Factors Affecting the Sustainable Ecotourism Development Amongst the Tourism Service Providers in SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL

• Author(s) / Creator(s)

  • Abraham, Bijith George
  • Hvenegaard, Glen T.
  • Manaloor, Varghese
  • Narumiya, Hugo

• Brazilian ecotourism industry is often connected with conservation and sustainability discussions. Though the web-based tourism providers are significant in promoting the tourism network of the country, one of the challenges pertained in the industry focuses on sustainable development practices. The purpose of the study is to highlight the role of certification, conservation goals and sustainable practices amongst the service providers. The study considered 110 web-based ecotourism operators in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The content analysis approach is used in the service provider’s website to maintain texts as units. Factor analysis is used to identify the underlying factors that nurture the ecotourism goals and a logistic regression model is applied to ascertain the certification criteria of the ecotourism operator’s. The study proves that the sustainability of the ecotourism activities offered by service providers is affected by certification. Preserving the environment is the leading goal of the service providers, followed by socio-cultural impacts, conduct and ethics, economic contributions, and education. The study designed a model for certification criteria that gives more importance to the sustainability of ecotourism rather than profit from the industry. The paper unveils the sustainable ecotourism development practices of the service providers and the importance of ecotourism certification.

• Date created

  2021-01-01

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Ecotourism
  • Sustainability
  • Activities
  • Services providers
  • Certification
  • Brazil

• Type of Item

  Article (Published)

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-zrwr-kc78

• License

  Permission to post granted by publisher.