Stakeholders involvement towards sustaining ecotourism destinations: The case of social entrepreneurship at Mangalajodi ecotourism trust in India

Abstract

Ecotourism and sustainable development are widely debated topics in tourism industry in this 21st century. However, there are no proper strategies for protecting the ecosystem in developing countries. In India, majority of the population live in rural areas and therefore the Government faces a lot of challenges in protecting the natural ecosystem. In order to develop a successful sustainable ecotourism destination, there should be adequate involvement of stakeholders and their incentives. Mangalajodi Ecotourism Trust is a community owned and managed ecotourism facility promoted by Royal Bank of Scotland Foundation India (RBSFI) in partnership with Indian Grameen Services (IGS) and local Government bodies. The project is based on the principles of community ownership and Ecotourism involvement of key stakeholders for destination development. This paper describes the participatory framework and descriptive case study which analyze the various key stakeholders to the development of the Mangalogdi ecotourism destination. The research methodology involved in-depth interviews with key decision makers and communities involved in the destination development. The findings show a destination development system model that represents the various stakeholders, including local communities, local organizational involvement, tourism enterprises and tourists, with roles to promote and sustain the destination.