#Project | Technical Insight
How can protected areas develop ecotourism without compromising their ecological integrity? Ecotourism offers important opportunities for biodiversity conservation, conservation financing and local economic development. However, increasing visitor numbers can also place pressure on fragile ecosystems, wildlife habitats and natural resources.
As part of the Feasibility Assessment for Ecotourism Development Strategy of Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary and Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan, SETIN, in collaboration with THR and with Giacomo Cozzolino as SETIN’s Team Leader, examined ecological carrying capacity to support sustainable visitor management and tourism development.
The study applied the Limits of Acceptable Change approach, considering environmental sensitivity, protected area zoning, visitor pressure and conservation priorities. Rather than establishing uniform visitor limits, this approach considers the specific ecological sensitivities, management conditions and tourism opportunities of individual sites.
The assessment supports the identification of appropriate levels of visitor use in priority tourism areas, differentiating tourism intensity according to ecological sensitivity and protected area zoning. It also helps identify measures to minimise potential impacts on ecosystems and wildlife, while maintaining a high-quality visitor experience and prioritising biodiversity conservation.
The findings highlight the importance of adopting a gradual, site-specific and adaptive approach to ecotourism development, where visitor numbers and tourism activities are continuously assessed against conservation objectives. Environmental monitoring plays an important role in this process, allowing visitor management strategies to be adjusted as tourism develops and environmental conditions change.
This work demonstrates how technical environmental assessments can inform sustainable tourism planning, helping protected areas balance biodiversity conservation, visitor experience and sustainable economic opportunities.
Ultimately, sustainable tourism is not simply about attracting more visitors. It is about ensuring that tourism contributes to protecting the very ecosystems that make a destination unique.
