Some Problematic Economic Issues in Allocating Natural Resources to Environmental Tourism and Ways to Resolve Them

Abstract

One of the most recent tourism typology systems is the one that is base on the resource on which tourism is a base for the purpose of systematic arrangement of that activity. Accordingly, the on the cultural heritage of a people is classified as "Cultural Tourism ", that based on history and archaeology is "Archaelogical Tourism ", the one that depends on adventure and challenge is known as " Adventure Tourism ". The category " Urban Tourism " is the kind of activity that is interested in the city as a resource .As for the recreational activities which are based on natural resource, it is known as " Rural Tourism ", "Farm Tourism ", "Forest Recreation ","Natural Resources Tourism ", "Natural Environment " Tourism and the more comprehensive "Environment and Natural Resources Tourism", which has lately come to be known as "Environmental Tourism ", referring to all types of tourism –recreation activities. Environmental Tourism is characterized by its overall reliance on natural environment components not only in establishing the basis on which it is established , but also on providing the recreation – tourism opportunity itself. Therefore water is the basis of "Water Tourism " , forest resources are the basis of "Camping Tourism " and farms and agricultural land are the basis of Farm and Rural Tourism , which are collectively called " Agricultural Tourism ".Since various communities are unable to allocate all their natural resources for recreation and tourism, despite the great demand for them, they tend to put away only some of these resources to meet tourism requirements while the rest is invested elsewhere . By so doing, they guarantee enough finances for other development plans . At the end of the day, the authorities concerned with tourism must have some economic justification for making relevant decisions .The study aims at detecting any economic credibility for the policies of allocating natural resources for promoting recreation and tourism . This is carried through pinpointing the direct and indirect costs and yields of such allocations.The paper also endeavors to examine the economic cost and yields in case the whole natural resource or part of it is put into use whether it is allocated for one or more recreational activity. Moreover, the costs and yields of some recreational use that are based on one natural resource and the potential costs of the harmony or contradiction of such uses are also addressed for the purpose of giving a clear account of the economic costs of environmental tourism.