Free Essay: Significance of the Project of Ecotourism in the Region

The project is useful since the facts and theories obtained from it can be used in the implementation of changes that would help in achieving the sustainability of ecotourism in the region. It also helps in identifying some inappropriate practices that are currently practiced by the people, and which are threats to ecotourism sustainability.

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Project Description

The issue that this project proposal aims at solving is the element of sustainability in the tourism sector in Far North Queensland Australia. Sustainability in the tourism sector is a major problem since most of the changes that take place here are a threat to the environment, hence making it difficult to achieve ecotourism. The proposal, therefore, aims at considering some of the policies and factors that can be put in place, or that already exist, that can help in achieving this goal. The project will focus on the Far North Queensland of Australia, and the scope of the project will be on the tourism sector, and how ecotourism sustainability can be achieved in this region.

Background Information

There are several issues that surround ecotourism in the FNQA. For this research, the focus is on the sustainability section of tourism, and this is how tourism in this sector has created impacts on the environment, and the possible future impacts it will have on the ecosystem. Tourism in the FNQA has achieved positive growth over a period of time. However, with growth in tourism, there are collateral damages that the environment suffers. For example, the growth of tourism in this region has led to a lot of environmental damages that are entirely attributed to it. This plan tackles the challenges surrounding tourism and sustainability in the area, and some of them include the following. Firstly, there are issues pertaining to the planning and management of tourism in the region, which is the base of the entire problems to be discussed. Planning is the forecasting of what needs to be done and how it should be done in order to achieve sustainability in the tourism sector or ecotourism (Roberts, 1995). However, according to Roberts (1995), with poor planning, there are a lot of challenges that are likely to occur, and most of them are attributed to the environment.

Secondly is the conservation of natural resources. This issue poses a severe threat, especially when talking about tourism. For the tourism sector to grow, there need to be physical developments. With physical development, it implies that natural resources such as trees and land have to be interfered with through land clearing and cutting of commercial trees used for construction. The greatest threat that faces the realization of ecotourism goals in the FNQA regions concerns encroachment from investments that are meant to support tourism (Prideaux, et al., 2012). There is also the issue of rainforests in FNQA regions being under increasing threat of deforestation, climate change, timber harvesting, urban growth, and climate change. Nevertheless, there are also positive impacts that are brought forth by the development of tourism in this region, and these positively contribute to the realization of ecotourism in the region. One of them is the improvement of the transport sector through the construction of access roads to the tourism facilities. There are also investments in tourism facilities, and all these attributes to the development of tourism as an industry (Nevard & Nevard, 2014).

One of the ways through which ecotourism can be achieved is through the enforcement of nature-based tourism. Nature-based tourism in the FNQA is a profitable venture that is increasingly attracting investments from private and public sectors owing to the potential that ecotourism presents. But there is still a challenge of elusive balance between modernity and nature. Besides, to achieve ecotourism, there is a need to work on changing the attitudes of the people. When people's attitudes are well placed in support of ecotourism, people will impact conservation through deliberate public and private initiatives geared toward sustainable tourism. Without developing positive attitudes towards ecotourism, it then becomes difficult to marshall support of individuals towards environmental conservation efforts (Oviedo-Garcia, et al., 2017). Besides, tourists visiting the Wetlands of FNQA have an appreciation for the authentic indigenous attractions that are on offer, and this is a big boost to the achievement of ecotourism.

Goals and Objectives

• To identify the factors that hinder ecotourism sustainability in Far North Queensland Australia.
• To understand how tourism leads to environmental degradation, and what can be done to eliminate this impact without necessarily altering with tourism activities.
• To develop a plan that can be used in achieving ecotourism sustainability in the FNQA.
• To describe the FNQA region, and how the underlying factors in the region impact the achievement of ecotourism, with focus on cultures, policies, and the general stakeholder's attitudes.

Regional Context or Setting

There are significant changes in the tourism region due to the changes in administrative areas. However, this report data is majorly related to the tropical North Queensland tourism region of Australia. However, it is important to note that some areas that are not in the planning region are used, such as shires in the Cape York-Carpentaria area. The planning area also similarly forms only part of the focus region, which is the Far North Queensland Australia statistical division of the Australia Bureau of Statistics. This area is commonly used as a region majorly for statistical purposes, and several boundaries are crossed.

The trends taking place in this region regarding paid accommodations are a key factor that can be attributed to the impacts tourism has on the environment and sustainability. Motels, hotels, and serviced apartments are in dire demand, and this means that there is a need for physical developments, which is an enemy of conservation, hence ecotourism. The graph below shows the peaks each year from January 2002 to January 2007, and it shows how many tourists travel to Tropical North Queensland during Australia's winter to experience the warm and mild weather.

Research Questions

• What implications do education and awareness creation have for the advancement of sustainable ecotourism in the FNQA region?
• What is the role of stakeholders namely; resource allocations, tourists, and locals, in facilitating ecotourism objectives for the realization of sustainable ecotourism in the FNQA locale?
• What obligations do the government and stakeholders have in developing a collaborative effort toward attaining the objectives of sustainable ecotourism in the FNQA region?

Methodology

For this study, the information will be collected from government websites on tourism, more specifically from the Queensland Department of Tourism. Other scholarly online sources will also be used as sources of information. The data collected will be analyzed qualitatively since this is qualitative research that entails discussions on sustainability and tourism. One of the qualitative methods that will be used in the analysis of the data is grounded analysis that is based on the facts and information provided by the various authors, and that form the theories discussed in the paper.

Limitations

There is an enormous, multi-jurisdictional, and complex range of factors that could be considered in a paper of this nature. Therefore, many of them are beyond the immediate scope of this study, and the key limitations that can be listed are as stated. First, it is difficult to predict the future, and therefore, the outlined observations are the factors that have some capacity at the time of writing this paper. Secondly are the longitudinal effects. The study was conducted within a very short period of time, and this denied the researcher the room for making observations in terms of changes. As a result, the study entirely relied on secondary data that may not be necessarily accurate and may also be old and out of date. Thirdly is the access to the documents and official websites where original and accurate data can be obtained. This the study entirely depended on secondary data; information access was key. However, there are some bottlenecks encountered during the collection of data, and that presented a challenge to the process of the research.

Timeline

Objective Schedule

Phase 1: Prewriting 2-4 weeks

Reviewing the requirements of the department the proposal will be submitted to 1 week

Creating a preliminary statement (1-2 pages) 5 days

Presenting proposal to colleagues 1 week

The background, history, and context of the research 1 week

Refine the research question 2 days

Phase 2: Administrative Tasks 2 weeks

Identify and contact any relevant sources of information 3-4 days

Request necessary transcripts 1-2 weeks

Phase 3: Writing and Administration 2 weeks

Create a 10-page document with literature review, backround, methodology, limitations, and regional context 5-7 days

Add any remaining details needed to complete the draft 3 days

Phase 4: Complete and Submit Proposal 1-2 weeks

Review the proposal requirements and review and revise proposal appropriately 1 week

Request a copy edit from colleagues 5 days before due date

Print final proposal copy 3-4 days before due date

Submit proposal 2-3 days before due date

References

Department of Infrastructure and Planning (2011). The economic and social impacts of tourism in the Far North Queensland planning region. An investigation into the economic and social impacts of tourism in Far North Queensland. Queensland Government. Retrieved from http://www.dlgrma.qld.gov.au/resources/plan/far-north-queensland/background/tourism-report.pdf

Nevard, T., & Nevard, G. (2014). The Mareeba Wetlands-conservation through sustainable ecotourism. Journal of Ecotourism, 13(2-3), 152-158.

Oviedo-Garcia, M. A., Castellanos-Verdugo, M., Vega-Vazquez, M., & Orgaz-Aguera, F. (2017). The mediating roles of the overall perceived value of the ecotourism site and attitudes towards ecotourism in sustainability through the key relationship ecotourism knowledge-ecotourist satisfaction. International Journal of Tourism Research, 19, 203-213.

Prideaux, B., McNamara, K. E., & Thompson, M. (2012). The irony of tourism: Visitor reflections of their impacts on Australia's world heritage rainforest. Journal of Ecotourism, 11(2), 102-117.

Roberts, B. (1995). Managing the tourism product. Australian Planner, 32(3), 147-155.