Combating over-commercialization in ecotourism through collaborative governance: A game-theoretic modeling analysis

Although over-commercialization brings economic benefits, it results in ecological damage and disrupts ecosystem services at ecotourism destinations. This paper addresses the phenomenon of over-commercialization in ecotourism by constructing an evolutionary game model involving the government, companies, and tourists, and simulates their cooperative strategies under various influencing factors. The findings suggest that addressing over-commercialization in ecotourism requires collaborative governance efforts. Specifically, local governments are more motivated to regulate over-commercialization when the regulatory costs are lower, the political benefits from the central government are higher, and environmental remediation costs are greater. Additionally, when local governments impose higher penalties on companies for over-commercialization, and when the profits from non-over-commercialized tourism are greater, companies are more likely to reduce their over-commercialization practices. Over-commercialization in ecotourism may be appealing, but avoiding over-commercialization can enhance the value of ecotourism products, which can attract tourists and reduce their support for over-commercialization. Tourists’ preference for environmental conservation plays a crucial role in restraining the over-commercialization behaviors of companies involved in ecotourism projects. To mitigate the impacts of over-commercialization on ecosystems, governments should strengthen regulatory efforts, increase the costs associated with over-commercialization for companies, and promote tourists’ preferences for ecological conservation.