Ecotourism
APPLICATION OF GIS IN ECOTOURISM DEVELOPMENT:
A CASE STUDY IN SUNDARBANS, BANGLADESH
A Masters Thesis
Presented to
Mid-Sweden University
In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Arts, Human Geography Focusing on Tourism
By
Md. Azizur Rahman
June 2010
Copyright 2010 by Md. Azizur Rahman
ii
APPLICATION OF GIS IN ECOTOURISM DEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY
IN SUNDARBANS, BANGLADESH
Department of Social Science
Mid-Sweden University, June 2010
Master of Arts
Md. Azizur Rahman
ABSTRACT
GIS can be used in tourism as a decision supporting tool for sustainable tourism planning, impact assessment, visitor flow management, and tourism site selection.
Therefore, the potential for GIS applications in tourism is significant. The purpose of the study was fixed to explore the potential of using GIS for planning resources pertinent to ecotourism development. The study investigated a case study in Sundarbans which is the largest mangrove forest region of the world, located in the southern part of Bangladesh and the Indian region of west Bengal. However, the current study considered only the
Bangladesh part of Sundarbans for study and prepared ecotourism planning for this region. The Sundarbans plays an important role for the national economy of Bangladesh because of its natural resources and tourism activities. Moreover, this forest has been facing some problems due to unplanned development and tourism activities. The ultimate result of unplanned development is land use change, increasing deforestation, biodiversity losses and decreasing upstream flows. Therefore, the study considered this mangrove for ecotourism planning and development and GIS used as decision supporting tools. Moreover, this study tried to find some answers from the research questions.
Tourism is a phenomenon, which often highlights that lack of planning and management in terms of environmental concern. For ecotourism planning this thesis
A CASE STUDY IN SUNDARBANS, BANGLADESH
A Masters Thesis
Presented to
Mid-Sweden University
In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Arts, Human Geography Focusing on Tourism
By
Md. Azizur Rahman
June 2010
Copyright 2010 by Md. Azizur Rahman
ii
APPLICATION OF GIS IN ECOTOURISM DEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY
IN SUNDARBANS, BANGLADESH
Department of Social Science
Mid-Sweden University, June 2010
Master of Arts
Md. Azizur Rahman
ABSTRACT
GIS can be used in tourism as a decision supporting tool for sustainable tourism planning, impact assessment, visitor flow management, and tourism site selection.
Therefore, the potential for GIS applications in tourism is significant. The purpose of the study was fixed to explore the potential of using GIS for planning resources pertinent to ecotourism development. The study investigated a case study in Sundarbans which is the largest mangrove forest region of the world, located in the southern part of Bangladesh and the Indian region of west Bengal. However, the current study considered only the
Bangladesh part of Sundarbans for study and prepared ecotourism planning for this region. The Sundarbans plays an important role for the national economy of Bangladesh because of its natural resources and tourism activities. Moreover, this forest has been facing some problems due to unplanned development and tourism activities. The ultimate result of unplanned development is land use change, increasing deforestation, biodiversity losses and decreasing upstream flows. Therefore, the study considered this mangrove for ecotourism planning and development and GIS used as decision supporting tools. Moreover, this study tried to find some answers from the research questions.
Tourism is a phenomenon, which often highlights that lack of planning and management in terms of environmental concern. For ecotourism planning this thesis