Does sustainable tourism offer solutions for the protection of the Amazon rainforest?

Citation

Sinclair, D. and Jayawardena, C.(C). (2010), "Does sustainable tourism offer solutions for the protection of the Amazon rainforest?", Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, Vol. 2 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/whatt.2010.40802baa.002

Does sustainable tourism offer solutions for the protection of the Amazon rainforest?

Article Type: Editorial From: Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, Volume 2, Issue 2

This WHATT theme issue is dedicated to the Amazon in South America, an amazingly unique tourist destination in the World.

On 28 May 2009 the theme editors organized and led a well-attended WHATT roundtable discussion at the União Pioneira de Integração Social (UPIS University) in Brasilia, Brazil. In preparation for the WHATT roundtable, the editors organized eight teams of tourism researchers from the Ministries of Tourism, the private sector and academia in the member countries of the ACTO. These teams in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela were challenged to address, in ten-page papers, the above strategic question in the context of each ACTO member country’s agenda and priorities for conserving the Amazon. Once the papers were written and submitted to ACTO, they were forwarded to the respective embassies in Brasilia. The appropriate personnel from six embassies then prepared a 10-minute PowerPoint summary for presentation at the roundtable. The involvement of the embassies further extended the range of participation of national actors and added that important regional, political dimension to the deliberations.

The WHATT roundtable event was officially declared open by the Vice Minister for Tourism of Brazil and was chaired by the Head of the Department of Geography, UPIS University. After the presentations were made there was a period of discussion involving the presenters, personnel from ACTO and university and government officials in the audience. The question and answer session helped to clarify important points of interest raised in the presentations. These key discussion points were then incorporated into the body of the theme issue as representing a broad spectrum of positions in the Amazon with regard to the challenges and solutions that apply to the development of sustainable tourism in the Amazon. Around 150 students at UPIS majoring in tourism and hospitality management attended the roundtable as observers and took part in a lively open forum discussion with the panelists during the final hour of the event.

The key outcome of the WHATT roundtable in the Amazon was seven country case studies which are included in this theme issue. These case studies are from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Suriname. These seven papers refer to various other related publications, articles, reports or web sites. The key strengths and novelty of these seven papers lie in the expert viewpoints based on the first-hand, relevant experiences of the authors who wrote these case study papers. These authors have varied experience in tourism in South America. Their practical and powerful suggestions should help ACTO and its eight member countries shape the future direction of its tourism sector within the Amazon.

In the first paper, the editors give an overview of South America and the perspectives of ACTO member countries. This paper also profiles tourism in the Amazon and discusses the manner in which tourism activity assists the protection of the Amazon rainforests. Finally, the paper describes how the first WHATT roundtable on tourism in the Amazon was organized in 2009. In order to interlink with the introduction, the concluding paper reviews the concepts, viewpoints, and recommendations from the seven country case studies, and, draws together 12 key suggestions for action. These suggestions are relevant to the Amazon as well as to similar tourism destinations that envision healthy and sustainable tourism-related growth in the future.

We sincerely hope that you will enjoy this thought-provoking collection of papers from the Amazon.

Donald Sinclair, Chandana (Chandi) JayawardenaTheme Editors