📄 Abstract
The Blue Economy has emerged as a significant framework for promoting sustainable economic growth while ensuring the conservation of marine and coastal ecosystems. Among its various dimensions, marine ecotourism has gained considerable attention due to its potential to generate employment, improve local livelihoods, attract investment, and foster environmental awareness. Coastal destinations, particularly those associated with seaports, play a crucial role in facilitating tourism activities and supporting regional economic development. This study undertakes a comparative analysis of marine ecotourism and its contribution to local economic development in the coastal regions of Mangalore, Karnataka, and selected seaport destinations in Kerala. The research aims to examine the extent to which marine ecotourism contributes to income generation, employment opportunities, infrastructure development, and community participation in both regions. It further seeks to compare the effectiveness of ecotourism initiatives, government support mechanisms, environmental conservation practices, and stakeholder engagement in promoting sustainable coastal development. The study explores how differences in tourism planning, resource utilization, and policy implementation influence economic outcomes and environmental sustainability. A comparative research design is adopted, utilizing both primary and secondary data sources. Information is collected from local residents, tourism operators, fishermen, port authorities, and government officials through structured questionnaires and interviews. Secondary data are gathered from government reports, tourism statistics, port records, and published literature. The analysis focuses on key indicators such as tourist arrivals, employment generation, income enhancement, investment patterns, environmental management practices, and community well-being. The findings are expected to reveal that Kerala’s coastal destinations have achieved relatively higher levels of marine ecotourism development due to stronger branding, integrated tourism policies, and greater community participation. In contrast, Mangalore possesses significant untapped potential owing to its strategic port location, rich marine biodiversity, cultural heritage, and emerging tourism infrastructure. The study anticipates identifying best practices from Kerala that can be adapted to strengthen marine ecotourism initiatives in Mangalore and other coastal regions. The researchers in their research contributes to the growing body of literature on the Blue Economy by providing empirical evidence on the relationship between marine ecotourism and local economic development.
🏷️ Keywords
📚 How to Cite:
Dr. Roshni Yeshawanth, Dr. Manjula Mallya M , MARINE ECOTOURISM AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: EVIDENCE FROM COASTAL DESTINATIONS – A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MANGALORE AND KERALA SEAPORTS , Volume 14 , Issue 6, June 2026, EPRA International Journal of Economic Growth and Environmental Issues (EGEI) , Pages: 8 - 17 ,