From Local to Global: Eco-entrepreneurship and Global Engagement with the Environment: Volume 30

This chapter highlights a case study at the University of Wyoming (UW) to explore the role of integrating ecotourism and eco-entrepreneurship into higher education at the bachelor’s level. The university has developed a modern, comprehensive curriculum, and practical learning opportunities with local communities, conservation organizations, and industry stakeholders through a state-funded initiative. The program equips students with essential knowledge and eco-entrepreneurial skills for the sustainable development of ecotourism, outdoor recreation, and tourism industries. The chapter presents a pedagogical model as a replicable framework for other institutions aiming to incorporate sustainable, eco-centric curricula into their programs. The findings can guide policymakers, educators, and stakeholders in designing programs that synergize environmental sustainability and eco-entrepreneurial innovation to promote global sustainable development and successful higher education experiences.

A relocalization movement, often referred to as neolocalism, is a foot with the aim of rekindling local and regional bonds between people and communities by intentionally and comprehensively crafting senses of place through various promotional strategies. Local-scale businesses often contribute to neolocal efforts through the integration of “place” with their brand development and marketing schemes. Together such efforts converge to form local consumption spaces that foster both economic vibrancy and social cohesion within and across communities. While sometimes recognized as a secondary benefit, environmental stewardship has yet to be fully developed as a neolocal construct and consistent trait of local consumption spaces. In this chapter, an extensive review of the intersection between the environmentalism, neolocalism, and eco-entrepreneurship literature is used to conceptually frame the notion of eco-consumption spaces. The insights generated lead to a proposed research agenda that includes recommendations pertaining to both empirical settings and methodological strategies.

State agencies responsible for wildlife management and habitat preservation have historically relied on revenues generated from traditional sources, such as hunting and fishing licenses (consumptive users). This conventional funding model tends to overlook the shift in demographics and preferences toward non-consumptive activities like wildlife watching and nature tourism, as well as the indirect benefits from such activities. To address this disproportionate representation, innovative funding mechanisms are being explored throughout the Rocky Mountain West to provide avenues for inclusive conservation funding that incorporates non-consumptive users, such as recreational fees, conservation-oriented merchandizing, and co-branding partnerships with small businesses. Inspired by this methodology, initiatives like the University of Wyoming’s, “WYldlife for Tomorrow” (WFT) have been developed as an innovative approach that fosters collaboration between state agencies, businesses, educational institutions, and local communities for the purpose of creating sustainable funding streams for wildlife and habitat conservation. By responding to the evolving trends in hunting and fishing interests, this collaborative effort holds the potential to establish a sustainable model for wildlife management programs.

This chapter will examine two questions. First, how can art and cultural heritage contribute to the health and well-being of a place within the context of the tourism industry? More specifically, can cultural tourism be a driver for community sustainability, that is, not only environmental sustainability but also social empowerment, cultural preservation, and economic vitality? To explore these questions, the author begins by establishing the ways art and environment are closely intertwined, while pondering how cultural production generally – along with the cultural tourists it attracts – can be a driver for sustainability in tourism settings. The benefits that the arts draw from the environment as well as the ways the environment benefits from the arts will be examined. In the next section, the author unpacks how cultural tourism, and more specifically art production, can be drivers for environmental sustainability through social and eco-entrepreneurship and the creation of a shared social value. In the third section, the author identifies some of the challenges inherent in government regulation and preservation of cultural heritage sites. The author argues that communication, cooperation, and relationship building, not just between governing bodies and private stakeholders, but with residents and tourists, should be prioritized in destination management and marketing strategies. In the end, the author proposes that this type of strategy is vital in order to move toward greater cultural, environmental, social, economic, and other kinds of sustainability in the tourism industry.

Psychological well-being (PWB) is defined as one’s level of psychological happiness and health, encompassing life satisfaction and feelings of accomplishment. The literature on PWB has progressed rapidly in the past few decades. Meanwhile, camping has become a fast-growing outdoor recreation business in Taiwan. However, there is no extant research specifically focused on understanding the influences of travel distance on PWB in the context of eco-entrepreneurship such as sustainable camping management. This study aims to explore the PWB differences of campers who were from different living circles, travel distances, and regions in Taiwan. The study settings were the campgrounds in Wuling National Forest Recreation Area and Xitou Nature Education Area which were two renowned outdoor recreation and tourism destinations in Taiwan. There were totally 701 campers who responded to the on-site camper surveys. Campers’ residential zip codes were asked in the questionnaire and Google Maps was utilized to calculate campers’ travel distance, living circle, and residential region. To measure campers’ perceptions of PWB, the Ryff’s (1995) Scales of Psychological well-being theory was employed. The gravity model which provides an estimate of the volume of flows of goods, services, or people between two or more locations was used to explain the relationships between PWB and travel distance. The results indicated that campers who were members of a closer living circle and traveled shorter distance group to the campground, and campers who lived in the central region of Taiwan perceived higher levels of PWB. The management implications for eco-entrepreneurship on camping are provided.

Limited research investigates the travel behavior of the retired adult population before retirement and how it changes after retirement. Currently, most of the travel research on the retired population explores their current travel patterns in retirement. Increased research on travel activity before retirement would allow managers in the tourism industry to better adapt and anticipate the changing needs and demographics of seniors, notably, the various ways this growing population manages travel and specific barriers or concerns they face. The authors examined the changes to the travel patterns – defined as travel frequency, mode of transportation, and geographic location/s (domestic or international) – of those retired traveling before and after retirement. Since retirement is a time of major life change, the authors analyzed how this event impacts travel behavior. This research identified barriers these Baby Boomers and those who are retired experience while traveling, including health, social activities, and financial status, which may impact their travel, the degree to which their travel behavior is affected, and specific environmental and personal factors impacting their travel patterns. This chapter will explore the barriers and motivations to travel for the retired population. Results show that before retirement seniors had less time to travel, obligations at home, and were not interested in as many destinations. After retirement, health barriers negatively impacted an individual’s travel frequency and they were also more concerned about safety while traveling and accessibility to the destinations. After retirement, financial barriers impacted an individual’s domestic travel frequency, with those having lower incomes traveling less. Accessibility to the destination facility and transportation options were major barriers to traveling internationally. Before and after retirement, there was a decrease of 10 percent in international travel.

Eco-entrepreneurship is a topical issue in academic and professional literature over the past decade. In Africa, it is a relatively new concept fast gaining momentum with wide applicability and acceptance given its benefits in promoting consumer adoption of sustainable lifestyles, resilient environment, economic empowerment, and a win–win balance in the ecology and economy nexus. Amidst the growing impact of climate change and environmental degradation, eco-entrepreneurship has become a necessity, with emerging opportunities being in urban waste management, recycling, and renewable energy technologies. Regardless of the benefits of eco-entrepreneurship, regulatory and governance structures inform the viability of any initiatives. This chapter presents how political ecology structures intersect and impact eco-entrepreneurship in Africa. Given that nations’ approaches can differ, this study provides a case study synthesis of two major African economies namely Nigeria and South Africa. The authors document the predominant political orientation and attitude toward eco-entrepreneurship. First, the authors argue that the political environment is indifferent to the potential of the eco-entrepreneurial framework, hence applying a one-size-fits-all approach. Second is that the attention to eco-entrepreneurship by policymakers is economically inclined, they focus mainly on economic growth opportunities; equally, that eco-entrepreneurship offers opportunities for the protection of social and environmental integrity cannot be ignored. Third, is the bandwagon effect associated with eco-entrepreneurship initiatives, where the need to align with international bodies and states drives a Eurocentric concern? The authors conclude that fostering enabling policy environment can help enhance the productivity of current eco-entrepreneurial initiatives as well as attract new ones needed to explore eco-entrepreneurship benefits.

This chapter explores various theoretical and practical issues of sustainable tourism approaches in industrial areas. This includes applying sustainability approaches and ideas to the growing domain of industrial tourism. The essence, main definitions, and provisions of industrial and sustainable tourism are discussed and summarized, focusing on the use of tourist potential in former and current industrial areas. The case study of sustainability-based industrial tourism development was carried out in three tourist destinations in the USA and Germany: Lowell (USA), the Ruhr River basin, and Papenburg (Germany). Examples of best practices and possibilities for implementation in Armenia are also discussed. Particularly, the use of tourist attractions of mining and metallurgical industries and the “revival” of former industrial enterprises for touristic, cultural, cognitive, and entertainment purposes are framed as priority activities.

The objective of this research conducted in the city of Cuenca is to elaborate on the management platform model of the smart tourist destination (STD). The chapter provides the components to develop such a system as a pilot plan. To maximize the impact of the proposed approach and enhance the decision-making capacities of local actors, the metrics that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) developed for the so-called intermediate cities in the study “Cuenca Sustainable City” are used. The platform (www.smarturcuenca.com) considers the transcendence of the current reality of the tourism sector, which is open to multidisciplinary work with other sectors to promote the rational use of cultural and natural resources through the Internet of Things (IoT).