Tourism and Regional Development Issues - Tourism and Development: Concepts and Issues - page 173

infrastructure but also the nature of the market. Tourists interested in adven-
ture tourism or ecotourism may not be as ready to return to the same site,
not only because of the costs involved but they may want to move on to the
next challenge/destination. Therefore, the destination must constantly seek
out new customers (see Chapter 12). These destinations often require signifi-
cant travel and carbon consumption, further raising questions about sustain-
ability (see Chapter 11).
Sinclair and Pack (2000) examined wildlife tourism within the frame-
work of the Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous
Resources (CAMPFIRE) in Zimbabwe. The programme attempts to give local
communities ownership and control of the wildlife in their domain and to
ensure that they receive a return from the resources in terms of cash or com-
munity projects (Campfire, 2013). The strategies used to implement the pro-
gramme are charges, quotas and regulations for wildlife viewing and hunting
tourism. 'The community-based wildlife tourism offers a way of improving
rural livelihoods in areas where agricultural prospects are at best marginal'
(Potts et al. , 1996: 217). The difficulties in using this project in regional devel-
opment are, however, indicated in the comment by the authors that while the
project has been welcomed in some areas of the country, it has been less suc-
cessful where economic returns have been relatively low or unequally distrib-
uted (Sinclair & Pack, 2000).
In Belize, the government focused on a tourism policy based on ecotour-
ism as a way to attract foreign investment and protect the environment.
However, the majority of the tourists have their travel and accommodations
arranged by foreign tour operators, which has lead to higher rates of eco-
nomic leakage. In addition, the growth in the industry led to inflationary
prices along the coastline and it is estimated that 90% of the coastal region
is under foreign ownership and the government has no plans to reduce this
foreign ownership because it needs the investment (Holden, 2000). In 1993,
the Queensland government in Australia decided not to extend the electric-
ity grid north of the Daintree River in order to put limits on the possibilities
of local governments attracting more tourism development into the isolated
Far North Region. This was a political decision based on ideological grounds,
anxiety about the World Heritage tropical rainforests and Great Barrier Reef,
but also in response to the power of the environmental lobby (Elliot, 1997).
In December of 2012, however, the Queensland government repealed this
policy, allowing residents and businesses to install their own isolated net-
works that can be used for more than one building. Part of the rationale
posted on the government's website is that it will be 'a boost for the region's
eco-tourism industry' (Queensland Government, 2013).
Tourism developments in peripheral regions can also be quite large scale.
Whistler Ski Resort in British Columbia is one such example where large-
scale public and private investment was required to achieve an international
resort destination status. An integrated comprehensively planned resort