• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.185-199
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• 2012

Ecotourism has been attracting much attention as an example industry that can vitalize local economy markets and preserve natural resources. Implementation of 'Ecotourism Designation System' is under consideration to provide ecotourism products that can both emphasize the original meanings of ecotourism and ensure stronger trust from customers than ever before. This research introduced the direction, principles, subjects, and assessment indicators by subjects in terms of implementing the system and proposed fundamentals for both designation assignment and score calculation. In the face of implementing such a system in Korea, the investigation sought subjects whose target areas and programs are in need of examination. For assessment criteria by subjects, six assessment indicators were selected in the end for ecotourism sites, including: (1) the value of natural/ecological preservation (2) facility's ecological design (3) understanding both the environment and local culture (4) systems connecting local communities for cooperation (5) long/short term preservation and maintenance strategies/plans (6) willingness to further develop ecotourism and cooperative platform. In addition, seven assessment indicators were selected for program assignments, including: (1) the value of natural/ecological preservation (2) minimization of environmental effects (3) expansion of environmental understanding (4) sharing the local culture (5) vitalizing local connections and economical activities among communities (6) securing and maintaining professionality among human resources (7) odds of continuation, creativity, and aptness to improve programs. After considering the pros and cons of both categorizing system and yes/no system, implementation of categorizing system for the short term and yes/no for the long term were suggested, followed by additional suggestions of a score calculation system for each system. The official implementation of the 'Ecotourism Designation System' is scheduled for launch in 2013 after the trial operation in 2012. The assessment indicators and fundamentals suggested in this research, considering judgment, must be improved via systematic and practical methods through the trial operation.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.677-684
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• 2022

This study is a basic study to evaluate the ecological environment of Changwon City. The study site was 6 ecotourism districts in Changwon-si, and the ecotourism index was evaluated through direct visits and interviews with the person in charge through preliminary research and various literature data from June to July 2021. There are six ecotourism indicators: climate crisis, air quality improvement, water conservation, natural coexistence, citizen participation, and tourism resource management. When looking at the scores for the six ecotourism areas in Changwon, it received the highest score in the areas of natural coexistence and air quality improvement. However, the ecoregion received the lowest score in the water resource conservation category, indicating that the water resource conservation as a whole was weak. Next, tourism resource management, climate crisis, and citizen participation are at the same level in all regions. As a result of the evaluation through the low-carbon ecotourism index, the Changwon City low-carbon ecotourism certification system should first be operated as a measure to revitalize the ecotourism region. It is necessary to prepare a low-carbon ecotourism level for Changwon City. Second, it is very important to guide and promote ecotourism areas to revitalize ecotourism areas. Lastly, to operate a sustainable eco-environment area, it is necessary to operate using local governance above all else.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.13-22
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• 2012

This study was conducted to establish ecotourism as an introduction to sustainability and international cooperation. As a plan to retain the original meaning of ecotourism, the introduction of a program to certify/designateecotourism is being vitalized in many countries around the world. In Korea as well, an agenda to the introduction of an "Ecotourism Designation System,"which aims to ensure the quality of ecotourism at a certain level, was submitted by the Ministry of Environment to the National Assembly in June 2011, and the promotion for a demonstration program is planned this year to introduce the system. Japan has been carrying out the certification systems Good Eco-tour, which certifies the sustainability of ecotourism providers and accommodations since 2006, respectively, and has been securing the sustainability of ecotourism by enactment in 2008, as the world's first law to promote ecotourism. And the second general conference of the first Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism(GPST) was held in Korea in March 2012, particularly, there was an agreement that the promotion of Asia and the Pacific Area Network for sustainable tourism would center around Korea, and accordingly, it is expected that Korea's status as a core country for ecotourism in the Asia-Pacific Area will increase. While the demand for an approach to natural resources is rapidly increasing, we should be active in providing an institutional strategy such as a designation system to secure the sustainability of ecotourism and seeking a plan for cooperation and network vitalization in the Asia-Pacific Area where similar natural resources and cultures are shared.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.73-83
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• 2017

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the CSR activities of small enterprises in hospitality and tourism industry in South Korea. Since previous research on CSR activities has considerably focused on large enterprises whereas small enterprises have relatively less attention, this study aims to explore the characteristics of small enterprises in hospitality and tourism industry and their CSR activities. Research design, data, and methodology - The population of interest for this study was social enterprises registered in Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency (2016), and it was used to verify the social enterprises which has a certification for social enterprises. From 1672 companies in total, the sampling frame was a database with 117 companies in hospitality and tourism industry. This study investigates social enterprises' CSR activities on the company's official websites (e.g., company reports, magazines, the news articles, and interviews). The websites of the selected enterprises in hospitality and tourism industry were analyzed for examining CSR activities by the quantitative content analysis. All of the CSR activities in small social enterprises were classified into six dimensions based on the stakeholder theory. Results - The findings of this study provide the characteristics of the 117 small social enterprises and their specific CSR initiatives. A total of eight main business lines were identified: 1) fair travel, 2) leisure/sports, 3) accommodation/camping, 4) medical tourism, 5) exhibitions/art events/cultural events, 6) leisure activities for vulnerable social groups, 7) Korean traditional culture, and 8) ecotourism/agricultural tourism. The CSR initiatives were classified into six dimensions: 1) environment, 2) employment, 3) multicultural families and vulnerable social groups, 4) local community, 5) economic prosperity, and 6) product. Conclusions - This study revealed the special CSR initiative examples of small enterprises in hospitality and tourism industry. Small social enterprises participate in CSR activities mainly related to their own business lines. Moreover, these enterprises are more closely embedded in their local community development, job creation and education for local residents and vulnerable social groups, and traditional heritage preservation. The findings of this study provide theoretical and practical implications and they can contribute to enrich CSR with literature for small enterprises in hospitality and tourism industry.