Ecotourism and the Conservation Ethic: Recruiting the Uninitiated or Preaching to the Converted?

Beaumont, Narelle

doi:10.1080/09669580108667405

Cited by 132 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 35 publications

(53 reference statements)

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“…Ballantine & Eagles, 1994;Eagles, 1992; Juric, Cornwall & Mather, 2002;Kwan, Eagles & Gebhardt, 2008;Saleh & Karwacki, 1996;Wight, 1996). There has been a long-held view that because ecotourists seek nature and learning about the natural environment they are also environmentally aware and concerned (Beaumont, 2001). Hence, it has been assumed that sustainability of their ecotourism product is also a key factor in their holiday or activity decision-making process.…”

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The third criterion of ecotourism: are ecotourists more concerned about sustainability than other tourists?

Beaumont

2011

Journal of Ecotourism

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The third criterion of ecotourism: Are ecotourists more concerned about sustainability than other tourists?Ecotourism can be defined by three core criteria: nature, learning and sustainability. The ecotourist market has been segmented by the nature and learning criteria only. It has been assumed that ecotourists are environmentally concerned and therefore sustainability is a factor in their decisionmaking. However, little empirical research has confirmed this assumption. This study surveyed 243 respondents participating in an ecotourism experience in Australia. It identified ecotourists according to the nature and learning criteria as per previous segmentation studies. Proenvironmental attitudes were measured as an indication of their support for sustainability. Results revealed no significant differences in pro-environmental attitudes between those identified as ecotourists and those considered non-ecotourists. Whilst demand exists for nature and learning experiences, compliance with the sustainability criterion seems to be no more a factor in ecotourist decision-making than for mainstream tourists. Implications are that market segmentation research should consider all relevant criteria when segmenting a market for a particular product to ensure supply matches demand. However, demand for certain products can be created by innovative marketing practices. This would enable the ecotourism industry to respond to the market's demand for nature and learning, but also influence the behaviour and structure of the market with regard to sustainability.Keywords: core criteria of ecotourism; product differentiation; market segmentation; ecotourist market; pro-environmental attitudes; sustainability 3 IntroductionDespite a variety of definitions of ecotourism since its emergence in the 1980s, it is now generally agreed by academics, government and the tourism industry that ecotourism can be identified by three core criteria: nature, learning, and sustainability (Beaumont, 1998;Blamey, 1995;Weaver, 2008). The sustainability criterion incorporates environmental, social and economic elements and therefore includes criteria referred to specifically in some definitions, such as conservation and community benefits. However, because of ecotourism's focus on nature the emphasis tends to be on environmental sustainability. The three core criteria have been used to differentiate ecotourism from other tourism products and accordingly ecotourism products are expected to comply with the three criteria. Those seeking eco accreditation or certification must comply with stringent requirements regarding these criteria. Compliance with the environmental sustainability criterion has led many ecotourism operators to implement extensive environmentally friendly practices and management systems, and has tended to put some of them at the upper end of the price scale.By contrast, ecotourist market segmentation research has identified the ecotourist as a tourist with motivations and behaviour related only to the nature and learning criteria of ecot...

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The third criterion of ecotourism: are ecotourists more concerned about sustainability than other tourists?

Beaumont

2011

Journal of Ecotourism

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“…Since that time many words have been both spoken and written to the effect that tourism may contribute in meaningful ways to conservation, and that there is perhaps potential for symbiosis (Beaumont, 2001;Higham & Carr, 2002;Orams, 1997;Tarrant & Cordell, 1997) but 30 years after Budowski (1976), examples of genuine symbiosis remain the exception rather than the rule. In many parts of the world the evidence for symbiosis between tourism and conservation interests is either non-existent or, at best, worryingly obscure (Higham, 2007).…”

Section: Tourist Engagements With Dolphins: the Search For Sustainabimentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing Wildlife-based Tourism: Edging Slowly Towards Sustainability?

Higham

Bejder

2008

Current Issues in Tourism

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It is increasingly acknowledged that cetacean-based tourism may not be as low in impact as many hope or presume, and that any long term and systematic human interactions with populations of wild animals need to be rigorously monitored and carefully managed. This paper reviews a series of recent developments in the management of tourist interactions with dolphins at Shark Bay (Western Australia). We argue that collectively these developments represent a paradigmatic shift in the way commercial tourism encounters with dolphins are managed. If so, they represent an important and long overdue advance in the general direction of sustainable management. However, the paper also strikes a note of caution. Shark Bay, a well managed site of relatively low level commerical dolphin-watching activities, carries important insights and austere warnings for the many high-intensity/low visitor management dolphin-tourism sites around the world.

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“…There seem to have been few attempts to test whether such an effect actually occurs (Beaumont, 2001). In any event, this mechanism would not yield a net conservation gain unless three criteria were all met simultaneously: i) there was a net marginal increase in political activism, due specifically to the ecotourism experience; ii) such activism was effective in improving actual conservation outcomes; and iii) such gains outweighed the aggregate environmental impacts of all clients.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing Marine and Fisheries Industry in Pangandaran Following a Bioecoregion-Based Technopark Framework

Nurhayati

Purnomo²

2017

STIPM Journal

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<p>From the bioecoregional point of view, the Pangandaran Regency is a land-water-mass with a strong ecological connectivity, and which also is chareacterized by the dominance of marine and fisheries resource potentials. In this region, a number of development variables exists and are available for transforming these natural resources into an advanced industry, which can sustain the region’s economy. Recognizing such a premise, this research aims at analyzing those variables in more detail, as associated with efforts to accellerate the establishment of a strong economy which is supported by a marine and fisheries industry in Pangandaran. The technopark concept is taken as the main reference for the industry to be developed while the gap analysis is taken as the research’s primary methodological approach. Primary and secondary data collected through literature study, discussion, consultation, field visits, and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) are used to carry out the gap analysis, which is then followed up by the SWOT analysis. Based on the research, it can be concluded that the existing bioecoregional setting as well as the available development variables are conducive to facilitate development of a marine and fisheries technopark as long as a number of improvement are carried out. A proposal to operationalize such improvements as suggested by the result of this research is demonstrated in a roadmap as presented in the final section of this paper.</p>

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Ecotourism and the Conservation Ethic: Recruiting the Uninitiated or Preaching to the Converted?

Cited by 132 publications

References 35 publications

The third criterion of ecotourism: are ecotourists more concerned about sustainability than other tourists?

The third criterion of ecotourism: are ecotourists more concerned about sustainability than other tourists?

Managing Wildlife-based Tourism: Edging Slowly Towards Sustainability?

Developing Marine and Fisheries Industry in Pangandaran Following a Bioecoregion-Based Technopark Framework

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