The Economics of Tourism – Maximising the Benefits of Ecotourism for the Locality

This paper examines the economic impacts of tourism and considers, in particular, how the benefits to the local economy from ecotourism development can be maximised. Although it does not directly address them, this is a discussion of relevance to the growing interest of developing countries (including Iran) in developing their tourism sectors as a source of foreign currency income. It also relates to the approach of Agenda 21 (UNCED, 1992b) in which tourism is viewed as a form of land use with potential significance for improving both the economic and environmental sustainability of a region if it is correctly developed. The World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 2002) placed ecotourism development for the preservation o