Literature Review: Sustainable Tourism, Wildlife, and Green Tourism

This literature review examines two articles on sustainable tourism: one focusing on visitor memories of wildlife tourism and the other on tourists' perceptions of environmental issue management in Khao Yai National Park. The review highlights the importance of sustainable tourism in respecting local communities, the environment, and cultural heritage. It summarizes Ballantyne, Packer, and Sutherland's work on wildlife tourism's impact on biodiversity awareness and Lertwannawait and Anuwichanout's study on green tourism perceptions. The critique points out the strengths of both papers, such as the innovative use of memory in wildlife tourism research and the assessment of tourist desires in green tourism. The review concludes that both articles contribute to the understanding of sustainable tourism, emphasizing the crucial role of tourists in shaping the future of green and wildlife tourism.

Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW TOURISM
LITERATURE REVIEW TOURISM
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Introduction
The two articles that would be reviewed for the purpose of the study is Visitor’s
memories of wildlife tourism written by Ballantyne, Packer and Sutherland (2011) and Tourists
expectation and perception towards environmental issue management for green tourism of Khao
Yai National Park by Lertwannawait and Anuwichanout (2011). These two articles discuss about
the pertinent issue of sustainable tourism that can be understood as tourism that respects the
sentiments of the local people and the traveller, the environment and the cultural heritage (Edgell
2016). The highlight of sustainable tourism is that it provides a means of authentic interaction
between the local community and the foreign tourists. There is an emphasis on the local
traditions, conservation of the natural resources and protecting the interests of the local
community (Li and Hunter 2015).
Summary
Wildlife tourism needs to be promoted as it will create awareness about the biodiversity
and foster environmental protection. This paper by Ballantyne, Packer and Sutherland (2011)
relies on the memories of the participants to seek strategies with the aim of long-term changes in
the biodiversity. It was found that wildlife can evoke lasting memories and can usher in
transformation. Ballantyne, Packer and Sutherland’s area of expertise is wildlife and they discuss
about the potential of wildlife that can be helpful for the visitors in learning and their subsequent
behaviour. In addition, promotion of wildlife tourism would lead to the satisfaction of the visitors
as it positions them in close proximity to nature. Therefore, the author exhorts for the promotion
of wildlife tourism and the designers of the wildlife tourism. He aims to promote the cause of
responsible tourism that lead to the long-term development and effectiveness of the tourism
industry.

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The article by Lertwannawait and Anuwichanout (2011) discusses about the findings of a
research that was conducted to evaluate the perceptions of the environmental issue management
in the Khao Yai National Park that has been enlisted in the UESCO World Heritage since 2005.
The paper by Lertwannawait and Anuwichanout argue that the information found from their
study would be useful in addressing the perception of the tourists in improving the management
of the site promoting green tourism. They found that the perception of the tourists regarding the
protection of the environment is quite higher. However, the tourists have been found to be not
satisfied with the in terms of the amenities like the eco-tourism services and the hospitality
options in the park.
Critique
Both the articles are instrumental in contributing towards scholarship of sustainable
tourism. Both these articles have highlighted the different aspects of wildlife tourism whereas
one discusses about wildlife tourism, the other discusses about green tourism. The strength of the
paper on wildlife tourism underscores on the role of memory in addressing the wildlife issue and
this method is quite interesting.
In case of the paper on green tourism, the author delves into the desires of the tourists to
assess the potential of green tourism. Apart from using the survey research, the authors could
have deployed in-depth interview to bring out the nuances of green tourism.
Conclusion
As has been discussed earlier, both these articles enrich the understanding of the readers
about the potential of sustainable tourism. Secondly, both these articles highlight about the role
of the tourists in facilitating the growth of green tourism and wildlife tourism. The tourists have

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the agency to decide the fate of sustainable tourism as an industry. In case of the article on
wildlife tourism the method of using memory as a tool to intervene into the wildlife experiences
proves to be quite unique compared to the paper on green tourism.

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References
Ballantyne, R., Packer, J. and Sutherland, L.A., 2011. Visitors’ memories of wildlife tourism:
Implications for the design of powerful interpretive experiences. Tourism Management, 32(4),
pp.770-779.
Edgell Sr, D.L., 2016. Managing sustainable tourism: A legacy for the future. Routledge.
Lertwannawit, A. and Anuwichanont, J., 2011. Tourists’ expectation and perception towards
environmental issues management for green tourism of Khao Yai National Park. International
Business & Economics Research Journal, 10(9), pp.41-46.
Li, Y. and Hunter, C., 2015. Community involvement for sustainable heritage tourism: a
conceptual model. Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable
Development, 5(3), pp.248-262.