Familiarity and involvement among local residents in the development of Bucari Ecotourism Site in Leon, Iloilo

Abstract

This is a quantitative descriptive-correlational study about the familiarity and involvement of local residents in the development of the Bucari Ecotourism Site in Leon, Iloilo. Six barangays with 300 respondents were surveyed regarding their socio-demographic profiles, familiarity with the site, and involvement in decision-making, planning, implementation, and advocacy. The survey revealed that, on average, the residents were moderately familiar with the site. Greater familiarity was, however, reported among younger people, highly educated people, and those in higher income-earning brackets. On the other hand, lower familiarity was noted among older persons, less-educated people, and those from poorer income groups. Regarding involvement, the residents were more actively engaged in community-driven activities such as clean-ups of the environment and boosting tourism. Participation in decision-making and planning was, however, considerably lower. The factors identified with both familiarity and involvement include education and income, while age, sex, and length of stay were found to have minimal impacts. Familiarity shows a strong positive correlation with involvement, suggesting that more familiarity is directly related to the site as it enhances active participation in developing the ecotourism destination. This highlights the need for communication strategies directed towards awareness that may trigger higher active participation within the community in relation to involvement in the site's development. Increasing information distribution and the avenue for greater depth in involvement might enhance the involvement and sustainability in developing the Bucari Ecotourism Site. These findings point out the importance of local residents in ensuring the long-term sustainability of ecotourism ventures