1. Ecotourism in Ecuador: Competitiveness and Sustainability 20 june 2006

2. Two Complementary Tools? NWP to Manage Natural Resources Value Chains for Equitable Growth of Industries NatureUnderstand biophysical, economic and political characteristics of natural resources Sustainability and market demand are both incentives for conservation WealthMarket access, income distribution, and incentives for effective of ineffective NRM Actors, Factors and Relationships – market demand, distribution of benefits and incentives to collaborate or compete PowerEnvironmental Policies, planning, effectiveness, land tenure, and conflict Enabling Environment – Policies, business climate, standards, conflict enforcement, infrastructure

3. COMPETITIVENESS AND SUSTAINABILITY Efficiency New Markets Product Differentiation Upgrades for …. Can nature-oriented tourism be competitive in the long term without attention to conservation?

4. Integrating NWP and Value Chain Frameworks Analyzing relationships between actors Incorporating the ownership and management of scarce resources into the value chain, and into the questionnaires Using relationships, opportunities and constraints to shape a competitive strategy In order to gain Better information on the competitiveness and sustainability of businesses dependent on scarce natural

5. ATTRIBUTES OF ECOTOURISM – IDENTIFIED BY OUTBOUND OPERATORS Authentic experiences involving natural and cultural resources that –Do not harm those resources –Benefit local communities Comfort Security Value for the price

6. ECUADOR’S COMAPARATIVE ADVANTAGE Galápagos Megadiversity Indigenous cultures Proximity of coast, sierra and Amazon regions …. But how about competitive advantage?

7. Rankings from Outbound Operators

8. WTTC Benchmarks Fuente: World Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Monitor 2004

9. International Tourist Arrivals Fuente: Organización Mundial del Turismo, 2005

10. MARKET SHARE – Arrivals to Central and South America Fuente: Organización Mundial del Turismo, 2005

11. International Tourism Receipts Fuente: Organización Mundial del Turismo, 2005

12. ANALYSIS Ambiguity of “ecoturism” So we analyzed “nature-related tourism” in 3 regions: –Mindo –Puerto López and Parque Nacional Machalilla –Rió Napo Basin Qualitative analysis of the relationships between actors, and the opportunities and constraints they faced for becoming more competitive and sustainable Interviews: –42 service providers (operators, lodging, support services) –14 public sector entities (e.g., Min Tur, MAE, CORPEI, Fondo Mixto, municipalities, Parks) –8 associations –27 turistas

13. MINDO

14. MACHALILLA

15. LOWER NAPO

16. LESSONS FROM THE MAPS MAPS Map activities inside and outside the protected area Include resource ownership/management as one of the functions Maps – an effective tool at stakeholder session OWNERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT Range of ownership models can support competitive tourism and effective NRM. Capacity for and commitment to both elements, local benefits, and clear legal standing are important factors. Upgrades to public lands not always necessary. Their shaping of the “destination” is key. Differential park fee structures advisable. Strong demand for clear and effective land use planning procedures, agreements and enforcement mechanisms.

17. LESSONS FROM THE MAPS ACCOMODATIONS AND LOCAL OPERATORS Ease of entry and challenges of illegal operations Two supply markets – integrated vs. Fragmented Relative profitability is unclear… but upgrades proceed Investments through equity, rather than debt INBOUND AND OUTBOUND OPERATORS “Ecotourism” and “cultural” tourism labels not useful Product pricing is important factor Outbound operators remain important for booking tours, and for providing market access and feedback to local operators LINKAGES Positive correlation between more sustainable tourism and vertical linkages. Horizontal linkages are generally weak More promising linkages are local, with focused objectives

18. FINDINGS – Elements of a Strategic Vision A national brand as the leader in sustainable tourism Responsive to market demand – wide range of segments, including mass tourism segments that do not damage its protected resources or its brand Conscious link to more effective natural resource management – planning, limits of acceptable change, environmentally sound waste management Increased collaboration between value chain actors, with the development of an industry-level awareness replacing the current enterprise level understanding of competitiveness. –Build and shape the national brand through local collaborative efforts that define and promote mini-brands or destinations. –National level entities engaged in an iterative process, with market access and information and technical information flowing to local destinations and businesses, and market and product information flowing back to shape national level services.

19. FINDINGS – Critical Opportunities and Constraints Grouped Opportunities & Constraints identified during interview process into 7 categories: –Enabling Environment –Natural Resource Management –Destination Development and Promotion –Supply Market Collaboration –Business Practices –Access to Finance –Firm-level Product Differentiation and Expansion Vetted the O&Cs with the stakeholders at the workshop

20. FINDINGS – Critical Opportunities and Constraints Categories with highest number of key O&Cs: Most significant subcategories (with 10+ votes) : –Information and promotion –Tourism and protected areas Business Practices Key Themes Key Constraints / Opportunities Business planning - Business owners in the tourism industry, especially small business owners, possessed limited business skills related to planning, accounting, and financial management - There is a small but significant supply of business development service providers for the tourism sector - Business planning training courses, though limited, are offered by NGOs, universities, training centers, Ministries and other public entities Firm-level marketing - Firms lack access to international markets - There are international marketing opportunities through CORPEI and FondoMixto Technical capability and Labor force development - Native communities can build on their pre-existing relations to share business practices and lessons learned from tourism activities - Generalized lack of reservations systems - Lack of available personnel trained in hospitality or with knowledge of foreign languages - Very limited hospitality training courses are offered by NGOs, universities, training centers, Ministries and other public entities Self-evaluation and feedback mechanisms - Lack of feedback mechanisms prevalent throughout all types of service providers CategoryNo. of votes Enabling Environment30 Business Practices22 Natural Resource Mgmt17

21. FINDINGS – Critical Opportunities and Constraints Highlights: –Lack of access to finance was acknowledged throughout all interviews and during workshop –Interviews emphasized themes related to Supply-market Collaboration (more so than was reflected in workshop) –Only 2 specific O&Cs received more than 5 votes during the workshop: Weak infrastructure and related systems, including roads, waste management, health services, security, and education Need for increased objective information and promotional material at the regional level Interviews provided examples of strategies to address both

22. FINDINGS – Short-term Action Items

23. Conclusions Yes, there can be a positive relationship between nature- based tourism and effective NRM. Preconditions: –Scarce natural resource is important element of the destination –Effective business/NR management capacity, local benefits, and clear legal standing more important than type of ownership To reach a large enough market and effectively contribute to conservation, think more broadly than ecotourism Given the scarcity of information, collaboration, and resources, facilitate local planning and collaboration around immediate benefits Longer term, national level priorities include flow of market information, technical knowledge, and promotion services Keep an eye on impact of significant cash into traditionally non-cash communities

24. CONCLUSIONS - Methodology Yes, NWP and Value Chain Frameworks effectively informed each other Resource ownership/management is important function for scarce resource-based products Qualitative questionnaire’s effective in mapping relationships of a more complex service industry like “nature-based tourism.” Less effective in guaging relative profitability. Survey approach is necessary for gaining useful information from tourists. Stakeholder meetings effective in vetting findings and launching new dialogues between actors in atomized chain. Opportunities for follow- up facilitation may make them more useful for shaping strategic vision and action planning.

25. QUESTIONS............... and Thank You.

26. NOTE – Following slides are left over from prior presentaton

27. Superestructura Definición de las competencias Reglas del juego no están claras Descentralización Planificación y visión Eficiencia del sector público Servicios básicos Tenencia de tierra Relación pública-privada

28. Prácticas empresariales Planificación empresarial Mercadeo Alianzas empresariales Legalidad Capacidad técnica y laboral Evaluación y retroalimentación Créditos

29. Desarrollo y promoción del destino Seguridad Infraestructura Información y promoción Desarrollo

30. Acceso a financiamiento Acceso a crédito, dependencia Rentabilidad Tamaño del crédito

31. Manejo de Recursos Naturales Manejo, monitoreo, mejores prácticas y códigos de conducta Conservación y oportunidades económicas Turismo y áreas protegidas Tenencia de tierras Educación e interpretación

32. Colaboración entre proveedores de servicios (incluyendo operadores) Competencia Polarización Unión / cooperación Segmentación de mercado

33. Diferenciación de productos y expansión a nivel empresarial Inversiones que captan nuevos nichos de mercado Conocimiento del mercado Conectividad Nuevos patrones/tendencias