Dark Sky Eco Tourism Guide: OFFERING RURAL COMMUNITIES SUSTAINABLE TOURISM OPPORTUNITIES

Kjartan Bollason, Magnea Elínardóttir, Clara Lourenço, Anthony Johnston, Mark Bolger, Luigi Casoria, Kathy Kelly

Research output: Book/ReportCommissioned reportpeer-review

Abstract

The dark sky evokes basic human emotions and connects us all to the human story, of how we watch the dark sky, tell and create stories about the stars in the sky and beings in the dark. With the deterioration of the quality of darkness due to increased lighting, we miss out on enjoying the beauty of the night sky, which was a self-evident part of existence on Earth until fairly recently. At the same time, we endanger our fellow creatures who rely on the dark for their existence, such as insects, birds, bats and many more. Guests are constantly seeking out opportunities to travel in a more immersive way, away from typical crowded tourist attractions towards more nature-based experiences. Examples from Iceland show that nature-based tourism businesses find it relatively easy to add Dark Sky activities into their existing tourism offers. As Dark Sky Ecotourism requires that businesses follow a certain core ecotourism standard, analysis from examples from Iceland show that nature-based businesses already fulfil fully or partially many requirement of the Ecotourism standards. As a business to be able to showcase the dark sky there needs to be a cooperation with the local community This cooperation is essential to protect dark sky quality, which includes the issue of light pollution. To ensure both quality experience and the protection of the natural world an approach like what is described here in this handbook is the way forward.
Original languageEnglish (Ireland)
Number of pages90
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Dark Sky Eco Tourism Guide: OFFERING RURAL COMMUNITIES SUSTAINABLE TOURISM OPPORTUNITIES'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this