Keywords: Ecotourism. Biodiversity. Natural Resources. Sustainable Development.

Resumo

O ecoturismo é a atividade apropriada para a realização do turismo em locais protegidos, pois se preocupa com a conservação ambiental, contribuindo para o desenvolvimento das comunidades locais. O potencial para o ecoturismo é significativo devido aos parques nacionais, santuários da vida selvagem, reservas de conservação e da comunidade local, muitas das quais incluem reservas de animais. Portanto, este estudo tem como objetivo realizar uma revisão sistemática da literatura sobre pesquisas de alto impacto sobre a evolução e as tendências relacionadas ao ecoturismo no contexto mundial, a fim de compreender as diversas perspectivas por meio de análises críticas, identificando lacunas para pesquisas futuras e investigando tendências neste corpo de literatura. Para isso, foram aplicados filtros ao portfólio final de artigos para identificar os estudos mais relevantes na área. Utilizou-se o software VOSviewer, para tópicos de gerenciamento de referência e pesquisadores. Os resultados mostram os principais desenvolvimentos e tendências no corpo de literatura referido, possível relação do ecoturismo, bem como as principais revistas que realizaram estudos sobre o tema e quais são seus resultados. No entanto, podem ser vistos os principais países que abrigam estudos de alto impacto (JCR 2019) sobre os temas abordados e suas localizações. Além disso, este estudo fornece uma visão geral sobre o ecoturismo e as possibilidades de pesquisas futuras. Oportunidades futuras de ecoturismo devem ser relacionadas em termos de áreas protegidas.

Palavras-chave: Ecoturismo. Biodiversidade. Recursos Naturais. Desenvolvimento Sustentável.

1 INTRODUCTION

Ecotourism is a part of sustainable tourism, with the potential to become an essential segment in the tourist area in general (CHOI; SIRAKAYA, 2019). However, the lack of understanding of ecotourism initiated an ambiguity among professionals in the sector and researchers (LEE; JAN 2018). The concept of ecotourism is organized trips with responsibilities to natural areas in order to conserve the environment and preserve the well-being of the local community (MOZUMDER et al., 2017). Ecotourism involves two factors, the first being care for sustainable development and the second the benefits for the local population. The fundamental themes of ecotourism are classified into environmental preservation, community interaction, cultural aspects and economic advantages (FONT, 2019).

This study carries out a systematic review on the evolution and the world trend on ecotourism and the implications for future research. The study is structured as follows. This section presented the initial considerations, the objective of the study and its originality. The next section of this article presents the methods adopted for the development of this study. Following, the main trends and discussions on the topic are presented. Finally, the final considerations of this study are presented.

2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

Ecotourism involves a wide range of definitions, it involves reconciling social, economic and environmental issues (DE LIMAR; WEILER, 2018). All of them are based on responsible production and consumption through effective use in reducing waste (CHOI; SIRAKAYA, 2019).

The ecotourism should satisfy attractions should be nature-based, visitor with those attractions should be focused on education and product management should follow principles and practices associated with economic sustainability, socio-cultural and ecological (CARTER et al., 2020). Ecotourism is recurrent keyword for tourism development and sustainable tourism.

Ecotourism is a sustainable tourism and a vital segment in the overall tourism industry because of its crucial role in generating income through monitoring of trends (DE LIMAR; WEILER, 2018). The themes of ecotourism can be categorized as empowerment of vulnerable groups, environmental conservation, community participation and cultural preservation (MOZUMDER et al., 2017).

Therefore, the concept of ecotourism is vital because it will act as an incentive coupled with environmental needs and satisfying social (HORNG, et al., 2018). The development of ecotourism has not gained much attention as compared to that of developed nations (CHOI; SIRAKAYA, 2019). Culture plays a significant role in ecotourism and knowledge of stakeholders in ecotourism activities (PAWSON et al., 2012).

3 METHODS

To conduct a systematic review based on high impact articles, was used to build the present study’s portfolio, as presented in Figure 1. This study used the ScienceDirect, Scopus and Web of Science databases to search articles and review articles, within no time limit. The set of keywords used in the search was defined using truncation symbols and Boolean operators, as follows: (‘ecotourism” AND ‘trend” AND “evolution” AND sustainable tourism”). After searching the databases, 148 articles were found (as observed in Figure 1).

Figure 1 - Summary of literature review steps

Source: Own Authorship (2020).

The application of such method helped identify high impact research conducted on this study’s theme within no time limit. At last, after full reading of the remaining articles, the ones found not tied to this review’s topics were excluded from the portfolio.

Final portfolio of articles used in the study between 2002 to 2020, as by Table 1.

Table 1 – Final portfólio

Continua......

Source: Own Authorship (2020).

Eco Mont-journal on Protected Mountain Areas Research, Tourism Management, Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, Journal of Tourism Research, Resources and Journal of Sustainable Tourism publish a very stable number of articles on the theme of sustainability, with an impact on their citations. These journals occupy the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth positions in the management category ranking at JCR 2019. Therefore, Table 1 reveals that 18 years ago a number of journals had published articles on ecotourism. In summary, their articles report concerns between the environment, the evolution of the scale of behavior of ecotourism, community tourism, fishing, geography of ecotourism and the evolution of tourism, growing year after year.

Therefore, this section sought to show some of the main characteristics of the final portfolio of documents found in the literature. In the next section, a discussion seeking to present the highlights on the theme is presented.

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The final portfolio comprised 33 articles relating the evolution and trends related to ecotourism in the world context to understand the various perspectives. Term-co-occurrence visual maps were constructed assisted by the VOSviewer, as by Figure 2.

Figure 2 – Co-occurrence of terms—final portfolio

Source: Own Authorship (2020).

A visual map based on text data was made considering titles and abstracts, using VOSviewer’s full counting method with a minimum number of occurrences of 5, thus 708 terms out of a total of 122 met the criteria. Ecotourism is the most frequent keyword for sustainable tourism articles, followed by tourism development.

Finally, to perform the full analysis of the final portfolio, some characteristics were taken into consideration, even though not all the articles covered all the topics analyzed. Besides the year of publication, authors, journal, impact factor of the journal and the number of citations, which were already mentioned, the remaining observed and assessed characteristics were: article’s subject (what it was about), main topics (sustainable tourism, ecotourism, natural resources, etc.), country, continent, main recommendations, conclusions, and any other observations made by the authors.

The authors neither claim this study to be exempt from limitations nor exhaustive. Nonetheless, it is believed to bring a reasonable contribution to the addressed body of literature, since to the best of the authors’ knowledge there have been found no studies investigating the joint approach of this study’s topics of interest as in the present piece of work. Various topics were covered on ecotourism and sustainable tourism in numerous countries.

The median years of appearance, it is possible to conclude that the terms in dark blue (country, ecotourism, challenge), the terms in red and green (sustainable tourism, sustainability, tourism, indicator, sustainable tourism research, sustainable tourism development) are subject to high impact articles, according to the filters applied in this study, as by Figure 2. In addition, green and red terms comprise more recent approaches (2019 and 2020), as they appear only in recent years. Therefore, it is clear that high-impact research has been carried out on the environmental impacts of tourism (CARTER et al., 2020); sustainability indicators for community tourism management (CHOI; SIRAKAYA, 2019); preservation areas to encourage sustainable development (HORA, 2018); fishing-based ecotourism (MOZUMDE et al., 2017); tourism for environmental conservation (NETO, 2016); sustainable tourism (NINEROLA et al., 2015); the value of community tourism (PAWSON, D’ARCY and RICHARDSON, 2012); clean tourism with green logistics (PERKUMIENE et al., 2010); the use of fishing-tourism as a new perspective (PIASECKI et al., 2009); sustainable development for the perception of ecotourism (PRAVDIC, 2006); the challenges of tourism (QIAN, WEI; LAW, 2003); the promotion of sustainable tourism (YOOPETCH; NIMSAI, 2002).

Regarding the number of publications, periodical and the impact factor of the articles on the evolutions and trends of ecotourism in the world over time, main recommendations, conclusions and any other observations made by the authors, found through the classification method of this study. The classification of the journals of the 22 selected final articles, as presented in Figure 3.

Figure 3 – Number of publications per journal

Source: Own Authorship (2020).

The journals that have received studies on ecotourism and sustainable tourism have changed over time, as presented in Figure 2. It is observed that the journals that most published high impact articles on the research topic were: Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Tourism Management, Journal of Tourism Research, International Journal of Tourism Research, Journal Protected Mountain Areas Research, Sustainability, Tourism Geographies and International Journal of Environmental Research.

In the literature, it is observed that sustainable tourism is responding to the need for more responsible policies and forms of corporate governance in the sector, adding the involvement of stakeholders in the processes (FRONT, 2019; HAALAND; AAS, 2018). Tourism favors the avoided impact through carbon emissions related to tourist transport and waste generation (DE LIMAR; WEILER, 2018; NETO, 2016). Therefore, there are studies that assess the optimization of these effects (DE LORENZO; TECHERA, 2019; HORA, 2018). Other research investigates the changes in tourism demand stimulated by damage to climate change (ORGAZ-AGUERA, 2015; PRAVDIC, 2006).

In the geographic analysis, the number of publications by country, since the first high impact article found through the classification method of this study, as presented in Figure 4. There seems to have been an increase in the number of publications on the topic over time, however, it is still too early to reach conclusions on trends, since there is still no extensive history.

Figure 4 – Number of publications per country

Source: Own Authorship (2020).

Figure 5 – Number of publications per continent

Source: Own Authorship (2020).

The process for the formation of knowledge between tourist companies and the local population contributes to the identification of fundamental aspects for the local process development on environmental and social factors. Local communities are unaware of most activities carried out by the government or entities related to the environment, the development of local tourism and on sustainable development (CARTER et al., 2020; CHOI; SIRAKAYA, 2019; PIASECKI et al., 2009).

Studies have shown that the community participates in group activities and it ends up manifesting itself, but direct action is essential for the formulation of laws that seek environmental preservation. The authorities’ lack of awareness of the excess of tourist activities directly within the preservation areas close to the communities, impacts on their tradition, history, nature and local culture. The localities with natural attractions, affection of the local population and a direct contact with the environment encourage the access and dissemination of tourist points, and thus, showing an unmeasured tourist potential for ecotourism.

The main developments and trends related to ecotourism and sustainable tourism in the selected literature, as presented in Table 2.

Table 2 – Development and trends in ecotourism

Source: Own Authorship (2020).

Concepts on the development and trends on ecotourism that have changed over the 18 years analyzed. In the literature, it was identified that natural sites and communities that are economically benefited through broad environmental protection initiatives (see Table 2). It is essential to increase investments in raising the awareness of tourists and local communities in the development of value for local products and services through tourism. The benefits of ecotourism for communities and places are economic security and the preservation of local cultural traditions (CARTER et al., 2020; FRONT, 2019).

The development of tourism products is a form of income for local residents. Providing adequate infrastructure to tourists and residents are important characteristics in the spread of tourism (DE LORENZO; TECHERA, 2019; NINEROLA; SANCHEZ-REBULL; HERNANDEZ-LARA, 2015). People’s understanding of the regional context is essential to achieve the expectations of sustainable tourism, as it must be offered as a viable alternative to current tourism practices (HAALAND; AAS, 2018; QIAN; WEI; LAW, 2003).

The impacts of tourism differ in several regions of the world, but the main conclusion is the continuity of research on the preservation of natural environments. Governance needs to ensure the protection of marine species and areas, as nature-based tourism, including experiences involving interaction with marine species, continues to attract considerable public interest worldwide. The increase in uncontrolled tourist activities portrays negative environmental effects (ORGAZ-AGUERA, 2015; PIASECKI, et al., 2009).

Tourist authorities should encourage the development of certification systems for ecotourism (PERKUMIENE et al., 2010; YOOPETCH; NIMSAI, 2002). The relationship between fishing and tourism is a solution to the need to create innovative tourism and a way to find new sources of income for fishing, in order to make them more profitable and sustainable (MOZUMDER et al., 2017). The development of sustainable tourism is a trend of change and contribution to climate change (NETO, 2016; WALTER; SEN, 2003).

5 FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

This article presented a quick systematic review of high impact literature on the evolution and trends of ecotourism. From this study’s final portfolio a few conclusions could be drawn. Research in the referred body of literature is still incipient and cannot be said to have been following solid trends so far. Studies on ecotourism is noted to be in its infant stage, yet to be further developed and defined. This form of literature review has contributed to expand the existing knowledge on the subject and future studies.

Furthermore, most high impact research has been conducted in Europe and Asia, with a small participation of developing countries, being Australia and United States the developing countries of highlight. Yet, most studies address sustainable tourism and its use as a development strategy, regions, patterns, potentials, managing, social entrepreneurship, community tourism and validation of the ecotourism behavior scale.

Research on ecotourism and sustainable tourism has not been distributed equally in the world, even though several countries have published at least one article. Most of the studies identified are concentrated on the continents of Oceania and North America. Australia is the leader in studies on this subject, but in recent years, some countries, such as Canada, Taiwan and Thailand have come close in number of publications. On the other hand, the recent emergence of countries like Chile, Ecuador, the United Kingdom, Poland, among others, are noticeable.

Ecotourism encourages the solution of important issues such as poverty and environmental degradation. Several international destinations have achieved the desired results with ecotourism, as is the example of National Parks in Ecuador, Brazil and India. This result was achieved with awareness measures with training and information about the possible environmental damage to tourists, local communities and local traders.

In contrast, other ecotourism destinations such as the southern region of the African continent, South America and countries in Eastern Europe identified in the systematic literature review face many challenges due to the slow progression of ecotourism. Therefore, it is essential to understand the problems with ecotourism initiatives among countries with difficulties and to understand how these situations should be resolved in the future. These difficulties involve cultural and social impacts of tourism, essentially when not structured with the parameters of sustainability. The degradation of the environment, changes in the values of local communities and in the social process among local residents, as the excess of tourism encourages the abandonment of traditional cultures, resulting in the growth of violence. The cultural traditions of communities need to manifest themselves spontaneously with incentives from government systems and without necessarily becoming a tourist activity.

In this sense, the study examines the positive impacts of ecotourism for tourists, local communities and traders, the challenges and the solutions to correct these obstacles. Finally, the research implications proposed in this study provide concepts for academics to initiate new research.

As future research, it is suggested to analyze the challenges that prevent the expansion of ecotourism in attractive destinations and the economic, social and environmental implications for sustainable development. The present study shows trends that can be addressed in future research. For future studies it is considered important to investigate other impacts, such as political, technological and legal. The study is expected to provide perspectives on the status of ecotourism research worldwide and to encourage researchers.

Furthermore, approaches that are world can unite practitioners, researchers and government in more strong and focused actions developing worldwide networks to assist knowledge about the development and trends of ecotourism.

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