TOURISM AND PROTECTED AREAS (STUDY OF THE INTERRELATIONSHIP

Abstract

Today, tourists of all kinds are willing to get away from their polluted and environmentally degraded conditions at their destinations/homes. They seek travel opportunities to unspoiled areas, especially protected areas. Protected areas have proved to be the most effective means to maintain natural and cultural heritage and have become among the prime attractions for tourists.

Well-planned ecotourism is conceived as a means of reducing adverse ecological and socio-economic impacts of mass tourism and promotes sustainable development by combining conservation, environmental education and the welfare of local communities. Otherwise, it turns to be more damaging than mass tourism, since it typically occurs in sensitive fragile environments and opens undiscovered destinations to the public.

Therefore, both considerable opportunity and need, exist for developing a symbiotic relationship between protected areas and tourism. Problem Definition

Although there IS an interdependence between tourism and protected areas, little attention has been devoted towards experiencing this relationship and seeking opportunities to develop a symbiotic, and mutually beneficial relationship between them. At the same time, little attention from researchers has been paid towards the highlight of problems facing tourism development in protected areas and the suggested solutions to these problems.