RESEARCH FINDINGS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF ECOTOURISM
Damaging Environment 2.04 1.278
Making the Area Overcrowded 2.48 1.191
Harming Wild Animals 1.90 1.226
Increasing Noise Pollution 2.31 1.182
Camping causes Environmental Diffi culties 2.46 1.151
Rising Environmental Pollution 2.27 1.141
Threating Sustainability of Wild Life 2.03 1.212
Encourage Local Government to Consider Conservation Program 3.06 .998
Encourage Residents to Protect Environment 3.13 .852
Note: Measurement Scale, 1=strongly disagree and 5=strongly agree
Table 3 showed the details of the measurement of the residents’ perspective regarding ecotourism development. The results indicated that highest mean (M= 3.49) related to “see more ecotourists
visiting Subatan” followed by “supporting ecotour-ism development in Subatan”. While “Subatan would be a better location if ecotourists are kept out” was ranked the lowest among the statements.
Table 3. Residents’ Perspective on Ecotourism Development
Statements Mean Std.
Deviation
I support increased ecotourism development in Subatan 3.35 .789
I would like to see more ecotourists visiting Subatan 3.49 .747
Ecotourism development improves standard of living for local people 2.89 .925
Ecotourism development support sustainability 2.96 .938
I worry about future ecotourism development in Subatan 1.82 1.153
Subatan would be a better location if ecotourists are kept out .83 .973 Ecotourism development in Subatan disrupts everyday life of the local population 1.27 .994 Ecotourism development leads to confl icts between residents and tourists 1.41 1.063 Economic benefi ts of ecotourism development are more important than our cultural traditions 1.02 1.242 Economic benefi ts of ecotourism development are more important than our religious beliefs
and traditions .81 1.079
Note: Measurement Scale, 1=strongly disagree and 5=strongly agree
Table 4 presents the relationship between resi-dents’ perspective who drive direct economic ben-efi t from ecotourism and those who do not, on the subject of ecotourism development. Levene’s Test for Equality of Variances (sig =.002) indicated that variances are not equal. Thus, the second row sig
(.050) in the column of t-test for equality of means is considered. As sig >0.05, it can be declared that there is no relationship between residents who drive direct economic benefi ts from ecotourism and those who do not regarding on ecotourism de-velopment.
Table 4. Perspective of Residents who Drive Direct Economic Benefi ts and who do not Levine’s Test
for Equality of Variances
t-test for Equality of Means
F Sig. t df
Sig. (2-tailed)
Mean Diff erence
Std. Error Diff erence
95% Confi dence Inter-val of the Diff erence
Lower Upper
Y Equal variances
assumed 9.825 .002 1.61 222 .110 .08835 .05501 -.02007 .19676
Equal variances not assumed
1.98 152 .050 .08835 .04468 .00008 .17661
CONCLUSIONS
The measurement of economic, social and envi-ronmental impacts of ecotourism from indigenous peoples’ perspective is a crucial issue in ecotourism development. However, the measurement of resi-dents’ viewpoint is complex due to the various char-acteristics of ecotourism destinations. This study attempted to evaluate indigenous people’s percep-tion concerning ecotourism impacts and their per-spectives regarding its development. The results of this study indicated that ‘generate benefi ts for ecotourism enterprises’, ‘the Subatan image as an ecotourism destination improves due to tourism’, and ‘encourage residents to protect environment’
were the main ecotourism impacts from residents’
perspective. Regarding ecotourism development, several issues are of importance: residents would like to see more ecotourists visit Subatan and they claimed that they support ecotourism development in Subatan. As well, it has found that there is no dif-ference between residents’ perspective who drive economic benefi ts and who do not on the subject of ecotourism development. Base on the fi ndings of this study, it can be concluded that from residents’
perspective ecotourism has the potential to act as a tool for development in Subatan.
Review of several studies (Lee, 2012, Perdue et al, 1990) emphasized that local community’s sup-port is critical for ecotourism development. Al-though the results of this study showed that the in-digenous people support ecotourism development, but it should be considered that ecotourism is an early stage in Subatan. Hence, economic benefi ts might be infl uenced their perspectives. According to Kiper et al. (2011, p. 4019), “in order to provide sustainability in the ecotourism, it is necessary to know environmental, social and economical ef-fects of ecotourism activities and to consider these effects during the planning.” Consequently, assess-ing residents’ perspectives regardassess-ing ecotourism impacts is one of the key issues for its development but it should be evaluated from other perspectives such as destination managers and policy makers.
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