ECOTOURISM ASSESSMENT

VISITOR MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK

•CARRYING CAPACITY (CC)
•RECREATION OPPORTUNITY SPECTRUM (ROS)
•TOURISM OPPORTUNITY SPECTRUM (TOS)
•LIMITS OF ACCEPTABLE CHANGE (LAC)
•VISITOR ACTIVITY MANAGEMENT PROCESS (VAMP)

•TOURISM OPTIMIZATION MANAGEMENT MODEL

(TOMM)
ECOTOURISM ASSESSMENT
CARRYING CAPACITY (CC)
-set limits on the population that an area can sustain. It is the
maximum level of visitor use an area can accommodate with high levels of
satisfaction for visitors and few negative impacts on resources.

TYPES OF CARRYING CAPACITY

ECOLOGICAL CAPACITY (ECOSYSTEM PARAMETERS)- to quantify the type and
degree of disturbance that an animal community is receiving from visitor.
PHYSICAL CAPACITY (SPACE PARAMETERS) - physical carrying capacity is the
level beyond which visitor satisfaction drops as a result of overcrowding.
FACILITY CAPACITY (DEVELOPMENT PARAMETERS) - accommodation carrying
capacity is fixed by bedspace and transport carrying capacity by the number of
passengers who can be transported.
SOCIAL CAPACITY ( EXPERIENCE PARAMETERS) -host social carrying capacity is
the level beyond which unacceptable change will be caused to local cultural
stability and attitudes towards tourists.
ESTIMATING TOURIST CARRYING CAPACITY

CARRYING CAPACITY = AREA USE BY TOURIST

AVERAGE INDIVIDUAL STANDARD

= 1000M^2 =125M^2 /PERSON

8M^2

ROTATION COEFFICIENT = NO. OF DAILY HOURS OPEN FOR TOURISM

AVERAGE TIME OF VISIT
= 8 HRS. = 4HRS. VISITS/DAY
2HRS.

TOTAL DAILY VISITS = CARRYING CAPACITY x ROTATION COEFFICIENT

=125 X 4 HRS = 500 DAILY VISITS

IN ORDER TO DETERMINE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IT IS
NECESSARY TO TAKE NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING:
•SIZE OF THE AREA

•FRAGILITY OF ENVIRONMENT

•WILDLIFE RESOURCE TOPOGRAPHY AND VEGETATION COVER

•BEHAVIOURAL SENSITIVITY OF CERTAIN SPECIES TO HUMAN VISITS

RECREATION OPPORTUNITY SPECTRUM
-it promotes recreational diversity that provide a broad array of
recreational opportunities for user.

THREE COMPONENTS OF ROS

1. ACTIVITY
2. SETTING
3. EXPERIENCE
Recreation setting is a combination of the BIOPHYSICAL, SOCIAL,
AND MANAGERIAL CONDITIONS.
• Natural qualities such as scenery, vegetation and landscape which would
then be the biophysical setting.
•Recreation use qualities, such as the levels and types of use constituting
the social setting.
•Conditions provided by management that may include facility development,
patrols, roads and regulations, constituting managerial setting
TOURISM OPPORTUNITY SPECTRUM
-It constitutes a continuum ranging from primitive and undeveloped
conditions to an urban environment which is intensively developed and
consists of a human-built environment.

Planners and Managers can then make more informed

decisions:
- to continue to provide the tourism opportunities planned for visitors at a
particular ecotourism site or area.
- or to increase the level of development and change the tourism
opportunities planned.
The advantages of using a TOS are that:

It constitute a planning and management matrix approach that is both

rational and comprehensive.

It indicates what tourism opportunities are already provided or sustained

It links supply with demand in a practical planning process

It provides a framework to evaluate the regional tourism alternatives and

consequences of changing development
LIMITS OF ACCEPTABLE CHANGE
-the focus is shifted from the number of users involved to the
degree of change which is acceptable in each specific zone or ROS class
in a given protected area.

The LAC planning system consists of eight steps, namely:

Identification of concerns and issues

Definition and description of opportunity classes
Selection of indicators of resource and social conditions
Specifying standards for the resource and social indicators
Identification of alternative opportunity class allocations
Identification of management actions for each alternative
Evaluating and selection of an alternative
Implementation of actions and monitoring conditions
VISITOR IMPACT MANAGEMENT (VIM)
- is a planning framework that incorporates resource and visitor
management to reduce and control adverse impacts on outdoor
recreational areas and opportunities

Goals of VIM

1. To control and reduce unwanted visitor impacts by providing a variety

of types of information and tool to assist planners and managers

2. To understand the nature and causes of visitor impact to avoid

repetition of past problems in management programmes.

3. To develop a consistent process to deal with impacts to natural

environment as well as impacts to the quality of visitor experience
VIM defines five sets of considerations:
1. Impact interrelationships - biophysical and social impacts do not occur in
isolation, but are continuously interacting.

2. Use impact relationships - the amount of use in relation to the amount of

recorded impacts although this relationship need not necessarily be
linear.

3. Varying tolerance to impacts - different habitats and user groups respond

differently to the same amount of use.

4. Activity- specific influences - specific activities result in specific types of

impact.

5. Site-specific influences - the time of year and the condition of site will
determine the amount and type of impacts.
The framework addresses three basic key issues that are
inherent to impact management:
•Identification of problem conditions

•Determination of potential causal factors affecting the occurrence and

severity of the unacceptable impacts

•Selection of potential management strategies to mitigate unacceptable

impacts
Visitor Activity Management Process
- shifts the emphasis back to the user of the resources. It is also
provides framework to ensure that visitor understanding, appreciation and
enjoyment of the resources is considered just as carefully and systematically as
the protection of the natural resources.
Tools for Managing Visitor Use of Ecotourism
Restricting the Amount of Use

Restrict entry to an area but allow visitors free choice to move about and change
their routes and activities.

Issue a restricted number of permits for specific campsites, zones or itineraries

within the area.

Require reservation: this is the most frequent used tactic in protected areas and
can be done by mail, telephone or in person.

Restrict the size of groups: this tactic can be especially effective to avoid social
conflicts.

Fines and recourse to legal action are necessary management techniques to deal
with parties that deviate from the agreed itineraries.

Restrict duration of stay by limiting the amount of time visitors may spend in any
one area.
Dispersal of Use

•Dispersing visitors on the same site with more distance between them

•Dispersing visitors on more sites with or without more distance between

them

•Dispersing visitors in time with or without changing spatial distribution

Concentration of Use
•Without changing the number of sites, the distance between parties can be
changed.

•Instead of using undisturbed areas, a few designated developed areas are

used to concentrate campers, swimmers, boaters and so forth. Tents pads are
usually used in campsites to identify spaces for camper to erect their tents.

•Concentration of use in time.