Abstract
Tourism is big business. In 1989, an estimated $55 billion in tourist travel receipts was calculated for North and South America alone by the World Tourism Organization. Central American tourist receipts amounted to approximately $4.6 billion for the same year (World Tourism Organization, 1989). By 1990, tourism infused approximately $275 million into the Costa Rican economy and, for the first time, outranked coffee — $245 million in 1990 — as Costa Rica’s second largest foreign currency earner. Bananas still ranked first, bringing in $315 million in revenue to Costa Rica, but tourism’s position was very ‘respectable’ (Europa World Yearbook, 1992).
It is simply not enough to raise the funds, put a fence around the forest, and call it preserved. The economic and social pressures will inevitably unpreserve it. (Daniel Janzen)
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© 1994 Policy Studies Organization
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Zebich-Knos, M. (1994). Ecotourism: Toward a Policy of Economic Development and Environmental Balance in Latin America. In: Nagel, S.S. (eds) Latin American Development and Public Policy. Policy Studies Organization Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-23449-3_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-23449-3_7
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