Abstract

Tourism is universally perceived to be one of the most important economic powerhouse for majority of the countries in the world. In the United Arab Emirates, Tourism has experienced phenomenal growth while at the same time being influenced by several other challenges. The sector plays a very imperative role in the United Arab Emirates in helping boost the country`s economy.

Introduction

Ecotourism is considered to a new concept in UAE, though it remains to be one of the most preferred destinations in the world. The United Arab Emirates is composed of some of the best landscape features and attractive natural scenery. Eco-tourists have the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful scenery while enjoying naturally majestic features that stretch far and wide while still admiring the pristine environment. People’s understanding and knowledge towards sustainability will contribute more to achieving sustainability. The results of the findings on the barriers to sustainability are the lack of enough funds, lack of effective strategies for Sustainable buildings, higher initial costs, cultural barriers and inadequate of government support. This report aims at outlining the ways to manage sustainability of eco-tourism in the United Arab Emirates.

Literature Review

Eco-tourism in the UAE and it’s barriers.

At the moment, in the UAE, eco-friendly tourist activities range from hiking, camping, desert safaris in the Hajar Mountains, snorkeling outings and scuba in the Eastern coast in addition to adventures aimed at watching birds and other creatures. In order to provide eco-tourists with breathtaking expeditions, the tour providers need to take individuals to various tracks in the mountains while also basing their camps in the abandoned villages.

Respecting the local cultures of a particular group of people is a way of enhancing sustainability. Most local cultures have a significant impact and have more contribution towards economy and the social well-being of other communities who seem so harsh. Tourism should always be respected both by the experts in the field and the public in general. Both have more influence towards making the companies achieve its desired goals (Weber, 2013).

The greatest barriers to sustainability consist of poor management of the biodiversity in addition to maintaining the environment during expeditions. In order to ensure proper provision of eco-tourism services, it is also imperative that is ensuring that there is use of renewable materials and safe products in addition to collaborating with other stakeholders in a bid to ensure that there are sustainable environmental solutions. Sustainability in the eco-tourism industry is a very integral part of the United Arab Emirates’ vision and one of the major ways of ensuring sustainability involves diversification of sources of energy while also improving the use of renewable energy sources.

It can also be noted that there have been unending debate on the effect of luxury resorts that form an integral part of the exotic resorts due to their excessive carbon emissions in the deserts in addition to conflicts on the conservation of the environment. Scuba diving gives eco-tourists an enjoyable opportunity aimed at exploring the Persian Gulf safely without any disturbance to the marine life. It is imperative that proper management and sustainable solutions are designed to help improve the sustainability of the scuba diving to the eco-tourists (Neto, 2003)

Various ideas have been suggested that can help in the management of barriers to sustainable eco-tourism in the United Arab Emirates. The following are some of the ways through which such barriers can be managed.

It is imperative that eco-tourists involve themselves in responsible tourism activities. Ethical tourism practices should be maintained and proper management of sustainable practices be encouraged. It will ideally make eco-tourism more sustainable in the UAE (Sharpley, 2008).

Environmental and social problems related to tourism should be addressed. It will ensure that the tourist destinations are protected. Tour firms should provide extensive resources to eco-tourists that can help manage sustainability in the UAE.

Equally, tour firms should set guidelines for sustainable eco-tourism, and tips should be provided to the eco-tourists on the need to ensure that there is a green tourism practice.

Environmentally friendly hotels that fulfill international environmental standards should be established. It will also encourage sustainability of eco-tourism.

Another very important component that can be used in the management of barriers to sustainability will consist of designing eco-technologies ranging from solar powered panels for ablution water heating and recycling plants for purposes of treating water for gardening purposes. Equally, eco-friendly materials should be used in the construction of buildings (L’Etang et al. 2007).

Case Study

For this case study, Polwatha eco-lodging was chosen. Polwatha is an eco-friendly lodging facility located in the traditional Sri Lanka, which follows Sri Lankan village culture. Being a member of the International Ecotourism Society, Polwatha plays a big role in the tourism sector of Sri Lanka

Below are some of the things Polwatha Lodging Resort contributes in.

Polwatha uses only local resources. This prevents the environment from being damadged.All the food that Polwatha has is made either from their own organic sources or are bought from local farmers. The lodges, which are in Polwatha were all constructed using local materials such as wood, mud and clay. All of these materials are found on the estate itself (Polwatha, 2015). They contribute 20% of their total profits to the growth of the local society. Polwatha supports local schools and hospitals by providing materials, water and food. Village Council also works with them to help the families, which are in need of help. Finally, Polwatha also encourages each person to plant a tree before they’re departure. This is a contribution, which will help development in the long term. This case study shows and explains the methods, which are used by Polwatha eco-lodging resort. All of the methods are used with a goal to be more sustainable.

Primary Research

Research objectives

The research objectives are to evaluate the various ways that barriers to sustainable eco- tourism in the United Arab Emirates can be managed and to lay out clear mechanisms upon which all stakeholders should operate in order to eliminate barriers to sustainable eco-tourism development in the UAE.

Methodology

The Methodology was conducted using a questionnaire. The questionnaire was targeted at the general public of the UAE and was given out to 21 people at random through UAE forums. The results were then entered into graphs and charts, which can be seen in the Results and Discussion part of this report. The examination had bivariate and univariate  information. The full survey can be seen in the appendix.

Results and Discussion

Below are the charts, which were made from the questionnaire results. The full questionnaire can be seen in the appendix of this report.

This Pie Chart shows the results of the following question “ Do you think eco-tourism is important?” Out of the 21 people who’ve done the questionnaire 20 think that eco-tourism is important, meaning that people are aware of the advantages that are brought with eco-tourism. One correspondent thinks that it is not important, this result (5%) is not significant compared to the other result (95%).

The respondents were asked “ Do you think UAE is in need of eco-tourism?” Out of 21 people who’ve done the questionnaire 16 think that UAE is in need of eco-tourism, 1 person thinks that its not in need and 4 people are not sure. The majority of the correspondents think UAE is in need of eco-tourism, meaning that it would be a considerable and potential initiative.

This table shows a comparison between the age and if the respondent is willing to pay extra for eco-tourism. The table shows that respondents in the age group “below 18”, 3 out of 6 are not willing to pay, 2 out of 6 are not sure and only one is willing to pay. Age group “18 to 24” has 9 out of 9 people willing to pay, age group “24-34” has 5 out of 5 people willing to pay and age group “35 to 44” has one person who is not sure about paying.

Conclusion

Sustainability is widely encouraged by various aspects of development. For a sustainable environment for tourist, a clean ecosystem is required. Sustainability depends on every individual in addition to all stakeholders concerned. Primary and secondary research has provided proved that eco-tourism is needed in the UAE.

Draft strategy

After learning about the sustainability of eco-tourism in the United Arab Emirates and the challenges faced, it is clear that the awareness of such initiative will reinforce its success. The people in the eco-tourism segment can form groups with other people in order to lighten the way towards sustainable development. There is a need to ensure that this collaboration extends its’ thinking, ways of approach and comes up with different strategies.

Reference list

Bagaeen, Samer. 2007. “Brand Dubai: The instant city; or the instantly recognizable city.”

International Planning Studies vol 12, no. 2: 173-197.

Ganesh, A. Auroubindo, and C. Madhavi. 2013. “Tourism and Sustainable Development.”

Journal of Contemporary Research in Management vol 4, no. 2.

L’Etang, Jacquie, Jesper Falkheimer, and Jairo Lugo. 2007. “Public relations and tourism:

Critical reflections and a research agenda.” Public Relations Review vol 33, no. 1: 68-76.

Neto, Frederico. 2003. “A new approach to sustainable tourism development: Moving beyond

environmental protection.” In Natural Resources Forum, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 212-222.

Polwatha, (2015). Ecotourism practices at Polwatha Eco Lodges, Sri Lanka. Available at: http://www.polwaththa-ecolodges.com/ecotourismpractices.html [Accessed 13 April. 2015].

Ryan, Chris, and Morag Stewart. 2009. “Eco-tourism and luxury–the case of Al Maha, Dubai.”

Journal of sustainable tourism vol 17, no. 3: 287-301.

Sharpley, Richard. 2008. “Planning for tourism: The case of Dubai.” Tourism and Hospitality

Planning & Development vol 5, no. 1: 13-30.

Weber, Alan S. 2013. “Sustainable tourism in extreme environments: Lessons from desert

regions.” In 2nd International Scientific Conference Tourism in South East Europe.

The post Eco-Toursim: Is UAE the next Eco-Tourism Destination Research & Case Study appeared first on WordChive.