Self-identification of ecotourists

Although ecotourism has frequently been examined in the literature, a consensus has not yet been reached globally as to what constitutes ecotourism. This paper suggests an alternative to the continuing debates among tourism researchers regarding their own views on what ecotourism should be and on who ecotourists are. Instead, this paper contends that tourists’ own self-interpretations of ecotourism and self-identification of ecotourists may be a more meaningful and practical way forward. This study examines the ecotourism market for West Virginia by applying this self-identification approach. The results indicate that 39.4% of respondents knew about the term “ecotourism”, and that 22.2% or 12.0 million of the state's visitors in 2008 were ecotourists. By comparison to non-ecotourists, these self-identified ecotourists were found to be more environmentally concerned and responsible, more dedicated to nature, more supportive of tourism accreditation programs, and more likely to patronize businesses with good environmental practices, even at a higher cost. This has significant implications for sustainable tourism development in the state as these findings can help to convince tourism operators who may see the potential benefits through being involved in a certification program proposed by West Virginia Department of Protection. Research limitations and future research needs are discussed.     

国内外生态旅游者行为与态度特征的比较研究——以北京市百花山自然保护区为例

国外很早就开始对生态旅游者的研究予以关注,而国内相关的实证研究较缺乏.伴随生态旅游在我国的日益普及,介绍国外相关研究结论,对比国内外生态旅游者的行为与态度特征差异,将有助于探索适合我国生态旅游发展的道路与模式.以北京市百花山自然保护区为例,在明确区分生态旅游者和一般游客的基础上,从人口统计、动机、环境态度等方面探讨了中外生态旅游者的特征差异,并针对性地提出若干管理建议.     

Motivational and Behavioral Profiling of Visitors to Forest-based Recreational Destinations in Sri Lanka

The tourism industry plays a key role in regional and destination development. As negative environmental and socio-cultural impacts of mass tourism become more common, the appeal of alternative forms of tourism, especially ecotourism, continues to increase. With rising demand, ecotourism operators are facing the task of meeting expectations of diverse consumers of ecotourism products. Accordingly, the need to define and distinguish ecotourists from other types of tourists has become important. The importance of using a behavioral approach to distinguish ecotourists from other types of tourists is emphasized by tourism scholars. This study developed distinct motivational and behavioral profiles of visitors to forest-based ecotourism sites in Sri Lanka. Results identified four different types of tourists based on their behavioral and motivational characteristics: ecotourists, picnickers, egoistic tourists, and adventure tourists. Broad implications of visitor profiling are also discussed. This approach can help ecotourism operators to better tailor marketing strategies and increase visitor satisfaction.     

Profiling Taiwanese Ecotourists Using a Self-definition Approach

Numerous studies have profiled ecotourists but these have been done mainly in the context of North American ecotourists. This study provides one of the few examinations of the rapidly developing Asian ecotourism market in the context of domestic visitation to Taiwan's Taroko National Park. The study uses an innovative self-defined approach to defining an ecotourist. Findings include demographic results, benefits sought, travel motivation, and activities. Comparisons between Taiwanese and North American ecotourists are also made.     

Ecotourists' Perception of Ecotourism Experience in Lower Kinabatangan,Sabah, Malaysia

This paper presents the empirical findings of an exploratory qualitative study which looks at ecotourists' perceptions of ecotourism experiences in Sabah, Malaysia in order to identify the expressive dimensions that describe the quality of their experience. In-depth interviews were conducted with European ecotourists who stayed at two ecolodges in Sukau. Positive and negative experiences were identified from an analysis of the expressive dimensions of their service experience. The findings show that the ecotourists' experience is multidimensional. Respondents place particular emphasis on the ecotourism activities in which they physically engage at the sites and the natural environment in which they are located; their interaction with the site service staff; socialisation with other ecotourists, and the information acquired during the visit. The six expressive dimensions describing the positive experience are consistent with previous research. The study explores understanding of ecotourists' experience in the ecotourism environment – an under-researched area. The paper points out that the evaluation of quality of experience appears to involve both attributes – functional elements that are provided by the service suppliers and affective/emotional elements that are brought about by the ecotourists themselves.     

基于行为与态度的生态旅游市场构成研究--以太白山国家森林公园为例

生态旅游者作为生态旅游活动的主体，其行为特征的研究至关重要。本文以太白山森林公园为例，对旅游者行为特征进行了调查研究，将其划分为一般生态旅游者和比较严格的生态旅游者，并对二者特征进行了对比研究，提出了与周边行政区联合开发等策略。     

Magnitude of ecotourism in Costa Rica and Kenya

An examination of ecotourism patterns within Costa Rica and Kenya reveals differential magnitudes across an array of relevant criteria. If measured in terms of specialized accommodations, visits by specialist ecotourists, direct social and economic impact, activity space, or government investment, ecotourism is a relatively minor activity. More congruent with the popular image of these two countries as high profile ecotourism destinations are total tourist activity time, ecotourism as a visitor motivation, and indirect revenue generation, all of which are substantial or major. It is argued that this touristic form of development and practice exists in a symbiotic relationship with mass tourism, and the more intensive types should be considered as a type of the latter.     

Planning for Sustainable Ecotourism: The Case for Research Ecotourism in Developing Country Destinations

Research ecotourism is a relatively new component of activities within the ecotourism industry, providing research opportunities for visitors focusing on aspects of the natural environment which are principally located in developing countries. This paper is directed towards identifying the nature and causes of socio-cultural impacts of this strand of ecotourism using a case study from Indonesia. The positive nature of socio-cultural impacts perceived by host communities alongside the irregular nature of economic benefits to host communities is analogous with the altruistic surplus theory of individual recognition of communal benefits. Certain characteristics of research ecotourists are identified as contributing towards host reactions towards visitors which reinforce the contention that this is a desirable form of ecotourism in similar locations.     

从系统学角度透视生态旅游利益相关者结构关系

从系统动力学著名的"内生"理论角度分析,生态旅游可持续发展的关键就是要建立各利益相关者之间的利益均衡机制,从而形成一体化的共生系统.本文将政府、社区、保护区、旅游企业和生态旅游者五个主要利益相关者作为生态旅游系统中的内生变量,用系统动力学方法,分析协调利益获取和分配、权利和义务、生态耗损和补偿等问题,初步构建各利益相关者之间的结构关系,为建立协调各方利益的参与机制提供理论参考.     

黄山风景区生态旅游实践研究

生态旅游对于优化产业结构、促进区域可持续发展、推动生态文明建设具有重要意义。本文选取山地型生态旅游地黄山风景区为案例开展实践研究,主要研究内容包括：（1）首先摸清了黄山风景区野生动植物、古树名木、地貌、气候、水体等丰富的生态旅游资源;（2）梳理了黄山风景区在生态旅游者、资源、企业与环境等方面采取的促进生态旅游发展的措施,包括确定合理的景区承载量、封闭轮休精华景点、规范保护古树名木、有效防控松材线虫灾害、严防森林火灾、生态旅游企业改革和科学治理“三废”等;（3）论述了黄山风景区生态旅游发展所取得的经济、社会和生态效益,其效益具有时间和空间的溢出性,对国内外旅游目的地可持续发展起到推动作用。黄山风景区是生态旅游发展的范例地,其区域发展、法规标准和多主体参与等一系列生态旅游保护与利用实践为国内外风景名胜区发展生态旅游提供了宝贵经验。     

Tourism and environmental subjectivities in the Anthropocene: observations from Niru Village,Southwest China

ABSTRACT

The increasingly popular notion of Anthropocene urges us to reflect and review the role of the human, the Anthropos, as part of the planet earth. In this context, tourism has been singled out as a global industry that is driven by neoliberal economic principles and is inevitably intertwined in the production of the Anthropocene. At the same time, tourism has been adopted also as part of environmental governance and management, aiming for a more sustainable economy. Based on the idea that ecotourism contributes to the discourse of “nature” (and Anthropocene) disruptively as well as productively in unsettling the normative ideas of “nature” and “culture”, in this article I attempt to understand more specifically how ecotourism may enable individuals' subject formation in relation to the broader environmental discourse. Drawn on fieldwork in Niru Village, Shangri-La, Southwest China, I employ a political ecology approach and examine the ways individuals relate themselves to “nature”, through a process of negotiation and exchange with others engaged in ecotourism activities. The tourism encounters in Niru Village, therefore are also embodied encounters of different environmental subjectivities.     

The beach as a strategic element of governance for Spanish coastal towns

Governance models and future strategic visions for Spain's beach social–ecological systems are assessed using an online questionnaire. Beaches continue to represent the most valuable attraction for Spanish coastal towns, but their strategic vision regarding the beach consists more of it being a profitable attraction and of maintaining the traditional “sun and sand” model, rather than of planning strategically. There are three trends looking to 2020. First, beach resorts are becoming linked with culture and heritage, gastronomy, events and ecotourism to enhance their attraction capacity and competitiveness. Second, the coastal towns plan to reduce the strain on beaches by increasing the number of square metres of sand per user. Third, they plan to reduce the strain of the seasonal population compared to the year-round population. Two indices (Beach Quality and Governance Quality) and two factors (Beach Management Proximity and Tourist Resource Expectations) were developed to assess municipal beach governance frameworks, enabling us to construct a typology of four municipal governance models. The country follows a classical public hierarchical model of beach management. Other than at the local scale, beaches are not strategically managed. There is a lack of implementation of adaptive measures, collective actions, integrated management, or policy learning.     

Challenging the principles of ecotourism: insights from entrepreneurs on environmental and economic sustainability in Langkawi,Malaysia

Ecotourism is a normative concept defined and driven by generalized principles concerning local livelihoods and conservation of natural and cultural environments. Supply-side studies considering the applicability of these principles in practice are limited. In particular, an understanding of how entrepreneurialism shapes ecotourism is largely absent from the literature. We investigate the intersection of entrepreneurialism, ecotourism, and governance using a case study of actors at the Kilim Karst Geoforest Park (KKGP) in Langkawi, Malaysia, which has seen a rapid rise in entrepreneurial “ecotourism” activities. However, levels of competition between actors, their perceptions of ecotourism, and the challenges and tensions they face are unknown. To address this, a “hierarchy of entrepreneurship” is presented, grouping actors into three tiers: governing institutions, tour companies, and independent entrepreneurs, from whom qualitative data are elicited. Opinions and contestations between and among tiers are elucidated around themes including how understandings of ecotourism influence entrepreneurial strategies, and how challenges and tensions may inhibit the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of ecotourism at KKGP. The study demonstrates that the normative dogma guiding how ecotourism should be practised must be balanced against the diverse understandings, motivations, and capacities of ecotourism entrepreneurs on the ground and the effectiveness of governance systems.     

The community participation process in ecotourism development: a case study of the community of Sogoog,Bayan-Ulgii,Mongolia

Theories on community participation in ecotourism development advocate obtaining maximum levels of both community control and benefit to achieve sustainable tourism. This paper explores issues in community-based ecotourism development in a small, remote community in western Mongolia. It assesses the community's desire to develop ecotourism, their understanding of the issues involved and the feasibility of the process in a poor herding community, where 63% are herdsmen, frequently absent with their herds. Using responses from 100 participants together with interviews with key stakeholders, it describes and analyzes the difficulties in establishing community participation and ecotourism implementation. Findings revealed that long-term viable community-based ecotourism development in remote areas requires close collaboration and sustained support from trusted community leaders and from knowledgeable and committed outside stakeholders. Approaches need to be carefully tailored to local circumstances, not “one size fits all”. Key areas of concern were environmental and cultural, including fears that their tradition of hospitality might be compromised, perceptions of the local NGO's benefits to the community and local, often naïve, expectations of ecotourism development. Despite fears, over 90% of those interviewed were willing to participate in an ecotourism project in this high-risk, unforgiving economic and climatic setting.     

The Natural State

ABSTRACT

Australian nature-based tourism and ecotourism have become popular forms of recreational activity. Tasmania attracts twice the Australian national average number of nature-based tourists and ecotourists (thirty per cent). The growth of this tourism sector has prompted measures to ensure that experiences are of high quality, and that environmental impacts are adequately managed. ISO 14000 is an environmental management and certification system often utilised as an environmental management system standard within various industries, but has not been widely applied to the Australian tourism industry. The Nature and Ecotourism Accreditation Program (NEAP) represents the most significant accreditation measure within Australia at present. This paper assesses the relevance of NEAP in the Tasmanian nature-based tourism and ecotourism industry through in-depth interviews with a key informant group and a comparative analysis of interview data. The paper introduces nature-based tourism and ecotourism definitions and discusses the growing relevance of ecotourism accreditation. The paper argues that NEAP is relevant to the Tasmanian nature-based tourism and ecotourism industry, where the quality of the natural environment forms the central focus for such experiences. Furthermore, the paper argues that NEAP can assist in supporting the State's nature-based tourism and ecotourism industry through means such as branding and promotion. However, problems exist in relation to financial issues between NEAP and operators, and the perceived overlap of NEAP with the widely implemented Tourism Council Tasmania Accreditation Program. Thus, financial issues need to be addressed by the Ecotourism Association of Australia in association with Australian Commonwealth Government subsidisation. The degree of overlap between the two programs can be effectively addressed through industry cooperation. The paper also suggests that stronger branding and promotion of NEAP can be achieved through increased industry involvement by Tourism Tasmania.     

An Exploratory Examination of Service Quality Attributes in the Ecotourism Industry

This study explores service quality attributes of ecolodges in Australia. In-depth interviews were used to develop service quality dimensions that ecotourists believe to be of importance when visiting ecolodges. The performance-based measure of service quality (SERVPERF) was adapted as a generic measure of service quality in order to investigate whether the SERVPERF instrument is applicable to the ecolodge industry. Findings indicate that three additional dimensions are specific to the ecolodge sector: eco-friendly practices, eco-activities, and eco-learning. The findings are significant in assessing guests’ perceptions of service quality in the ecotourism area and can serve as a framework for further empirical research.     

The Socially Aware Baby Boomer: Gaining a Lifestyle-Based Understanding of the New Wave of Ecotourists

As the Baby Boomers approach retirement, tourism, in general, is expected to increase among members of this generation. This increase in travel is expected to be accompanied by a surge of interest in ecotourism—resulting in a new wave of ecotourists, over the next quarter century. This four-nation analysis of the post-war Baby Boom generation in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States (the CANZUS countries) argues that Baby Boomers should be segmented by their lifestyle characteristics, in order to isolate the best prospects for ecotourism. Data are presented to show that the prime-prospect ecotourist among Baby Boomers is in the Socially Aware lifestyle group, in Australia, and its counterparts in the other CANZUS populations—Autonomous Rebels in Canada, Educated Liberals in New Zealand, and Actualisers in the United States. Additional data on the travel motives and value priorities of Socially Aware Baby Boomers give a fuller picture of this group. Members of the Baby Boom generation are currently experiencing middle age; the psychological implications of this life stage for ecotourism activity are also given. Strategy pointers are offered for the ecotourism manager, given the growing importance of the Socially Aware Baby Boomer as an ecotourist.     

Synergies between Australian indigenous tourism and ecotourism: possibilities and problems for future development

This paper examines and finds synergies between indigenous tourism and ecotourism in Australia. Both were recognised in the 2003 Tourism White Paper as drawcards for international tourists; Tourism Australia markets both as two of the country's seven key visitor experiences. Despite this, and the proven need to assist indigenous peoples’ socio-economic position, the indigenous tourism sector remains relatively immature. The paper, using a mixed-methods approach, including in-depth discussions with 26 indigenous tourism businesses, examines this problem and suggests ways forward. The results indicate that between 50% and 70% of indigenous tourism businesses are located in remote or very remote areas and utilise the environment to a substantial degree. Communities, couples and families dominate ownership patterns. Only 25% operate on a full-time basis. However, indigenous operators do not necessarily see themselves as being “ecotourism” businesses, despite their concern for and care of country. Very few are accredited: the ecotourism accreditation process is complex and expensive with guidelines based upon Westernised views of nature. Major changes in accreditation practice are suggested along with education and support for indigenous tourism businesses to ensure a stronger relationship between indigenous tourism and ecotourism and to improve Aboriginals’ socio-economic status.     

Motivation and segmentation of the demand for coastal and marine destinations

Coastal and marine destinations offer a variety of activities for their visitors. The objective of this empirical study was, considering the above assertation, analyzing the segmentation of the demand for this kind of destination in terms of customer motivations. This project was an on-site investigation conducted in the city of Salinas, an important coastal and marine destination in Ecuador. The researchers used 385 questionnaires and analyzed them with multivariate statistical techniques. The results show six motivational factors: “Authentic coastal experience,” “Heritage and nature,” “Learning,” “Novelty and social interaction,” “Physical activities” and “Sun and beach.” The study also shows the existence of two different segments of visitors. The first group labeled “Beach lovers” formed by tourists who have high motivation in such aspects related to the sun and the beach, this group refers to the motivational dimension “sun and beach.” The second group, labeled “Multiple coastal motives,” grouped tourists who have high values in all the motivational dimensions. The findings of this research suggest the need for a more refined and complete brand that could attract not only beach lovers but also other segments of tourists motivated by the different activities and features that this coastal and marine destination can offer.