Developing sustainable tourism through ecomuseology: a case study in the Rupununi region of Guyana

Abstract

Sustainability is a concept that continues to evolve and perplex in tourism, one of the world's largest industries. Effective new theories and practices are constantly explored so as to incorporate sustainability into tourism frameworks. Due to their focus on participation processes, integration of resources, and responses to specific needs and contexts, ecomuseum principles can be very useful for the development of sustainable tourism. This paper examines the potential of using the principles of ecomuseology to support sustainable tourism development. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach involving local expert stakeholders at the case study site, the Rupununi region of Guyana, South America. The findings from this research suggest that the principles of ecomuseology possess considerable potential to support sustainable tourism development in the Rupununi and potentially other destinations internationally. In particular, this study illustrates how ecomuseological principles can be used to manage heritage resources and economic development by focusing on, for example, holistic interpretation and information sharing, placing equal attention on heritage resources, and monitoring changes to the region over time.

通过生态博物馆学发展可持续旅游：以圭亚那地区拉帕努伊国家公园为例

可持续发展是不断发展和困扰旅游业的世界上最大产业之一的一个概念。有效的新理论和实践的不断摸索方便于将可持续发展融入到旅游框架中。由于其专注于参与流程、整合资源、应对具体需求和环境，生态博物馆的原则对可持续旅游业的发展十分有益。本文探讨使用生态博物馆学的原则来支持可持续旅游业发展的潜力。这项研究采用了混合方法，涉及了当地利益相关方的专家在案例研究地点——南美洲圭亚那拉帕努伊国家公园区域的情况。这项研究的结果表明，生态博物馆学的原则具有相当大的潜力去支持该地和国际上其他可能目的地的可持续旅游业的发展。具体而言，这项研究说明了生态博物馆学原则如何可以通过关注全面解释和信息共享、同等重视遗产资源并对本地区随着时间推移进行监控来管理遗产资源和经济发展。

Keywords:

• sustainable tourism
• ecomuseum
• indigenous
• heritage management
• Rupununi

关键词:

• 可持续旅游
• 生态博物馆
• 土著
• 遗产管理
• 拉帕努伊国家公园

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jared Bowers

Jared Bowers received the PhD degree in sustainable tourism and ecomuseology from Newcastle University (UK). Prior to that, he received the MSc degree in ecotourism (with distinction) from Edinburgh Napier University (UK) and the BA degree in communications from Elon University (USA). His research interests are in the uses of tourism as a vehicle for safeguarding natural and cultural heritage resources while also stimulating local economic development.