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Resources
IUCN Best Practice Guidelines on Tourism and Visitor Management in Protected Ar… TAPAS Group strategy (2021-2026) Online database of sustainable tourism guidelines and resources Valorisation of PA resources: Course International Perspectives on Visitor Use Management: Presentation Visitors count! Guidance for protected areas on the economic analysis of visita…
TAPAS Governance Documents
Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group Introduction 2018 Tourism and Protected Areas Strategy 2016-2020 Tourism and Protected Areas Report 2019 Tourism and Protected Areas Report 2018 Tourism and Protected Areas Report 2017

Publication

 

​​Tourism and visitor management in protected areas: guidelines for sustainability (2018)

Protected areas are a key component of any global conservation strategy. Tourism provides a crucial and unique way of fostering visitors’ connection with protected area values, making it a potentially positive force for conservation. Protected area tourism’s economic benefits—which depend on beautiful natural areas, healthy wildlife and nature, and authentic cultures—can also be a powerful argument for conservation. Tourism in protected areas is a major part of the global tourism industry—an industry whose scale and impacts are enormous. Such a high volume of visitors implies certain needs for fundamental infrastructure and requirements for employment and human services, all of which have ramifications for the economy, society, culture and the environment. These Guidelines provide guidance on key issues to help managers achieve sustainable tourism in protected areas.

Publication English - Español - Français - Deutsch -  Português - монгол хэл​

Sustainable tourism in protected areas: guidelines for planning and management (2002)

The link between protected areas and tourism is as old as the history of protected areas. Though the relationship is complex and sometimes adversarial, tourism is always a critical component to consider in the establishment and management of protected areas. These guidelines aim to build an understanding of protected area tourism, and its management. They provide both a theoretical structure and practical guidelines for managers. The underlying aim is to ensure that tourism contributes to the purposes of protected areas and does not undermine them.

Publication: English - Español - 日本の - русский - 中國

Reports

 

Guidelines for tourism partnerships and concessions for protected areas: generating sustainable revenues for conservation and development. (2017)

Report to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and IUCN.

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Publication: English - Español - Français - Portugues​

 

Webinars

What is overtourism in protected areas and what can we do about it?

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Protected Area Management and Covid 19

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Guidance for Tourism Concessions and Partnership in Protected Areas

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Presenting the new Visitor Use Management Framework VUM - Part 1

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Presenting the new Visitor Use Management Framework VUM Part 2

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Certification Tools and Standards for Protected Areas Management

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More Than Just Signs: Designing Visitor Experience for Heritage Management

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Crisis Response & Recovery: Nature-Based Tourism, Biodiversity, and Livelihoods

Session 1: Biodiversity Conservation Financing through Sustainable Nature-Based Tourism

Session 2: Visitors Count: Establishing the Economic Impacts of Tourism in Protected Areas

Session 3: Sustainable Livelihoods and Human Health through Tourism

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A huge thanks to the Center for Responsible Travel, WWF, and Arizona State University School of Community Resources and Development, located in the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions, for their collaboration with the IUCN WCPA Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group (TAPAS Group)! 

Crisis Response & Recovery: Nature-Based Tourism, Biodiversity, and Livelihoods

Session 4: Visitation and Biodiversity Conservation in Protected Areas in Light of COVID-19

Session 5: The Resurgence of Overtourism in Protected Areas in Crisis Recovery

Session 6: Sustainable Tourism Blueprints and Solutions

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A huge thanks to the Center for Responsible Travel, WWF, and Arizona State University School of Community Resources and Development, located in the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions, for their collaboration with the IUCN WCPA Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group (TAPAS Group)! 

Events

Event Presentation Slide

This symposium, co-sponsored by the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group (TAPAS Group), Center for Responsible Travel (CREST), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and the Arizona State University (ASU) School of Community Resources and Development, located in the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions, brought together global experts to address some of these challenges and provide examples of solution-oriented outcomes, in the wake of IUCN’s World Conservation Congress 2021. Recordings from the two events in the ‘Crisis Response and Recovery: Nature-Based Tourism, Biodiversity, and Livelihoods’ virtual event are freely available online on the TAPAS Group’s YouTube Channel, and also on CREST’s YouTube Channel.

Event 1, Day 1

Event Graphic #1

  • Session 1: Biodiversity Conservation Financing through Sustainable Nature-Based Tourism – watch here
  • Session 2: Visitors Count: Establishing the Economic Impacts of Tourism in Protected Areas – watch here
  • Session 3: Sustainable Livelihoods and Human Health through Tourism – watch here

Entire recording of Event 1: click here

Event 2, Day 2

Event Graphic #2

  • Session 4: Visitation and Biodiversity Conservation in Protected Areas in Light of COVID-19 – watch here
  • Session 5: The Resurgence of Overtourism in Protected Areas in Crisis Recovery – watch here
  • Session 6: Sustainable Tourism Blueprints and Solutions – watch here

Recording of Event 2: click here