The Index System Of Eco-tourism Certification And Assessment Model

At present, research and practice concerning ecotourism certification are just taking the beginning steps. This thesis is an attempt to devise a framework of indicators and a model of evaluation to be applied for ecotourism certification, which is applicable to real situation of Zhejiang province. It will contribute a lot to the development of ecotourism projects and construction of ecotourism destination.Based upon a systematic review of the latest achievements in the research on ecotourism, its certification standards and sustainable development indicators, the thesis brings forward a set of 119 indicators for ecotourism certification. After a consultation with 30 experts and an investigation in 40 natural areas in Zhejiang province, the author uses Delphi and factor analysis as tools to identify effective indicators and thus develops an ecotourism certification indicator framework. The framework consists of four themes and ten sub-themes, containing a total of 42 indicators. The four themes are environment, society, ecological management and tourism experience. The ten sub-themes include natural resources, landscape, community participation, staff training, energy consumption, environmental protection investment, waste disposal, vehicle management, merchandise, interpretation system and behavior regulation. Analytic Hierarchy Process is used to work out the weight of each of the 42 indicators.With reference to China national standards, successful practices observed in scenic areas, and advice contributed by experts, the author applies standardization process to the indicator framework. The final version of the evaluation standards and model for ecotourism certification is expected to be applicable to the real situation of Zhejiang province.For a case study, the model and standards are used to assess the Taihuyuan scenic area in Lin'an of Zhejiang province. The author analyzes the ecotourism practices in this area and detects four major behavior fields where sustained improvements are to be made in the future: high quality interpretation system, sufficient community participation, authentic ecotourism experience and effective environmental management.