The Development of Ecotourism on Islands ― A Survey Conducted among the Residents of the Kami-tsushima Area of Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan ―

This research looked at the potential for ecotourism in the Kami-Tsushima area of Nagasaki Prefecture where natural resources are currently underutilized，and at first tries to understand how the residents evaluate their area and how they feel about ecotourism，and then reviews how ecotourism could be developed in the future in the Kami-Tsushima area.The result showed that ecotourism projects appear promising as a way to increase tourists in the Kami-Tsushima area. It was pointed out that among the projects the development based on non-transferrable and fixed assets such as nature and culture could only be established as being sustainable when the development is combined with the collaborative efforts of locals.It is also important to note that the future of ecotourism should urgently take into consideration the increase in the number of Korean tourists，which is not evident on other islands in Japan. Fortunately the concept of ecotourism，as seen in the Olle walking paths of the Jeju Islands，has won the support of the people in Korea. Korean tourists should therefore be considered as a resource which could have a great impact on the success of ecotourism in Kami-Tsushima area