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Assessing Ecotourism Using Pro-Poor Tourism Principles: The Case of Sraepok Wildlife Sanctuary, Cambodia

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Date

2018

Authors

Supervisor

Bremner, Hamish

Item type

Thesis

Degree name

Master of International Tourism Management

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Auckland University of Technology

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to assess ecotourism in the Sraepok Wildlife Sanctuary, Cambodia using pro-poor tourism principles. There are two basic research questions: 1) what aspects of pro-poor tourism are evident in tourism development in the Sraepok Wildlife Sanctuary?; and 2) are there alternative models of tourism development that encourage stakeholder collaboration and poverty alleviation? Using a case study approach, nine key informants were selected for the semi-structured in-depth interviews. The study employed an interpretive thematic approach as an analysing tool, and NVivo was used as a tool for organising the data into themes. The study revealed that tourism in the Sraepok Wildlife Sanctuary does not necessarily follow the principles of pro-poor tourism. The findings suggest that: 1) tourism operations in the Sraepok Wildlife Sanctuary are not commercially realistic because they may not provide secure income to the local community; 2) local participation in terms of tourism planning and in the local economy remained rather limited; 3) a holistic livelihood approach and opportunities principle showed that tourism is not a main option for local community livelihoods; 4) the distribution channels in tourism at this sanctuary entirely depend on private actors (e.g. tour operators) to bring tourists; 5) although training programmes were in place, there was nevertheless a limited ability to transfer those skills to local villagers; 6) local empowerment remains questionable; and 7) in terms of flexibility, besides a lack of specific tourism plans for this sanctuary, the strategic plans for the whole Mondulkiri province appeared to neglect some important aspects when assessed using a C-PEST analysis model. The study suggests that joint-venture partnerships may be an applicable model for the current situation in the Sraepok Wildlife Sanctuary. Suggestions were proposed in line with the adoption of this model, namely: ) clear benefit-sharing mechanisms; 2) an agreement between local community and the private actors; 3) on-the-job training and capacity-building programmes for local villagers; 4) a key facilitator to coordinate work between local communities and private actors; 5) development of a monitoring tool kit and an evaluation programme in order to track the progress of the partnership and its tourism businesses; and 6) setting a proper timeframe for the project implementation.

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Keywords

Ecotourism, Pro-poor tourism, Pro-poor tourism principles, Wildlife sanctuary

Source

DOI

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Permanent link

https://hdl.handle.net/10292/11764

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Masters Theses