The coordination between public and private sectors: the role of partnerships in ecotourism development

Abstract

Global tourism is becoming the world's largest industry, and one which directs many countries in their development process. Ecotourism attracts visitors to natural areas, while providing revenues to fund local conservation and privatesector community development. In this sense, ecotourism is seen as a partnership between public agencies and the private sector. Such a perspective on ecotourism is aligned with current policy directives of the Indonesian government. Seven partnerships in nature reserves and parks in the United States were examined to analyze the factors related to public-private partnership formation and maintenance. Interviews with representatives from seven public agencies and eight private businesses explored the benefits and costs of partnership formation for ecotourism development. T'hree primary factors relating to partnership formation emerged across the sampled partners of this study: (1) the ability of each partner to accomplish its goals, (2) through the sharing of resources between partners, and (3) despite governmental bureaucracy. For a plan of action for Indonesia, a pilot program should be established which targets a few sites with ecotourism development potential. These sites would serve as test sites to apply and demonstrate the ecotourism concepts discussed in this thesis. The information garnered from these test sites would be related to: (1) techniques that would facilitate the mutual understanding of each partner's goals, (2) strategies to coordinate between ministries, (3) strategies to create private sector competition, (4) identifying the role of the public sector, and (5)expanding community participation.