Abstract
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted ecotourism and the local community in Wadi El Gemal National Park (WGNP) in Egypt. The pandemic has resulted in a substantial drop in park visitation, shutdown of local ecotourism businesses, and a loss of jobs and income sabotaging ecotourism’s role in promoting ecologically sustainable activities in the park and improving the socio-economic conditions of the local community. The objectives of this research were to (i) document the impact of COVID-19 on ecotourism and the local community, (ii) outline COVID-19 coping and recovery measures for the community and ecotourism sector; and (iii) develop a conceptual model outlining community response to the pandemic and the collaborative management strategies adopted. Literature review and expert opinions were adopted as data collection methods. This chapter sheds light on the socio-economic implications of COVID-19 on WGNP’s ecotourism sector, while offering initiatives for increasing shock resilience.
Chapter PDF
Keywords
References
Abbas, J., Mubeen, R., Iorember, P. T., Raza, S., & Mamirkulova, G. (2021). Exploring the impact of COVID-19 on tourism: transformational potential and implications for a sustainable recovery of the travel and leisure industry. Current Research in Behavioral Sciences, 2(100033), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crbeha.2021.100033
Baha Eddin, S. (2003). Management Plan for Wadi El-Gemal-Hamata. Abu Ghosoun Community Development Association. https://abughosoun.org/wpcontent/uploads/2019/04/7-Management-Plan-for-Wadi-El-Gemal%E2%80%93Hamata.pdf
Balmford, A., Green, J. M., Anderson, M., Beresford, J., Huang, C., Naidoo, R., Walpole, M., & Manica, A. (2015). Walk on the wild side: estimating the global magnitude of visits to protected areas. PloS Biol, 13(2), e1002074. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002074
Bos-Seldenthuis, J. E. (2007). Life and tradition of the Ababda nomads in the Egyptian desert, the junction between intangible and tangible heritage management. International Journal of Intangible Heritage, 2, 31–43.
Bramwell, B. (2014). Local participation in community tourism: A critical and relational assessment. In: A. A. Lew, C. M. Hall, & A. Williams (Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell companion to tourism (pp. 556–566). Wiley Blackwell.
Brandt, J. S., Radeloff, V., Allendorf, T., Butsic, V., & Roopsind, A. (2019). Effects of ecotourism on forest loss in the Himalayan biodiversity hotspot based on counterfactual analyses. Conservation Biology, 33(6), 1318–1328. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13341
Çakar, K. (2021). Tourophobia: fear of travel resulting from man-made or natural disasters. Tourism Review. 76(1), 103–124. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-06-2019-0231
Cater, E. (2009). Ecotourism: Theory and practice. In: A. Lew, C. M. Hall, & A. Williams (Eds.), A companion to tourism (pp. 484–497). Routledge.
Ceballos-Lascurain, H. (1996). Tourism, Ecotourism and Protected Areas. IUCN.
Child, B. (2009). Financial Options and Economic Assessment of Wadi El Gemal-Hamata Protected Area. The Financial Sustainability of Protected Araes Project. United Nations Development Programme Egypt. https://www.eg.undp.org/content/egypt/en/home.html
Deutsche Investions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (2021). Final report of the Ecotourim in Wadi El Gemal National Park Project. Deutsche Investitionsund Entwicklungsgesellschaft (unpublished report).
Eddin, M. (2003). Tourism Potential and Management in Wadi El Gemal-Hamata. United States Agency for International Development. https://www.usaid.gov/egypt
Elhalawani, S. I. H. A. (2013). Local community participation in protected area management: a case study of Wadi El Gemal National Park, Egypt. University of Cambridge.
Elmahdy, Y. M. (2020). Case study: Tourism in Egypt. In: M. Lück & S. L. J. Smith. (Eds.), Tourism (pp. 7–8). CABl Publishing.
Elmahdy, Y. M., Haukeland, J. V., & Fredman, P. (2017). Tourism megatrends, a literature review focused on nature-based tourism. Norwegian University of Life Sciences, MINA fagrapport 42, accessed October, 25, 2021 at http://www.umb.no/statisk/ina/publikasjoner/fagrapport/if42.pdf
Goodwin, H. (2020). Latest developments in responsible tourism. Responsible Tourism Partnership, accessed October, 20, 2021 at https://responsibletourismpartnership.org/latest-developments-in-responsible-tourism-04-2020/
Hambira, W. L., Stone, L. S., & Pagiwa, V. (2021). Botswana nature-based tourism nd COVID-19: transformational implications for the future. Development Southern Africa, 39(1), 51–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/0376835X.2021.1955661
Haukeland, J. V., Fredman, P., Siegrist, D., Tyrväinen, L., Lindberg, K., & Elmahdy, Y. M. (2021). Trends in nature-based tourism. In: P. Fredman & J. V. Haukeland (Eds.), Nordic perspectives on nature-based tourism. From place-based resources to value-added experiences (pp. 16–31). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Hockings, M, Dudley, N, Elliott, W, Ferreira, M, Mackinnon, K, Pasha, M, Phillips, A, Stolton, S, Woodley, S, Appleton, M, Chassot, O, Fitzsimons, J, Galliers, C, Kroner, R Golden, G, John, H, Jo, J, William, J, Harry, L, Barney, M, Musonda, P, Jeffrey, P, Midori, P, Carol, P, Raina, R, Madhu, R, Kent, R, John, R, Carlos M, Sandwith, T, Spenceley, A, Stevens, C, Tabor, G, Troëng, S, Willmore, S, and Yang, A (2020). COVID-19 and protected and conserved areas. Parks, 26(1), 7–24, https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.CH.2020.PARKS-26- 1MH.en
Khaleal, F., Oraby, F., Abdalla, F., & Hassan, M. (2008). Natural resources assessment of Wadi El-Gemal basin, Red Sea, Egypt. Catrina: The International Journal of Environmental Sciences, 3(1), 131–139.
Khallaf, C. M. (2009). The Index of Ecotourism Impacts The Case of Wadi El Gemal Protected Area in Egypt. SSRN. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1524224
Kirkby, C. A., Giudice, R., Day, B., Turner, K., Soares-Filho, B. S., Oliveira-Rodrigues, H., & Yu, D. W. (2011). Closing the ecotourism-conservation loop in the Peruvian amazon. Environmental Conservation, 38(1), 6–17. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892911000099
Kon-Tiki. (2015). Interpretive Planning, Evaluation and Training. Recommendations for the interpretive development of the WGNP Visitor Centre. Abu Ghosoun Community Development Association. [unpublished report]
Li, W. J. (2006). Community decision-making: Participation in development. Annals of Tourism Research, 33(1), 132–143. http://10.1016/j.annals.2005.07.003
Mahmoud, T. (2010). Desert Plants of Egypt’s Wadi El Gemal National Park. American University in Cairo Press.
Mahmoud, T., & Gairola, S. (2013). Traditional knowledge and use of medicinal plants in the Eastern Desert of Egypt: a case study from Wadi El-Gemal National Park. Journal of Medicinal Plants, 1(6), 10–17.
Massad, E., Coutinho, F. A. B., & Wilder-Smith, A. (2016). Is Zika a substantial risk for visitors to the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games?. Lancet, 388(10039), 25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30842-X
Moneer, A. (2021). Local participation in the management of protected areas: legitimate claims and unfulfilled promises: a case study of Wadi El Gemal Protected Area in Egypt. International Journal of Sustainable Society, 13(1), 55–72. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJSSOC.2021.115683
Nassar, A., Ismail, M., & Abu El-Regal, M. A. (2021). Resilience drivers in some coral reef sites in Wadi El-Gemal marine protected area, Southern Egyptian Red Sea. Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, 25(1), 699–720. https://doi.org/10.21608/EJABF.2021.149360
Neuman, W. L. (2011). Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Pearson.
Patel, S. S., Rogers, M. B., Amlôt, R., & Rubin, G. J. (2017). What do we mean by ‘community resilience’? A systematic literature review of how it is defined in the literature. PLoS Currents Disasters 9, 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1371/currents.dis.db775aff25efc5ac4f0660ad9c9f7db2
Patrick, M. (2012). Wadi El Gemal National Park Coastal Tourism and Conservation Strategy. Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture. https://www.fs.usda.gov/
Puri-Mirza, A. (2020). Tourism industry Egypt – Statistics & Facts. In: Statista; 2020; https://www.statista.com/topics/5767/tourism-industry-of-the-egypt
Sarhan, M. (2015). Evaluation Plan for Sustainable Ecotourism Development in Wadi El Gemal National Park Project. Cornell University.
Sarhan, M. (2016). Public-Private Partnership for Ecotourism Development in Wadi el Gemal National Park in Egypt. CEESP Members Newsletter 1619 – Aug 2016, IUCN.
Sarhan, M. (2017). A Public-Private Partnership Model for Ecotourism Development in Wadi el Gemal National Park. Proceedings of Sustainable Tourism in Small Island Developing States, from 22–24th Nov 2017, Mahe, Seychelles
Sarhan, M. (2018). From the resort to ecotourism and agritourism: the challenge in Wadi El Gemal National Park, Egypt. Marsa Alam, Egypt. Proceedings of the 1st World Congress on Agritourism Bolzano/Bozen (Italy) 07–09/11/2018.
Sarhan, M. (2020). COVID19 Pandemic Crisis Management Plan. Abu Ghosoun Community Development Association. www.abughosoun.org
Scheyvens, R. (2011). The challenge of sustainable tourism development in the Maldives: Understanding the social and political dimensions of sustainability. Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 52, 148-164. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8373.2011.01447.x
Scott, D., & Gössling, S. (2015). What could the next 40 years hold for global tourism? Tourism Recreation Research, 40(3), 269–285. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2015.1075739
Shehata, R. (2018). Baseline community mapping and preliminary needs assessment study for Wadi El Gemal National Park. The financial sustainability of protected areas project. United Nations Development Programme Egypt. https://www.eg.undp.org/content/egypt/en/home.html
Sillence, G. (2015). Wadi el Gemal National Park Visitor Centre and Ecotourism Marketing and Promotion Plan. Abu Ghosoun Community Development Association. www.abughosoun.org
Spenceley, A., McCool, S., Newsome, D., Báez, A., Barborak, J. R., Blye, C. J., Bricker, K., Sigit Cahyadi, H., Corrigan, K., & Halpenny, E. (2021). Tourism in protected and conserved areas amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Parks, 27, 103–118. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.CH.2021.PARKS-27-SIAS.en
Tao, T. C. H., & Wall, G. (2009). Tourism as a sustainable livelihood strategy. Tourism Management, 30, 90–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2008.03.009
Tawfik, R., & Sarhan, M. (2021). Ecotourism and Protected Areas Sustainable Financing: A Case Study of Wadi El Gemal Visitor Center. Journal of Spatial and Organizational Dynamics, 9(2), 156–172.
Thompson, B. S., Gillen, J., & Friess, D. A. (2018). Challenging the principles of ecotourism: insights from entrepreneurs on environmental and economic sustainability in Langkawi, Malaysia. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 26(2), 257–276. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2017.1343338
United Nations World Tourism Organization (2021a). UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, Volume 19, Issue 1, January 2021. https://www.e-unwto.org/toc/wtobarometereng/19/1
United Nations World Tourism Organization (2021b). Tourism and COVID-19 – Unprecedented economic impacts. https://www.unwto.org/tourism-andcovid-19-unprecedented-economic-impacts
United States Agendy for International Development (2008). Wadi Gemal Management Action Plan. A Framework for Implementation. USAID. https://www.usaid.gov/egypt
van der Merwe, P., Saayman, A., & Jacobs, C. (2021). Assessing the economic impact of COVID-19 on the private wildlife industry of South Africa. Global Ecology and Conservation, 28.. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01633
Waldron, A., Miller, D. C., Redding, D., Mooers, A., Kuhn, T. S., Nibbelink, N.,… & Gittleman, J. L. (2017). Reductions in global biodiversity loss predicted from conservation spending. Nature, 551(7680), 364–367. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature24295
Weaver, D. B., & Lawton, L. J. (2007). Twenty years on: The state of contemporary ecotourism research. Tourism Management, 28, 1168–1179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2007.03.004
World Travel & Tourism Council (2019) Global wildlife tourism generates five times more revenue than illegal wildlife trade annually. https://wttc.org/News-Article/Global-wildlife-tourism-generates-five-times-more-revenue-thanillegal-wildlife-trade-annually
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Open Access. Creative Commons-Lizenz 4.0 (BY-NC-ND).
Weitere Informationen finden Sie unter https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Copyright information
© 2023 Erich Schmidt Verlag GmbH & Co. KG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sarhan, M., M. Elmahdy, Y. (2023). The Socio-Economic Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Ecotourism: A Case Study of Wadi El Gemal National Park in Egypt. In: Köchling, A., Seeler, S., van der Merwe, P., Postma, A. (eds) Towards Sustainable and Resilient Tourism Futures. Schriftenreihe des Deutschen Instituts für Tourismusforschung, vol 1. Erich Schmidt Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin. https://doi.org/10.37307/b.978-3-503-21195-1.11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37307/b.978-3-503-21195-1.11
Publisher Name: Erich Schmidt Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin
Online ISBN: 978-3-503-21195-1
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)