Legal aspects of ecotourism: towards creating an international legislative framework

Stanković, Vera and Batrićević, Ana and Joldžić, Vladan (2021) Legal aspects of ecotourism: towards creating an international legislative framework. Tourism review. ISSN 1660-5373

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Abstract

Purpose – This study aims to highlight the most important preventive measures that should be proposed by policymakers and adopted by (inter)national legislative bodies by changing existing or adopting new legal documents. The implementation of these measures should be performed by state bodies responsible for ecotourism, natural and cultural resources protection and ecotourism services users. Design/methodology/approach – The theoretical legal approach was applied, based on a systematic review of international legally binding and non-binding documents related to ecotourism, adopted by relevant international organizations. Analysis of norms for preventive protection of natural and cultural values was done and followed by law-reform research in the form of recommendations that should be adopted as binding. Findings – International legal documents relevant to ecotourism analysed in this paper are divided into two groups. The first regulates exclusively ecotourism issues, whereas the second deals with sustainable development and indirectly refers to ecotourism, as one of its segments. Analysed international legal documents require unambiguous norms regulating preventive protective measures in ecotourism by prescribing actual obligations and prohibitions for relevant subjects. Given recommendations are grouped into five types according to the subjects they are addressing (ecotourism experts, policymakers, legislators, natural and cultural conservationists, local communities, educators). Originality/value – This study is the first that points to the need to amending international legal documents related to ecotourism through recommendations regarding natural and cultural values’ preventive protection.

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