Community Perceptions of Ecotourism from Arslanbob, Kyrgyz Republic

Abstract

Ecotourism has long been discussed as a means to provide income to poor and remote communities with minimal harm inflicted on local natural areas. Case studies examining ecotourism initiatives focus largely on the Global South and regions with high biodiversity and large numbers of tourists. Mountainous regions, the states of the former Soviet Union, and the Central Asian region in particular have received considerably less attention in English-language scholarship on ecotourism. This study contributes to a global understanding of ecotourism in practice by presenting a case from a neglected biophysical and social context. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study solicited attitudes of residents of the Arslanbob valley in southern Kyrgyzstan regarding conservation and Community-Based Tourism (CBT) Arslanbob, a small but accomplished tour operator subscribing to ecotourism principles. Results suggest that local people are concerned about threats to the environment and that CBT engages in various projects to address these threats. However, these efforts and the pro-conservation mission underpinning them remain largely unrecognized by the community, who intuitively associate CBT instead with financial success and a near-exclusively foreign clientele. Previous work on ecotourism suggests that prioritizing inclusivity and environmental education, as well as forming institutional relationships with the local protected area, will allow CBT to more effectively promote conservation behavior and more fully reflect its mission statement.