Local economic impacts of dragon tourism in Indonesia

Ecotourism in protected areas is viewed as a sustainable alternative to mass tourism and as a means of providing benefits to local communities which bear the greatest opportunity costs of protection. However, these ideals have rarely been tested. This study used small-scale survey methods to examine the magnitude and distribution of tourism employment and revenue generation in communities in an Indonesian park. Results suggest that distributional inequalities favor external operators and urban gateway residents rather than rural villagers. Just as the local economy remains peripheral to regional and national centers, so core-periphery relations also exist within the local context. Development around the park has yet to re-orient itself to the goals of ecotourism. Keywords: ecotourism, host benefits, development theory, community participation, visitor expenditure. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.