ECOTOURISM DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES AS A PILLAR OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

Ecotourism is frequently positioned as an instrument that can connect biodiversity conservation, community well-being, environmental education, and high-quality visitor experiences. Yet, the ecotourism label does not automatically produce sustainable tourism when visitor growth exceeds carrying capacity, economic benefits leak out of destinations, local rights remain weak, or conservation finance lacks transparency. This study synthesizes the most consistent ecotourism development strategies supporting sustainability and proposes an implementation framework for destination managers. A Systematic Literature Review was conducted following PRISMA 2020 reporting principles through structured web searches of verifiable publisher platforms and scholarly indexes, focusing on publications from 2023–2026 with a search cut-off of 18 August 2026. Of 59 candidate records, 25 primary studies met the criteria after deduplication, relevance screening, eligibility assessment, and quality appraisal. Five dominant clusters emerged: community participation and governance (36%), conservation and carrying capacity (20%), conservation finance and local economy (16%), environmental education and pro-environmental behavior (16%), and technology/standards for adaptive management (12%). The synthesis yields seven strategies: establishing ecological limits; strengthening community co-governance; developing local value chains; designing conservation finance; creating educational visitor experiences; using technology for monitoring; and applying standards, audits, and climate adaptation. Ecotourism can function as a pillar of sustainable tourism only when conservation and distributive justice constrain growth, while measurable indicators and adaptive evaluation guide implementation.