Abstract:
ThisthesiswasconductedinAmharaRegionalState,NorthGondar,DebarkZone
SMNPwiththeaim ofidentifyingthemainchallengesandbenefitsofcommunity
basedecotourism inthestudyarea.ThreeKebeleshavingdifferentpotentialand
actualecotourism sites were purposively selected.Both the qualitative and
quantitativemethodswereappliedincollectingandanalyzingthedata.Thetotal
numberofthehouseholdheadsoftheselectedkebeleswas3,672andoutofthis
universalhousehold97samplehouseholdrespondantswereselectedusingarandom
samplingmethod.InadditiontoquestionnaireKeyInformantInterview,FocusGroup
Discussion.Hence,themajorobstacleofecotourism intheareasarefoundtothe
poorlyorganizedattentiontowardsthesectorbythestakeholders.Thefindingsfrom
thesestudiesrevealedapoorecotourism infrastructureandfacilities,conflictsof
interestoverresourceusageandaseverelackoftrainedmanpowerasbeingthe
majorhinderingfactorsforcommunitybasedecotourism developmentinSimien
MountainNationalParktodecoration.Asthesurveyresultrevealed,from thetotal
sampleofcommunitymembers,73.2% ofthemembersrepliedthattheywere
participatingintheecotourismservicesproductionactivitiesoftheircommunitywhile
theremaining26.8%hadneverparticipatedinanyecotourism servicesproduction
activitiesoftheircommunities.Tosum upLocalcommunitiesacknowledgethat
tourismprovidesemploymentopportunities,encouragesavarietyofculturalactivities
andmeetingtouristspromotescrossculturalexchange.Shouldbe,theresearcher
recommendedthat,thegovernmentorganizationsshouldprovidetrainings,adviceand
provisionsothatlocalcommunitiescanparticipateinecotourismdevelopmen
