Abstract:
This dissertation thoroughly explores the potential of tourism for the sustainable conservation of
natural and cultural heritage in the Lake Tana Biosphere Reserve, Ethiopia, and offers detailed
information valuable to practitioners and academics. The literature suggests that natural and
cultural heritage destinations are important for implementing tourism-related activities. The Lake
Tana Biosphere Reserve is known for both natural and cultural heritage, and in this respect, it has
long been a source of tourist attractions. A qualitative, single-site case study design was employed
in the research. Semi-structured interviews, such as in-depth interviews and focus groups, were
used to gather data from 65 informants, including field observations. To manage and code the
transcribed data into themes and ease the analysis process, Open-Code Software Version 4.02 was
utilized. The findings of the study indicate that, first, the tourism activity held within the Lake Tana
Biosphere Reserve fails to use the potential of tourism that can support sustainable heritage
conservation in terms of the environmental, economic, social and cultural, political, and
bureaucratic dimensions; this is because tourism in the area is not scientifically planned and
managed; secondly, it reveals there are four interrelated challenges that hinder tourism's potential
for making effective support for the sustainable conservation of natural and cultural heritage. These
include frequent and periodic shuffling of leadership in the tourism sector, a lack of a well
structured system in tourism governance, a lack of well-integrated partnerships among the tourism
stakeholder units, and the absence of hybridized work arrangements and partnerships, thirdly, the
local communities residing around the Lake Tana Biosphere Reserve have excellent opinions,
interests, and passions for sustainable conservation of natural and cultural heritage, even though
they do not directly benefited from tourism's potential benefit contribution; and fourthly, it shows
there should have to be strategies that enable the potential of tourism that can support the
sustainable conservation of natural and cultural heritage. Therefore, this study informed concerned
bodies, such as governments and sustainable tourism stakeholders, that they must systematically
address these issues to encourage the potential of tourism for the sustainable conservation of
natural and cultural heritage.
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