Anhang 3: Leitfaden für die Gespräche mit den Experten aus dem Tourismusbereich in Costa Rica (englisch)
(Eco)- Tourism and sustainable development in the third world
Case Study: Costa Rica
Meetings with experts in the field of tourism management and tourism policy in
Costa Rica.
Conducted: January 2004
Andreas Pfister
University of Constance/Germany
What kinds of political actions are conducted in Costa Rica to realize criterias concerning sustainable development especially in the field of (eco)tourism?
1. What kinds of political actions are conducted in
Costa Rica
to realize criterias concerning sustainable development especially in the field of (eco)tourism?
a. Tourism-promotion
(Infrastructure, education, financial aid for (eco)tourism companies)
b.
Tourism-reglementation/control
(laws, recommendations, prohibitions etc….)
c. Control of quality in the tourism industry
(Classification of hotels, certificates, safety and ecological standards for vehicles…)
d. What kind of controls are there to prevent the exploitation of the word eco- tourism?
e. Who receives the money gained by the entrance fees in the national parks?
(public budget, preservation of the national parks, ministry of tourism?)
Costa Rica
– Tourism: The most important industry in the country?
a. Advantages
(
Costa Rica –small country but very popular, image…)
b. Disadvantages
(over-reliance, 9/11, SARS, Season)
c. What measures are taken to solve the "over reliance” problem?
(Other industries…)
The impacts of tourism on Costa Rica
a. Positive impacts
I. Economically
(jobs, foreign exchange, infrastructure…)
II. Ecologically
("teaching tourist to preserve the environment..”)
III. Socially/Culturally
(meeting different cultures…)
b. Negative impacts
I.Economically
(dependence, raise of standard of living, only small parts of population receive money …)
II.Ecologically
(too many tourists 1 Mio/year –a danger for the costa rican environment)
III. Socially/Culturally
c. How high is the current leakage rate in
Costa Rica
in the tourism industry?
(Money going to foreign investors like international operators, flight companies…., average developing countries 55%)
d. How many percent of the tourism industry in
Costa Rica is owned/controlled by international global players like Marriot or Barceló?
(Are there for example more hotels owned by Costa Rican residents thaninternational companies?)
e. Ecotourism - a way to drop the leakage rate?
(Concentration of small and local projects with local management and employees..)
Limits od Ecotourism in Costa Rica
a. Capacy
(more than 1 Million foreign visitors a year)
b. Economically
("Templation" of large investors vs. ecotourism) (Barcelo Group)
LWho are the main players or actors in the costa rican tourism policy
a. private actors?
(Hotel associations, lobby groups…)
b. public actors?
(Ministries, federal agencies..)
c.private/public mix?
(tourist boards…)
Tourism in Costa Rica – quo vadis?
(Mass tourism vs. eco tourism, any actual projects.. )
Lapa Rios
Telefon 011- 506 - 2735-5130 or 011 - 506 - 2735-5281
Fax in Costa Rica 011- 506 - 2735-5179
e-Mail: info@laparios.com
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