Ecotourism development in China: a case study of National Huidong Sea Turtle Reserve

Abstract

Although there are already many studies on ecotourism, there is a lack of research focusing on developing ecotourism in coastal nature reserves, especially in China. Ecotourism’s rapid growth provides many potential opportunities for the development of China’s nature reserves, but potential barriers also exist. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the potential barriers and opportunities (including the motivations of tourists) for ecotourism development at Sea Turtle Bay, Huidong, China. Research methods involved semi-structured interviews and questionnaire surveys. Overall, this study concluded that stakeholders in National Huidong Sea Turtle Reserve (Sea Turtle Bay) perceived many barriers for ecotourism development, but also had opportunities for ecotourism development. This research provided recommended strategies to key stakeholders for sustainable developing ecotourism within Sea Turtle Bay: 1) establish a national ecotourism strategy; 2) increase communication and coordination with stakeholders; 3) provide environmental education for visitors; 4) establish regular visitor behaviour monitoring; 5) invest more tourism revenue into environment protection; 6) explore maximum carrying capacity and adequate entrance fee.