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The purpose of this study is to examine the perspectives of tourism stakeholders regarding sustainable tourism outcomes in protected areas. We compared the responses of residents with residents, and tourists with tourists, in two protected areas of Nepal, namely, the Annapurna Conservation Area and Chitwan National Park. Tourism sustainability was evaluated with six tourism impact subscales measuring negative and positive ecological, economic, and social impacts. Data were collected using the survey method. Respondents included 230 residents and 205 tourists in Annapurna, and 220 residents and 210 tourists in Chitwan. Data analysis involved a series of multigroup confirmatory factor analyses with Annapurna and Chitwan as comparison groups and tourism impact subscales as latent constructs. Results revealed that residents and tourists perceive positive and negative impacts differently across protected areas. This suggests that the form of tourism development affects the sustainability outcomes in protected areas. Theoretical, methodological, and practical implications are discussed.

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Sustainable tourism is lauded for simultaneously benefitting local residents, tourists, and the environment. Environmental interpretation is considered a vehicle for sustainable tourism as it minimizes the adverse environmental and social impacts of tourism by creating pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. The purpose of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of interpretative tour guiding by comparing guided and nonguided tourists’ attitudes and behaviors. Data were collected from 230 visitors at the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal, using self-administered questionnaires. Results showed that the effectiveness of interpretation varies in relation to a number of ecological and sociocultural attitudes and behaviors. The positive change in attitude and behavior indicated that interpretation can be an effective and desirable tool in sustainable tourism. The conditions when interpretation cannot produce desirable outcomes and the theoretical and managerial implications of study findings are also discussed.