Abstract:
Ecotourism is a recently emerged concept described as an ecologically, friendly, economically
viable, and socially acceptable form of tourism. It has basic principles for conservation of
environment, local culture, and ensuring the major beneficiaries and participation of local
communities. The purpose of this study was to assess the practices and challenges of community
based ecotourism on local economic development in case of Bishoftu town. To achieve the
objectives of the study, a descriptive survey design and both quantitative and qualitative mixed
methods were employed. The researcher took a total of 171 respondents for quantitative analysis
from total population, key informant interviews, field observation and FGDs for qualitative data
collection. Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were employed. Three community
based ecotourism-developed areas were selected for the study using a simple random sampling
method. The data were gathered through a questionnaire, key informant interviews, focus group
discussions, field observation, and document analysis. The quantitative data were analyzed using
frequency and percentage, while the qualitative data were analyzed through a theoretical method
based on the data collected from the respondents from the study area. The result of the study tried
to identify the following challenges against ecotourism development and local economic
development: Lack of safety and security, lack of community awareness, lack of trained manpower,
the absence of clean tap water, the seasonal nature of the business, language barriers for efficient
communication with tourists, lack of cooperation among stakeholders, natural and culturally
incompatible infrastructural developments, cultural commercialization, and abuse from tourists
and the community were among the challenges that merely seek quick intervening solutions. The
effort made to improve the participation of the local community through ecotourism development
was very low. In light of those circumstances, the study strongly recommends that the Bishoftu
town Culture and Tourism Office use ecotourism as an alternative economic source through local
community empowerment and involvement, which was the main challenge of ecotourism
development activities.,
