Tourism Transformations in Protected Area Gateway Communities

Gateway communities that neighbour parks and protected areas are impacted by tourism, while facing unique circumstances related to protected area management. Economic dependency remains a serious challenge for these communities, especially in a climate of neoliberalism, top-down policy environments, and park closures related to environmental degradation or government budgets. The collection of works in this edited book provide bottom-up, informed, and nuanced approaches to tourism management using local experiences from gateway communities and protected areas management emerging from a decade of guidelines, rulemaking, and exclusive decision-making. Global perspectives are presented and contextualized at the local level of gateway communities in an attempt to balance nature, community, and commerce, while supporting the triple bottom line of sustainable tourism. While anticipating a post-COVID 19 global shift, readers are encouraged to think through transformation and resiliency in regard to how the flux of supply vs demand alters gateway community perspectives on tourism. Specific features of this book include:· Focus on transformations, which provides insight into the complex and dynamic nature of gateway communities.· Multidisciplinary, multi-cultural insights into protected area management.· Applied and conceptual chapters from global perspectives.

Susan L. Slocum specializes in sustainable economic development through tourism and policy implementation at the regional and national level. Working with communities to enhance backward linkages between tourism and traditional industries, she has worked with rural communities in the US, UK, and indigenous populations in emerging tourism destinations in Tanzania. She has published 4 edited books and authored 2 books, including a textbook on food and agricultural tourism.

John Read is a PhD student at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. He has a background in Fire Protection with experience working as a firefighter and emergency medical practitioner. Engaging in a career transition, John began working for the National Park Service while pursuing an M.S. in Recreation Administration. John's experience working in Antarctica fostered an interest in visitor codes of conduct especially as they pertain to the polar regions. He currently sits as co-chair for the US Association of Polar Early Career Scientists and national committee representative for the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists.