Ecotourism, sustainability and community attachment. A case study in rural areas in developing countries
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Abstract
Tourism has been directed towards more sustainable practices that respect the environment and promotes the conservation of natural and cultural resources, and improve socio-economic development of residents. One of these practices is through ecotourism. The main purpose of this research is to analyze the perception of residents of rural communities in developing areas to sustainable development of ecotourism and their attachment to their rural community. Also pretend to analyze the knowledge of the residents toward natural and cultural resources of the province. The research was conducted in Dominican Republic, in particular, in the rural communities of Puerto Plata, where residents benefit from complementary activities of sun and beach tourists. To achieve the objectives it has conducted a survey. The main results of this study can be seen that there is a high perception of residents towards sustainable development of ecotourism, residents show an elevated attachment toward his rural community, and many residents do not know about some of resources, which can lead to weaknesses in the development of ecotourism in this province.