{"id":16854,"date":"2019-10-16T04:16:39","date_gmt":"2019-10-16T04:16:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecotourism.org\/?p=16854"},"modified":"2019-10-16T04:16:43","modified_gmt":"2019-10-16T04:16:43","slug":"fourth-annual-armenia-ecotourism-conference-key-stakeholders-gather-to-discuss-the-future-of-ecotourism-connected-with-protected-areas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecotourism.org\/besttours\/fourth-annual-armenia-ecotourism-conference-key-stakeholders-gather-to-discuss-the-future-of-ecotourism-connected-with-protected-areas\/","title":{"rendered":"Fourth annual Armenia Ecotourism Conference: Key Stakeholders Gather to Discuss the Future of Ecotourism connected with Protected Areas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe fourth annual AUA Ecotourism Conference was\nheld on August 30-31. The event was organized by the AUA Acopian Center for the\nEnvironment. in partnership with the Tourism Committee of the Ministry of\nEconomy of the Republic of Armenia (RA), RA Ministry of Environment, WWF\nArmenia and Transboundary Joint Secretariat funded by the KfW German\nstate-owned development bank and The International Ecotourism Society (TIES).

\nExperts from The International Ecotourism Society, EUROPARC Federation, and the\nInternational Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) were among the key\nspeakers. The invited participants included tour operators, policy makers, and\nprotected area managers and experts.

\nThis year\u2019s Conference focused on the role of protected areas in ecotourism and\nsustainable tourism development, which ensure protecting the environment and\nenabling nearby communities to benefit from growth in tourism.

\nProtected Areas and the National\/Regional Economy

\nDr. Thiago Souza, from the IUCN Commission on Protected Areas\u2019 Tourism\nSpecialists Group, talked about the global experience with investing in\nprotected areas and the returns to the national and regional economies.\n\u201cPolitically, the value of investing in protected areas is often lost because\nwe typically don\u2019t make an adequate economic analysis,\u201d points out Dr. Souza.

\nHe explains that in most places officials simply make an accounting or\nfinancial analysis. That is, they look at the budget of the protected area and\nthe revenues generated from the entrance fees. \u201cFor most protected areas, the\nfees would be substantially smaller than the budgets of the protected areas,\u201d he\nsays. \u201cIn Brazil, for instance, budgets can be 9 times greater than fees\ncollected.\u201d 

\nBut when an economic analysis is conducted, which considers more broadly the\nvisitor spending and the tax and multiplier effects of this spending, a very\ndifferent picture appears. \u201cIn Brazil, we\u2019ve been able to show that for every\ndollar budgeted amount spent on protected areas, the national economy gains 15\ndollars. The returns on investment are staggering,\u201d says Dr. Souza. Europe\nshows smaller but still impressive numbers. Once adequate investments are made\nin the protected areas and the needed infrastructure, every euro spent on\nprotected areas see 7 to 10 euros in GDP activity.

\nA 2015 study shows that there are an estimated 8 billion visits per year to\nprotected areas worldwide. This generates about US $600 billion per year in\ndirect in-country expenditures. (Balmford et al, 2015).

\nGrowing Market of Ecotourism and Visiting Protected Areas

\nJon Bruno, the executive director of The International Ecotourism Society,\noffered a global perspective on the growth of the ecotourism sector. \u201cOver 90\nnations now have an ecotourism or sustainable tourism initiative nationally or\nat a regional level. This has happened in the last 30 years; there is no other\nform of tourism or industry that has become so fundamental to the global\neconomy so quickly.\u201d

\nMr. Bruno believes that this is a growing trend. And the travelers are\ndeveloping greater sensitivity toward sustainable tourism. He says, \u201cTravelers\nhave greatly increased both their awareness of ecotourism and their willingness\nto increase payment to ensure a sustainable travel experience. Seventy percent\nof people under 30 say sustainable travel is a priority.\u201d

\nThis is a market for which countries like Armenia have to be prepared as part\nof their efforts aimed at sustainable development. \u201cEcotourism and sustainable\ntourism can help local communities economically and create engagement for\nprotecting their natural assets. Ecotourism provides the strongest community\nrevenue and the best return on investment,\u201d emphasizes Mr. Bruno. \n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
International and Armenian experts and delegates<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Need for Networks, Guidelines and Standards

Other key speakers at the Conference were Carol Richie, executive director, and Paulo Castro, council member of the EUROPARC Federation. The EUROPARC Federation is the network for Europe\u2019s natural and cultural heritage. The Federation works to improve the management of protected areas in Europe through international cooperation, exchange of ideas and experience, and by influencing policy. The Federation currently has over 380 members in 37 countries. Armenia and its protected areas are eligible to become members of the Federation, which will offer connections with a wide network of protected area management and expertise.

One of the supports the Federation offers to members is the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas. Ms. Richie explains, \u201cPoorly managed tourism allows societal tensions to persist, weakens local communities\u2019 connection to their heritage, landscape and environment, erodes cultures and values and does irreparable damage and change to nature, wildlife and the environment.\u201d

She continues, \u201cThrough awarding the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas, EUROPARC seeks to safeguard against this by fostering partnerships among local communities, protected area management, and tourism businesses. It does so with the aim of supporting local livelihoods, increasing awareness of the need for sustainability, and promoting cooperation locally, nationally, and internationally.\u201d

Mr. Castro adds details on how the process of becoming a sustainable tourism chartered protected area works. \u201cIt\u2019s not a fast process. You have to be patient and committed to a long term, multi-stakeholder process. And the applicant to the charter is the protected area management. They have to create a permanent forum for participation of all stakeholders. They have to also demonstrate that they have good coordination between public administrations of the environmental protection and tourism activities. Things that the protected area needs to show, for instance, is the creation and promotion of tourism products based on local resources,\u201d says Mr. Castro.

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"



Dilijan National Park <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPanel Discussions and Site Visits

\nThe conference included six panel discussions on key topics related to\nsustainable tourism in protected areas. The panelists including government\nofficials, researchers, international organizations and NGOs active in\nprotected area support and tourism. The discussions helped identify the key\nadvantages and gaps in Armenia with respect to advancing sustainable tourism\nconnected with protected areas. The participants of the Conference also visited\nthe Dilijan Tourism Information Center, the Dilijan National Park Tourism\nVisitor Center, and the Caucasian Red Deer Reintroduction Center to see\nfirst-hand tourism infrastructures and offerings around one of the main\nnational parks in Armenia.

\nThe Ministry of the Environment considers the conference to have been a\nsuccess, and initiatives are already underway to create a positive growth\nstrategy for ecotourism in both the protected areas of Armenia and in the\ngeneral tourism areas. 

The International Ecotourism\nSociety frequently co-organizes conferences, seminars, and workshops.  If\nyou would like to work with us on your event, please contact us at events@ecotourism.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The fourth annual Armenian] Ecotourism Conference was held on August 30-31. The event was organized by the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment. in partnership with the Tourism Committee of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia (RA), RA Ministry of Environment, WWF Armenia and Transboundary Joint Secretariat funded by the KfW German state-owned development bank and The International Ecotourism Society (TIES)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16858,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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The fourth annual Armenian] Ecotourism Conference was held on August 30-31. The event was organized by the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment. in partnership with the Tourism Committee of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia (RA), RA Ministry of Environment, WWF Armenia and Transboundary Joint Secretariat funded by the KfW German state-owned development bank and The International Ecotourism Society (TIES)<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"Ecotourism<\/a>, Event<\/a>, News<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"Ecotourism","url":"https:\/\/ecotourism.org\/besttours\/author\/ecotourism\/"},"comments_num_v2":"0 comments","featured_image_src":"https:\/\/ecotourism.org\/besttours\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/presentersandexpertsecotourismarmenia-600x374.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/ecotourism.org\/besttours\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/presentersandexpertsecotourismarmenia-600x374.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Ecotourism","author_link":"https:\/\/ecotourism.org\/besttours\/author\/ecotourism\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecotourism.org\/besttours\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecotourism.org\/besttours\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecotourism.org\/besttours\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecotourism.org\/besttours\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecotourism.org\/besttours\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16854"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ecotourism.org\/besttours\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16857,"href":"https:\/\/ecotourism.org\/besttours\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16854\/revisions\/16857"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecotourism.org\/besttours\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecotourism.org\/besttours\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecotourism.org\/besttours\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecotourism.org\/besttours\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}