Communicating for Social Acceptability of Local Ecotourism: A Strategy for an Economic Recovery in the New Normal

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has dealt a significant blow to the worldwide tourism sector, revealing the vulnerability of a specific form of travel: Ecotourism.

This thesis attempts to identify the ways where ecotourism can be made socially acceptable in the new normal which the pandemic has ushered in. With the hope to jumpstart the local economy, it seeks to find ways through various communication strategies to craft a creative healing and recovery plan for ecotourism to bounce back from what Covid-19 has come to bring. Relevant literature was used to come up with a recommended framework and communication model unique to ecotourism.

The Bojo River in Aloguinsan, Cebu is the case study area for this thesis. It is an ecotourism village that has gained acclaim as an ecotourism facility in 2009. Data was collected through the survey research design with a hundred respondents, i.e., guests of the ecotourism facility. The research revealed that there are various factors that make people seek ecotourism in the new normal, and that there are able indicators of social acceptability which contribute to the economic recovery of ecotourism. It has also revealed that word-of-mouth marketing (WoM) continues to be the best marketing strategy to sustain, strengthen and develop ecotourism resilience.

This thesis concludes that if we are to help the ecotourism industry to advance on its path to recovery, there is a need to strengthen and sustain its relationship with its various stakeholders and develop a crisis communications plan that would support it in times of adversity. Drawing commitment to ecotourism as a social advocacy from among its satisfied guests would translate to overall social acceptability and prompt economic recovery.