While some recognise tourism as the optimal companion of conservation due to their beneficial symbiotic relationship, others have addressed the negative consequences on the islands. As such, the...Show moreWhile some recognise tourism as the optimal companion of conservation due to their beneficial symbiotic relationship, others have addressed the negative consequences on the islands. As such, the Galapagos will serve as a case to study the effects of tourism on conservation and local development to understand if they can be achieved simultaneously. This research aims to look behind the curtain of the idea of pristine and untouched nature and its alignment with tourism to find out if conservational and tourist practices can indeed be compatible and lead to a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship.As will be seen, the conflicts in the Galapagos surround the concepts of power and scale. It is these concepts that also form a central concern in the academic fields of political ecology and ecological economics, which will be the perspectives used for the analysis.Show less
