Managing divestments as projects: Benefits of stakeholder orientation

The influence of stakeholders in the process of accepting or rejecting social innovations

Acceptance of ecotourism is still a topic of great concern for vulnerable regions. Often described as a credible response to the problems of natural resource reduction and the development of inappropriate practices that degrade natural landscapes, ecotourism has nevertheless often failed to live up to expectations due to a number of factors. These include the inefficiency of public policies, failure to encourage local initiatives and the difficulty of reconciling the interests of all stakeholders living or working within an ecotourism area. This article aims, through a qualitative study, to better understand the problems of accepting ecotourism by conceptualising it as a social innovation and then analysing the influence and role of various stakeholders in ensuring its acceptance. The results highlight obstacles to the acceptance of ecotourism, namely the shortcomings of public policies, the controversial situations that arise from interaction between the main players and the problems of participatory governance.