Nature Tourism and Enterprise Development in Ecuador

Resumen

Nature-based observation and adventure figure prominently in Ecuador’s tourism attractions. From the standpoints of geography and biology, Ecuador is a small but highly diverse nation divided into four distinct zones: the Sierra Highlands, the Amazon Basin, the Pacific Coast Lowlands, and the Galapagos Islands. Across these four zones is found a wide variety of natural ecosystems for both casual and dedicated naturalists. Nature tourism is oriented primarily to visiting a few private holdings plus the publicly-owned national parks and related reserves. However, the major tour operators and airlines have not yet adopted a formal approach to promoting tourism which is specifically nature-oriented. The number of international visitors engaging in na-ture-oriented activities on the mainland falls far short of visitation to the Galapagos Islands. Responsible opinion concurs that development of tourism in the Galapagos must be carefully controlled, but disagreements concern practical interpretation of that ideal. A number of sites in the Galapagos Islands presently exhibit overuse and misuse. Among alternative strategies to relieve this pressure is use of the Galapagos as just one component in natural history expeditions, with the other destinations distributed over the mainland. A number of subjective reasons suggest that nature tourism should be encouraged. Spokespersons contend that it attracts desirable kinds of visitors; directs economic activity to remote communities; is relatively tolerant of primitive infrastructure; and maintains visitors in the country for more days than other forms of tourism. Despite these possible advantages, nature tourism is often constrained by low social carrying capacity. Another constraint is the present low level of tourism marketing and promotion. On the supply side, constraints include lack of nature-related information about the country, limited infrastructure and facilities, and de-ficiencies in guide services.