Towards a theory of remote area planning and development: community based bird watching tourism in the Arfak Mountains, West Papua
This paper examines community based bird watching tourism in the remote village of Siyoubrig, within the Arfak Mountains region of West Papua. There are two levels of planning that influence the intensity of tourism development within the village. One process is undertaken by the destination comm...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Conference or Workshop Item |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2008
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://eprints.usm.my/34867/1/HBP17.pdf http://eprints.usm.my/34867/ |
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| Institution: | Universiti Sains Malaysia |
| Language: | English |
| Summary: | This paper examines community based bird watching tourism in the remote village
of Siyoubrig, within the Arfak Mountains region of West Papua. There are two levels of planning
that influence the intensity of tourism development within the village. One process is undertaken
by the destination community and represents the site development planning process and the
other is the over arching planning framework that governs development within the region.
Remote areas are becoming increasingly popular as tourist destinations that provide for
experience based stays. These experiences are related to the attributes of the setting and can
be dependent upon the cultural and/or natural values of the destination. This research showed
that bird watchers seek experiences that are related to the natural values of the setting as
opposed to seeking destinations to participate in the activity of bird watching only. The intensity
of development at the destination has the potential to impact upon the quality of the experience
sought. Therefore the intensity of development must be commensurate with market demands in
order to provide the opportunity for tourists to realise the range of desired experiential outcomes.
The challenge for destination communities in remote areas is accessing information about market
demands, and balancing the economic aspirations of the community with the perceived market
and accessing a formal property system to secure ownership of the land title and the future
growth of these enterprises. A formalised land use planning process is dependent upon a well
established and accessible property system. Contemporary planning theory applied by western
nations does not address the characteristics of remote areas and presumes that a formalised and
accessible property system is in place. The paper reviews contemporary planning theory and
concludes that a fresh approach to both the theory of planning and planning practices is
necessary to enable the delivery of sustainable tourism development outcomes in remote areas. |
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