| Abstract | The conceptualization of an ecotourism framework for sustainable development is based on a study of seven
tourism centers and their surrounding settlements. Selected as sources of information were 100 people involved in
tourism (PIT), 101 people not involved in tourism (PNIT), futiher distinguishing among them between natives and
immigrants, and 169 visitors. Tools employed include cross tabulation, index constrnction, statistical tests,
multivariate analysis and GIS mapping. Farming was the economic mainstay of by far most PNIT. Visitors went
trekking, either individually (IT) or in groups (GT).
As for visitors, variations were significant by type (GT or IT), gender and age in terms of access to Nepal and
onward to the trekking area; frequency of visits to Nepal; countries visited prior to arriving in Nepal; consumption
of food, industrially produced beverages and bottled water; accommodation while trekking; dw·ation of stay in
villages; littering; employment of labor force; and use of informal sector services. There was no significant
variation, indeed, in visitors' budget allocations, with regard to their stay in Nepal. The incun-ing of expenditw·es,
however, varied greatly in that IT spent their moneys along their trekking route, while GT availed of arrangements
prepaid mostly in Kathmandu. As for the local actors, PIT and PNIT, variations were significant in spans of time
doing agricultw·e and related activities, commercialization of agricultw·e, types of fuel used (dry vegetal residual
matter, knee-timber, brushwood, timber), livestock rearing, and employment opp01iunities locally or outside.
Research findings and analytical results collated in the SWOT analysis format identify as strengths the pristine
mountain-area environment, the management performance by the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP),
the PIT entrepreneurship and the need, as recognized among the local population, for an alternative tourism
promotion sh·ategy. Weaknesses are the subsistence nature of local agricultw·e, insufficient infrash·ucture, deficient
commercialization and limited choice of local produce, dependency on impo1ted supplies, lack of know-how, skills
and expertise required for the hospitality indush)' among the local population, narrowly limited scope for an
informal sector, and underemployment I unemployment. Opportunities include the diversity of ethnic groups,
cultw·es, crafts, flora and fauna in settlements beyond the beaten h·ack, and therein people's untapped indigenous
knowledge and h·aditional hospitality, and the resow-ce potential for "downsh·eam" technology applications.
Imminent threats are complex, including congestion caused by directing tow·ists to few spots, lack of tourism
diversification leading to rninous competition by price-cutting to attract trekkers, compulsion for some PIT to
operate without employees, and preference of successfully operating PIT for recruitment of outsiders to work at
lodges or hotels. The single severest threat is that to the environment and its natw·al resources. Three Iisks are
evident: [ 1] depletion of resources and degradation of the environment; [2] littering with garbage caused by
tow-ism-at-large; and [3] putting the pristine environment, the paramount asset for sustainable mountain-area
development, in jeopardy. Conclusions drawn on the basis of hypothesis test results address the dilemma faced by
the host population under the impact of modernization caused by the tow-ism indush)', in both econoinic and
environmental perspectives. Given the irreversible trend, the disparity between PIT and PNIT has been widening.
Ecological precautions taken by the ACAP have become ecological consh·aints to the PNIT, whose livelihood has
been threatened twofold. They have hardly been reaping any benefit from the local hospitality indush)'. Moreover,
they have been severely restricted in their access to local natural resources, a vital component of their economic
mainstay and their customm)' entitlement, for the sake of maintaining a pristine environment, the prime asset for
tourism. There is sh·ong evidence that visitors might have become the complementa1)' asset, provided virtually all
of them would have availed of provisions, facilities and services in such a manner that they had incwTed their
expenditw·es inside the host area, with the effect of income generation by the local population.
Recommendations are focused on getting the local people-at-large economically enabled to a degree where they
will become capable to sustain development. Required is a wholesome change towm·d ecotow-ism and its
integration into sustainable development. This makes the active participation of PNIT indispensable. They like
other stakeholders including PIT and visitors must be motivated to adopt an attitude toward the environment of
sharing the responsibility for and ensuring its protection and conservation and the prudent use of its resources. In
this vein, recommendations outline policy measures, scopes of macro-level and micro-level planning, and
supplemental)' research. Specifics of micro-level planning include the mobilizing of existing, synergetic
agricultw·al potential; the creating of employment at a large scale; the promotion of tourism to attract ecologically oriented
and development-minded visitors; the abatement of the hazard caused by littering; the revival of
traditional arts and crafts; gender planning; and the h·aining of local manpower. Linkages, either to be sh·engthened
or yet to be built, must underpin and advance the creation of a symbiotic relationship among agriculture-based
host-area economy, local tow-ism indush)' and conservation of the environment. |