The SIAmethodologywas tested by using the results fromour observations
and discussionswith people in these villages to get an indication
of the social impacts thewalking tours create.We then used these findings
to consider howOdysseia-In might change its overall operations to
better monitor and manage their impacts across all the communities in
which it operates.
The fieldwork was done in two stages by a research team consisting
of two responsible tourism researchers, anexpert in social impact assessment,
and three Odysseia-In staff. The first stage comprised a ten day period
in September 2011 where rapid, cost-effective and simple data
collection methods were used to collect the required data for the different
stages of the SIA and produce a SIMP. The second stage, in December
2012, was the capacity building stage which was designed to better understand
the practical challenges facing Odysseia-In staff after it emerged
that they had struggled to implement their SIMP without external assistance.
All research was done in an ethically-sound way, consistent with
social research as undertaken in SIA