In addition, my role as an academic participant allows me to share theory drawn from the ecotourism and participatory community development literature. The participants, rather than the researcher alone, define the problem and the methods and knowledge needed to address that problem. My participation takes the form of planning and attending project meetings, contributing to the grant proposal writing, analysis of the participatory process, exploring promotional opportunities, and offering my perspectives as a potential ecotourist. In order to understand the context of the case, I use participant observation while living in the communities and unstructured, open-ended interviews with the organization leaders, the project participants, and people involved in the tourism industry in the area. At present, the project is planned as simple cabins in each community.
Tourists can go on excursions on foot or on horseback to enjoy the natural attractions of the area.
Interaction between the tourists and local people will be emphasized through participation in the community members daily activities such as preparing food or harvesting the crops. I will also have developed some preliminary conclusions from this project. The expected date of completion of this study in the form of a thesis is September 1999. Kusler, J.A., ed. 1991. 1 and 2.