www.protectedareasmanagement.org www.protectedareasmanagement.org
www.protectedareasmanagement.org
 
Business Owners and Tourism Operators
[Everything in bold is required]
ABOUT YOU
The results of this study will be of public domain. However, the identity of the respondents will not be disclosed and their contact information will not be shared with anyone. Occasionally, with his or her permission, I may contact a respondent to ask for further clarification on any of the answers. Respondents will receive a message to acknowledge their participation.
If you wish, you may check the consent form approved by the Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board, University of Calgary. Answering this questionnaire indicates that you agree to participate in the research.
 
Name:
 
Position:
 
Name of business or organization:
 
How many years have you been doing business in the region?
 
Country:
 
CONTACT INFORMATION
Street Address
Address Line 2
City
Postal Code
Province
Country
 
E-mail:
 
Area Code and telephone:
 
Do you want to keep the name of your organization anonymous?
 Yes  No 
 
Do you wish to remain anonymous?
 Yes  No 
 
Would you like to receive information about the results of the study?
 Yes  No 
 
[In this questionnaire, the term "park" refers to any category of protected area. I encourage you to use the spaces provided if the available options do not reflect what you wish to share and to expand on your responses.]
 
About your business
Environmental Assessment
Recommendations for Park Management
 
ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS
 
In which park area do you operate?
Name:
 
Location:
 
What is your area of operation?
Accommodation
Adventure tourism
Culture
Distribution of products and goods
Ecotourism
Extractive activities
Other sports or recreation opportunities
Services
Tourism
Other
 
What types of information from the park are most relevant for your business?
Activities allowed inside the park
Activities carried out by the park and that requiere coordination with adjacent landowners or communities
Inventories
Legislation, regulations
Management plans
Monitoring or research programs
State of the resources
Threats to the park
Other
None
 
Is this relevant information available to you?
All of it
Some of it
None of it
 
Are you interested in participating in the decision-making process for the park?
 Yes  No 
Why?
 
Could your operations have a potential to affect the environment negatively?
Yes
No. Please click here to continue
 
If yes, are there procedures in place to identify and control the environmental impacts of activities, services, or operations?
 Yes  No 
 
If you have procedures in place, which of the following do you use?
Codes of conduct/ethics
Environmental assessment
Environmental audits
Environmental Management Systems
Scorecards
Other
 
Is there sufficient coordination between park staff and business owners regarding control of environmental impacts from business or tourism operations?
 Yes  No 
If yes, how do you coordinate with park staff/managers to identify and control environmental impacts from your operations?
What would you suggest to make this coordination more effective?
 
Which of the following aspects do you report on or audit?
Cultural/Heritage
Environmental
Financial
Management
Social
Sustainability
Other
None. Click here to continue.
 
What kind of indicators do you use to report about your business to shareholders or the public? Please give some examples.
Community development indicators
Cultural/Heritage indicators
Educational activity indicators
Environmental indicators
Financial indicators
Performance indicators
Social indicators
Other
 
 If you do not produce reports about your business, please explain why you do not report or what factors prevent you from reporting on your business.
 
Which of the following information from your operations do you make available to the public?
Annual reports
Contributions to the community
Environmental information provided to clients
Environmental performance
Financial performance
Number of clients / Number of trips
Routes or itineraries
Safety information provided to clients
Sponsorship
Volume of operations
Other
 
Which certifications/guidelines have been adopted or do you plan to adopt for your business? If possible, please indicate the name of the standard or guideline under each category.
Ecotourism
Environmental Management Systems
Golf course
Quality
Ski areas
Other
Other
Other
None
 
What are the main benefits you anticipate from adopting certification standards or guidelines?
Assurance that environmental policies and objectives are implemented, maintained, and improved when possible
Demonstrated commitment to, and ability to report on, the environmental performance of operations
Enhanced compliance with environmental regulations
Enhanced efficiency in providing products and services
Enhanced public image from showing social responsibility
Identification and control of risks
Identification, design, and implementation of strategies to benefit the organization financially
Improvement on the relationships and communication with non-governmental and governmental organizations
Increased accountability and responsibility
Increased capacity of the organization to meet national and international standards of quality
Increased competitive ability and better access to markets
Increased confidence of sponsors and opportunities for funding
Increased revenues as a result of savings in the use of resources
Increased stakeholders' support
Integration of social, environmental, and economic aspects into business practices
National or international recognition
Protection of the organization’s assets
Strengthened corporate culture
Other
 
What could be some of the drawbacks of adopting a certification standard or guideline?
Extra paperwork and bureaucracy
Limitted availability of staff
More control from external sources
Risk that there would be no benefits at the end
Time and money requirements
Training requirements
Other
Comments
 
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
 
Has your company or organization been the proponent of an environmental assessment or been involved in a review process?
Yes
No. Please click here to continue
If so, please describe briefly the purpose of the assessment
 
Did the proposal face opposition?
 Yes  No 
 
What was the final decision?
Approved
Rejected
Under review
 
Were you satisfied with the results of the review processes and the final decision?
 Yes  No 
Why?
 
What obstacles did you observe during the completion of the environmental assessment?
 
What problems did you observe during the approval or review of the assessment?
 
Do you think Environmental Impact Assessments are effectively used as a tool to improve the management of parks and natural resources in the region?
 Yes  No 
Why or why not?
 
What do you think is needed to improve the usefulness of environmental assessments?
 
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PARK MANAGEMENT
 
 What would you recommend to park managers to improve their relationships with business owners/tourism operators?
 
What would you recommend park managers to improve their relationships with other stakeholders?
 
What information from your business do you think would help park managers to make better decisions regarding human use in the park?
 
If you see your business in possibiltiy of supporting the park to achieve its goals, what kind of support would you be able to provide or are you providing?
 
What role do you see the park playing in the plans you have for your business?
 
Please use this space if you have additional comments or if you would like to comment on any aspect that you think is related to this topic and was not covered by this questionaire.
 
Please, use this link if you would like to give me some feedback on this questionnaire