ABSTRACT
Tourism research has typically centred around topics related to the social, ecological and economic impacts of the tourism industry. Social impact studies have involved an analysis of how the industry has affected local people and their lifestyles, whereas ecological studies have emphasised how the industry has transformed the physical nature of local and regional landscapes. Such studies seem to be in contrast to tourism economic research, which in most cases illustrate the income-generating power of the industry at many scales. Given that this impact research is quite voluminous, it is not the purpose of the following discussion to provide a complete overview of research in these areas. Instead, this chapter will focus most extensively on issues related to ecological impacts, carrying capacity and, less specifically, on social impacts. Economics and marketing in ecotourism are the topic of Chapter 4.
