Protection and enhancement of the protected area of Vai palm forest in Crete, Greece: The views of the local population (original) (raw)
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BIODIVERSITY AND ECOTOURISTIC MANAGEMENT STUDY OF THE STENI AESTHETIC FOREST (GR2420002), GREECE
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The aesthetic forests were proclaimed as protected areas with the 996/1971 law. Today there are 19 aesthetic forests in Greece. The Tempi aesthetic forest of Pineios river in Thessaly region was the fourth forest ever declared in 1974.It has an area of 1762 hectares and was the studied area in this paper. It is also belongs to the European ecological Network NATURA 2000 with site code GR1420005. The purpose of this study is to monitor the visitors traffic in the aesthetic forest, to record their profiles, reviews and opinions and finally to evaluate the ecotourism infrastructure. The obtained knowledge from this research results could be held as a key-tool for visitors' traffic rational management of the aesthetic forest of Tempi.
Tourist ecology politics: the case of Crete Greece and Saranda Albania
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The large amount of money spent and the great number of travelers depicts the importance of tourism. Tourists travel to and from all areas around both hemispheres searching for a variety of experiences. Tourism industry has developed positively and has increased in different ways, regarding its type or scale. Therefore, tourists and tourism industry develop accordingly and frequently very fast, so as to change trends or other external factors. Tourism, therefore, is an industry of attracting visitors, taking care of their needs and meeting their expectations. The area of environmental ecology, however, is characterized by an attempt to solve many complicating environmental issues. Ecosystems and traditional villages, which are fragile and invaluable are affected by factors as the overexploitation and the misuse of natural resources, the lack of organized area planning, the insufficient urban waste management (uncontrolled urban waste disposal etc.) as well as the lack of respect in ...
ECOGUIDING AND PROBLEMS IN PROTECTED AREAS IN GREECE
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A Local Perspective On Ecotourism In Crete
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Drawing upon the findings of an empirical study of ecotourism in Crete (Saatsakis, 2018), this industry focussed paper discusses and reflects upon the development of successful ecotourism for the Island and its well-being. Greece, including the island of Crete, is strongly committed to the implementation of the 2030 agenda for the sustainable development in balancing its economic growth, protection of the environment and social cohesion, so “no one is left behindâ€. The paper is supported with evidence from research of several years in Crete and from personal experience of the first author working in the Cretan tourism industry, both in the public and private sectors (Saatsakis, 2018). Keywords: Ecotourism, Crete, Sustainability, Development, Challenges, Tourism planning
The tourist development of Greece began in the '50s to become one of the main sources of income, both nationally and locally, since many areas are the main source of tourism revenue. The concepts of sustainability and viability of this product and its operation, is being strongly marked recent decades in many conferences, notices, and scientific research. Greece established 30 Management Bodies to integrated management of protected areas belonging to this network. One of the main problems faced by operators in their pursuit of these objectives to be achieved is use of these areas by visitors, whose presence is particularly strong in coastal locations. Meanwhile, tourism trends in recent years have changed, resulting in more and more visitors are directed to areas that retain as much as possible intact their natural environment, which, as already mentioned, has contributed to the development of ecotourism. Comparatively, governments are pushing the parks to make more dynamic the ...
Focusing on the island of Crete, the study on which this paper is based recognises the importance of tourism for the economy. Due to extreme resource utilisation by mass tourism developments, insufficient planning and limited co-ordination and collaboration between the bodies involved in tourism activities, tourism can have a negative impact and conflicts may escalate. These conflicts are mainly related to the concentration of tourist arrivals in time and space, inappropriate use of resources, and limited incorporation of the community in the development and planning process. To offer solutions, various policies and strategies have been proposed/adopted at regional level. However, it is questionable whether the actions currently undertaken are efficient enough for the amelioration of tourism problems. A regional master plan is necessary in order to eliminate costs and ensure future balanced development. Keywords: Crete, tourism policy, planning, development.