Ecuador : Fostering Environmentally Sustainable Tourism and Small Business Innovation and Growth in the Galapagos
Well-managed tourism can be an important contributor to sustainable development, providing incentives to protect the environment and maintain biodiversity, while fostering small business development. A recently completed subcomponent of Ecuador...
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| Format: | Brief |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2003/06/2641157/ecuador-fostering-environmentally-sustainable-tourism-small-business-innovation-growth-galapagos http://hdl.handle.net/10986/10382 |
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okr-10986-103822021-04-23T14:02:50Z Ecuador : Fostering Environmentally Sustainable Tourism and Small Business Innovation and Growth in the Galapagos Valdivieso, Jose Toth, Bob Hanna, James Quintero, Juan ECOTOURISM BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENTAL TRAINING & MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS CERTIFICATION BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT PROJECT COMPONENTS DESIGN STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE NATIONAL PARKS ABATEMENT AIR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION CERTIFICATION CFCS CONSERVATION CONSERVATION OF NATURAL CONSERVATION PROGRAMS CUSTOMS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC GROWTH EMPLOYMENT ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES FAMILIES FISHING HABITAT DESTRUCTION INNOVATION INTERNAL AUDITS INTERNATIONAL TOURISM LEARNING LEGISLATION LOCAL CULTURES NATIONAL PARK NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS PARTNERSHIP PASSENGERS PERCEPTION QUALITY OF LIFE QUALITY STANDARDS RAINFOREST ALLIANCE RECYCLING RIGOROUS STANDARDS RURAL COMMUNITIES SAFETY SUSTAINABILITY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SUSTAINABLE TOURISM SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PROGRAM TOUR OPERATORS TOURISM ENTERPRISES TOURISM INCOME TOURISM INDUSTRY TOURISM OPERATIONS TOURISM SECTOR TOURIST TOURIST DESTINATION TOURIST OPERATION TOURISTS TRAVEL AGENTS WASTE WASTE MANAGEMENT WORKERS Well-managed tourism can be an important contributor to sustainable development, providing incentives to protect the environment and maintain biodiversity, while fostering small business development. A recently completed subcomponent of Ecuador's International Trade and Integration Project, supported by a Bank Loan, demonstrates this win-win situation. This note analyzes tourism, in particular the pressures it creates on the environment in the Galapagos islands, given its stance as the fourth largest industry in Ecuador. Voluntary environmental quality standards certification for tour vessels were addressed by specialists, who developed a strategy, focused on the tourists, and the 60 currently active tour boats. Standards were established to minimize environmental impacts by applying conservation practices to boats, and requiring sensitizing clients to the need for environmental behavior. To this end, stakeholders, including government agencies, conservationists, and local communities participated in developing the "SmartVoyager" standards, a development effort beyond conservation. The International Galapagos Tour Operators Association, made significant inputs to the standards, and pledged to support the certification program. This outreach effort enabled the small boat operators to learn what the standards required; how to comply with the requirements; and, most importantly, why the requirements were included in the standards. After this training and motivation, a number of boat operators began to implement practices specified in the standards. Some lessons address the need to bring small businesses into this initiative early on, to gain strong acceptance and support; that beneficiaries share in the costs, including tourists, tour operators, and the national park; and, that the seemingly commercially advantageous certification, should allow enterprises to become self-supporting once its benefits are demonstrated. 2012-08-13T11:18:52Z 2012-08-13T11:18:52Z 2003-06 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2003/06/2641157/ecuador-fostering-environmentally-sustainable-tourism-small-business-innovation-growth-galapagos http://hdl.handle.net/10986/10382 English en breve; No. 26 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Brief Publications & Research Latin America & Caribbean Ecuador |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English |
| topic |
ECOTOURISM BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENTAL TRAINING & MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS CERTIFICATION BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT PROJECT COMPONENTS DESIGN STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE NATIONAL PARKS ABATEMENT AIR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION CERTIFICATION CFCS CONSERVATION CONSERVATION OF NATURAL CONSERVATION PROGRAMS CUSTOMS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC GROWTH EMPLOYMENT ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES FAMILIES FISHING HABITAT DESTRUCTION INNOVATION INTERNAL AUDITS INTERNATIONAL TOURISM LEARNING LEGISLATION LOCAL CULTURES NATIONAL PARK NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS PARTNERSHIP PASSENGERS PERCEPTION QUALITY OF LIFE QUALITY STANDARDS RAINFOREST ALLIANCE RECYCLING RIGOROUS STANDARDS RURAL COMMUNITIES SAFETY SUSTAINABILITY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SUSTAINABLE TOURISM SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PROGRAM TOUR OPERATORS TOURISM ENTERPRISES TOURISM INCOME TOURISM INDUSTRY TOURISM OPERATIONS TOURISM SECTOR TOURIST TOURIST DESTINATION TOURIST OPERATION TOURISTS TRAVEL AGENTS WASTE WASTE MANAGEMENT WORKERS |
| spellingShingle |
ECOTOURISM BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENTAL TRAINING & MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS CERTIFICATION BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT PROJECT COMPONENTS DESIGN STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE NATIONAL PARKS ABATEMENT AIR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION CERTIFICATION CFCS CONSERVATION CONSERVATION OF NATURAL CONSERVATION PROGRAMS CUSTOMS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC GROWTH EMPLOYMENT ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES FAMILIES FISHING HABITAT DESTRUCTION INNOVATION INTERNAL AUDITS INTERNATIONAL TOURISM LEARNING LEGISLATION LOCAL CULTURES NATIONAL PARK NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS PARTNERSHIP PASSENGERS PERCEPTION QUALITY OF LIFE QUALITY STANDARDS RAINFOREST ALLIANCE RECYCLING RIGOROUS STANDARDS RURAL COMMUNITIES SAFETY SUSTAINABILITY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SUSTAINABLE TOURISM SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PROGRAM TOUR OPERATORS TOURISM ENTERPRISES TOURISM INCOME TOURISM INDUSTRY TOURISM OPERATIONS TOURISM SECTOR TOURIST TOURIST DESTINATION TOURIST OPERATION TOURISTS TRAVEL AGENTS WASTE WASTE MANAGEMENT WORKERS Valdivieso, Jose Toth, Bob Hanna, James Quintero, Juan Ecuador : Fostering Environmentally Sustainable Tourism and Small Business Innovation and Growth in the Galapagos |
| geographic_facet |
Latin America & Caribbean Ecuador |
| relation |
en breve; No. 26 |
| description |
Well-managed tourism can be an important
contributor to sustainable development, providing incentives
to protect the environment and maintain biodiversity, while
fostering small business development. A recently completed
subcomponent of Ecuador's International Trade and
Integration Project, supported by a Bank Loan, demonstrates
this win-win situation. This note analyzes tourism, in
particular the pressures it creates on the environment in
the Galapagos islands, given its stance as the fourth
largest industry in Ecuador. Voluntary environmental quality
standards certification for tour vessels were addressed by
specialists, who developed a strategy, focused on the
tourists, and the 60 currently active tour boats. Standards
were established to minimize environmental impacts by
applying conservation practices to boats, and requiring
sensitizing clients to the need for environmental behavior.
To this end, stakeholders, including government agencies,
conservationists, and local communities participated in
developing the "SmartVoyager" standards, a
development effort beyond conservation. The International
Galapagos Tour Operators Association, made significant
inputs to the standards, and pledged to support the
certification program. This outreach effort enabled the
small boat operators to learn what the standards required;
how to comply with the requirements; and, most importantly,
why the requirements were included in the standards. After
this training and motivation, a number of boat operators
began to implement practices specified in the standards.
Some lessons address the need to bring small businesses into
this initiative early on, to gain strong acceptance and
support; that beneficiaries share in the costs, including
tourists, tour operators, and the national park; and, that
the seemingly commercially advantageous certification,
should allow enterprises to become self-supporting once its
benefits are demonstrated. |
| format |
Publications & Research :: Brief |
| author |
Valdivieso, Jose Toth, Bob Hanna, James Quintero, Juan |
| author_facet |
Valdivieso, Jose Toth, Bob Hanna, James Quintero, Juan |
| author_sort |
Valdivieso, Jose |
| title |
Ecuador : Fostering Environmentally Sustainable Tourism and Small Business Innovation and Growth in the Galapagos |
| title_short |
Ecuador : Fostering Environmentally Sustainable Tourism and Small Business Innovation and Growth in the Galapagos |
| title_full |
Ecuador : Fostering Environmentally Sustainable Tourism and Small Business Innovation and Growth in the Galapagos |
| title_fullStr |
Ecuador : Fostering Environmentally Sustainable Tourism and Small Business Innovation and Growth in the Galapagos |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Ecuador : Fostering Environmentally Sustainable Tourism and Small Business Innovation and Growth in the Galapagos |
| title_sort |
ecuador : fostering environmentally sustainable tourism and small business innovation and growth in the galapagos |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2012 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2003/06/2641157/ecuador-fostering-environmentally-sustainable-tourism-small-business-innovation-growth-galapagos http://hdl.handle.net/10986/10382 |
| _version_ |
1764412890118356992 |