism Administration. (2002). Outline of China tourism statistics. Retrieved March, 12,2002, from http://www.cnta.com/HTMLE/news/shuju.htm.
Clarke, J. (1997). A framework of approaches to sustainable tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 56(3), 224-233.
Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management, (2004), www.rainforestcrc, jcu.edu.au/publications
Cooperative Research Centre Reef Research Centres (2004), www.reef.crc.org
Cooper, M.J. (1997). Ba VI National Forest Park: Protection of a threatened environment through a combination of the redevelopment of traditional activity and the development of tourism. In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Sustainable Development in Vietnam (pp. 109-117). Hanoi: Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.
Cooper, C., Prideaux, B. & Ruhanen, L. (2002, May 16-18). Commercialising tourism research: The Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism Model. In E. Arola, J. Karkkainen & M. Siitari (Eds.), Tourism and well being, the 2nd tourism industry and education symposium (pp. 124-136). Symposium held at Jyvaskyla, Finland.
Liu, J. & Dowling, R. (1991). Integrating Tourism Development & Environmental Conservation in China in Ecotourism: Incorporating the Global Classroom. Canberra: Bureau of Tourism Research.
Mingyi, L. (2001). 21st Century Yunnan tourism industry of development strategy studies. Yunnan: Yunnan University Publishing House.
Moscardo, G., Green, D., Greenwood, T. (2001). How great is the Great Barrier Reef? Tourists' knowledge and understanding of the World Heritage status of the Great Barrier Reef. Tourism Recreation Research, 26,19-25.
Mclaren, D. (1998). Rethinking tourism and ecotravel. West Hartford: Kumarian Press.
Newsome, D., Moore, S.A. & Dowling, R. (2002). Natural area tourism ecology, impacts and management. Clevedon: Channel View Publications.
Nianyong, H. & Zhuge, R. (2001). Ecotourism in China's nature reserves: Opportunities and challenges. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 9(3), 228-263.
Prideaux, B. & Cooper, M. (2002). Ecotourism in Indonesia: a strategy for regional tourism development? ASEAN Journal on Hospitality and Tourism, 1(2), 95-106.
Swarbrooke, J. (1999). Sustainable tourism management. Wallingford: CAB International.
Tao, H. (1990). Conceptual designing and planning of Tang Yu Forest Park in Shaanxi Province the Peoples Republic of China. Unpublished masters thesis, University of Maine.
Xiao, Q. & Liu, Z. (1995). Tourism and hospitality education in China, tourism in China. In A.A Lew & L. Yu (Eds.), Tourism in China: Geographical, political, and economic perspective. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.
Yunnan Tourism Bureau. (1998). A Comprehensive Knowledge on Tourism and Hospitality. Kunming: Yunnan People's Publishing House.
Weaver, D. & Oppermann, M. (2000). Tourism management. Brisbane: Wiley.
Zhang, G. (1989). China's tourism development since 1978: policies, experiences, and lessons learned. In A.A. Lew & L. Yu (Eds.), Tourism in China: Geographical, political, and economic perspective (pp. 3-17).Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.
Zhang, Y. (2000). Tourism and regional imbalance in Yunnan (China). In C. Proff & B. Janeczko (Eds.),Proceedings of the Eleventh Australian Tourism and Hospitality Research Conference 2001 (pp. 395-407). Canberra: University of Canberra.
Downloads
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Manuscript submitted to ASEAN Journal on Hospitality and Tourism has to be an original work of the author(s), contains no element of plagiarism, and has never been published or is not being considered for publication in other journals. The author(s) retain the copyright of the content published in ASEAN Journal on Hospitality and Tourism. There is no need for request or consultation for future re-use and re-publication of the content as long as the author and the source are cited properly.
