Abstract

Dive tourism has been an established method to finance coral reef conservation through user fees which are used to directly fund the management of MPAs. However most organizations in charge of MPA management lack the in house capacity to establish and operate a reliable system to collect user fees. Often traditional ‘over the counter’ systems selling bracelets or tags put enormous pressure and responsibility on water-sport operators and wardens. These systems often lack the necessary control mechanisms and often they become a burden. Based on a feasibility study financed by Bloomberg Philanthropies and conducted by Reef Support BV on Bonaire, Curacao and Sint Maarten, it was determined that 91% of tourists used the internet to pay for and reserve flights, accommodation, rental cars and other marine recreation packages. This reveals a new trend in buying tourism related products that were simply non-existent in the early nineties when user fees became more popular. To gain from this new tendency and to overcome the above described issues, Reef Support created the first online system to collect user fees. Reef Support is a simple, robust, flexible, and customize tool to sell marine park fees to visitors. It offers a safe way to receive money, provides access to an ever-growing database of customers, creates a unique ticketing system, and offers the possibility of generating customized financial reports. This internet-based payment system will help managers streamline sales, help visitors save time, increase the safety of rangers, and utilize technological advances to benefit conservation.

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