The link between protected areas and tourism is as old as the history of protected areas. Protected areas need tourism, and tourism needs protected areas. Though the relationship is complex and sometimes adversarial, tourism is always a critical component to consider in the establishment and management of protected areas.

These guidelines aim to build an understanding of protected area tourism, and its management. They provide a theoretical structure, but are also intended to help managers in practical ways. The underlying aim is to ensure that tourism contributes to the purposes of protected areas and does not undermine them.

While protected area planners and managers can do much to build a more constructive relationship with the tourism sector, they operate within legal, political, economic and cultural contexts that greatly limit their freedom. Moreover tourism itself is driven by many forces that are beyond the influence of park managers. Therefore the success of these Guidelines depends in part on action taken by governments and others, for example in updating legislation relating to protected areas and tourism, or introducing economic incentives to encourage sustainable forms of tourism.

Nonetheless, managers can and do play a critical role. By working with a broad range of stakeholders, and notably the industry and local communities, they can do much to ensure that tourism works for their park and for the people living in it or nearby. These Guidelines contain numerous practical suggestions about how this can be done, based not only on sound theory but also on practice from around the world.

Download the paper (1.6 MB, PDF)
http://www.turismo-sostenible.co.cr