Thesis (Masters Diploma (Technology))--Cape Technikon, Cape Town, 1994 / The majority of educational establishments in South Africa offering tourism courses concentrate on those subjects that are closely related to the operational side of the industry, for example: Travel Practice and Management, Business Management, Marketing, etc. whilst linle or no applied training for ecotourism is given. On the other hand the impact of tourism on the natural resources of a destination as well as on the host community is steadily increasing, particularly in developing countries. Once this phenomenon is analysed and placed in perspective, structured training and educational activities appear to be one way to ensure that both the conservation and retention of the natural beauty and resources in such destination is addressed. To be effective such educational and training activities should be specific and should take place within the context of ecotourism. The purpose of this study was, in the first place. to define 'ecorourism' and to describe its role within the broader tourism industry. It was further attempted to isolate the characteristics and to draw attention to the sensitive nature of ecosystems. The role of training in the survival of the systems mentioned, that is, the protection and conservation thereof, became patently clear. It further became apparent that the educational needs were not only applicable to the visitor, to the destination, but also to the functionary within the industry. In order to meet the objectives of the tourism trade it will be necessary for prospective employees to acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes relative to environmental management. In order to contribute to sustainable tourism development future employees of this industry should also be motivated to participate in the management of the environment.

Que critérios ambientais são utilizados para planejar, implantar e vender um produto de ecoturismo? Que práticas ambientais apresentam os destinos ecoturísticos? A dimensão ambiental é contemplada pelos agentes de viagem no planejamento, na implantação e comercialização de um pacote ecoturístico? A presente investigação propõe-se a examinar as práticas ambientais contidas na seleção de destinos de ecoturismo, no planejamento da atividade nos municípios detentores de tais destinos e na comercialização oferecida pelos agentes de viagem que proporcionam o contato do turista com o ambiente natural. Assim, o objetivo principal da pesquisa é examinar as relações que se estabelecem entre as informações que os gestores de agências de viagem têm sobre o ecoturismo e as práticas ambientais previstas na seleção, no planejamento e na comercialização de pacotes ecoturísticos. Para isso, foi desenvolvida uma pesquisa exploratória, sendo o questionário e a observação direta as técnicas de coleta de dados. Para atender ao objetivo foram pesquisados 20 gestores de agências de ecoturismo do estado do Rio Grande do Sul. As observações diretas foram realizadas nos três principais destinos de ecoturismo do Rio Grande do Sul apontados pelos gestores das agências. As perguntas que compõem o questionário estavam relacionadas, além dos dados gerais dos gestores, à visibilidade das políticas ambientais da agência e do destino; à educação ambiental; ao compromisso ambiental da agência e dos destinos; à existência de programas de coleta seletiva de resíduos sólidos, de controle do uso da água, de diminuição do uso de energia elétrica e de coleta e tratamento de esgoto nos destinos turísticos; ao conhecimento de políticas de ecoturismo inseridas no plano diretor e na Agenda 21 dos municípios; às políticas de proteção ao ambiente natural; às medidas para minimizar impactos; aos impactos das construções e ao apoio da visitação pública como fator de proteção ambiental. Os resultados obtidos com a pesquisa permitem concluir que, em geral, as práticas ambientais não são consideradas critérios para a seleção dos destinos de ecoturismo e que as mesmas não estão presentes, em sua totalidade na formatação e comercialização dos pacotes de ecoturismo. Assim, é importante construírem-se novos conceitos na seleção, no planejamento e na comercialização do ecoturismo, nos quais as práticas ambientais sejam contempladas de forma efetiva. Nesse sentido, os cursos de graduação e de stricto sensu em turismo têm um papel fundamental na formação de profissionais para atuar na gestão das organizações turísticas baseadas em uma visão mais sistêmica, em que a dimensão ambiental faça parte do planejamento estratégico dessas organizações. Como foi constatado com a realização da pesquisa, é necessária uma gestão baseada em critérios ambientais, que determinem produtos que considerem a relação sustentável do visitante com o ambiente natural; que englobem as relações entre as pessoas (gestores de agências, gestores públicos, turistas e população local), com os recursos naturais disponíveis e o espaço que as mesmas necessitam para a realização de práticas ecologicamente adequadas. Nesse sentido, é possível que o entendimento do caráter sustentável do ecoturismo se torne mais visível para o agente de viagem e para o turista. / Which environmental criteria are used in planning, implementing and selling an ecotourism product? Which environmental practices are presented in ecotourism destinations? Is the environmental dimension covered by travel agents in planning, implementing and commercializing an ecotourism package? This research proposes to examine the environmental practices contained in the selection of ecotourism destinations when planning such activities in towns that present those destinations and in the commercialization offered by travel agents who provide tourists contact with the natural environment. Thus, this research aims at examining the relationships established between the information that travel agency managers have about ecotourism and environmental practices provided in the selection, planning, and in the ecotourism commercialization package. We developed and applied an exploratory survey, composed by a questionnaire and direct observation techniques in the data collection. To attain the goal we surveyed 20 ecotourism agency managers in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Direct observations were conducted in three major ecotourism destinations in Rio Grande do Sul presented by those agencies responsible for ecotourism. The questions in the questionnaire were related, in addition to the general managers' data, to the visibility of the agency’s environmental policies and destination; to the environmental education, environmental commitment to the agency and destinations, to the existence of selective collection programs of solid waste, control of water use, reducing the use of electricity and sewage collection and treatment in tourist destinations, to the knowledge of ecotourism policies included in the cities’ Master Plan and Agenda 21; to policies to protect the natural environment; to measures to minimize impacts in the construction and support of public venue visits as a factor considered in the environmental protection. Results obtained indicate that, in general, the environmental practices are not considered criteria for the selection of ecotourism destinations and that they are not present in its entirety in the formatting and commercialization of ecotourism packages. Therefore, it is important to construct new concepts in the selection, planning and commercializing of ecotourism, where the environmental practices are addressed effectively. Accordingly, undergraduate and graduate courses in tourism have a major role in training professionals in the management of tourism organizations based on a more systemic view, where the environment makes part in the strategic planning of those organizations. As it was found in the research, management is required as based on environmental criteria which determine which products are to be considered for sustainable visits, according to the natural environment, covering relationships between people (managers, agencies, public officials, tourists and local people) with the available natural resources and places that need to have environmentally appropriate practices performed. Thus, the understanding of the sustainable ecotourism nature may become more visible to agents and tourists.

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology / DPhil / Unrestricted

The uniqueness of the wildlife and the luxurious nature of South African private game reserves could be seen as a valuable niche in the South African tourism market and for this reason make South Africa a desired destination. Due to complex visitor needs and demands regarding price, service, social connection, authenticity, quality or image, value perceptions will differ in terms of visitors’ experiences. If managers do not understand these value requirements, differences might exist between consumers’ and service providers’ perceptions of value. To maintain visitor satisfaction, loyalty and intention for return to the reserves, managers should continue to provide valued offerings and improve their visitors’ wildlife experience. This research investigated visitors’ perceptions of the value delivered by private game reserves in South Africa and compared these with reserve managers’ perceptions of the value delivered. The results of this research study could contribute to a better understanding of perceived value, which in turn could enhance the success of the private game reserves. The literature contextualised the South African private game reserve as part of wildlife tourism, the wildlife tourism offering and the characteristics of wildlife visitors. An overview of customer value, customer value models showing their development over time, and the conceptual framework of the current study was provided. The resulting conceptual model was used to evaluate managers’ and visitors’ perceptions of Quality, Monetary price, Behavioural price, Reputation, Emotional response, Social value and Novelty value delivered by South African private game reserves. The empirical data was collected by means of a survey, using two structured self-administered electronic questionnaires administered to the managers of, and the visitors to, private game reserves. One hundred and sixty two visitors and 30 managers participated in the survey. By performing exploratory factor analysis it was found that the seven value factors were consistent with the value dimensions reported in the literature. These were labelled as Quality, Emotional response, Monetary price, Reputation, Novelty value, Social value and Behavioural price. Most of managers’ perceptions of value provided exceeded visitors’ perceptions of value received. Both managers and visitors rated value items related to Emotional response highly. Considerably more managers (17 percent) thought that the reserve experience can be associated with good service, opposed to only 4 percent of visitors who perceived the service to be good. On the other hand, a larger proportion of visitors (29%) than the managers (20 percent) perceived the reserve experience as relaxing. Managers rated eleven of the thirteen game reserve attributes more positively than what the visitors did. Of these attributes, accommodation services, protection of the natural environment, game drives and service delivery, showed significant differences. It is recommended that South African private game reserve managers: • conduct market research to get a better understanding of what delights visitors. Research should be conducted on a regular basis to ensure management stays current with visitors’ changing needs; • determine whether the prices charged reflect the quality of the physical offerings, service delivery and the time and effort visitors spent to obtain the offering; • use the adventurous activities offered at the reserves as part of their promotional campaigns to attract adventure tourists; • train service delivery staff and game drive guides to educate visitors on the history, culture and eco-friendly practices related to their reserve; • always deliver superior service to ensure memorable wildlife experiences, value for money and exceed visitors’ expectations; • continue using websites, social media and magazines to inform the target market about the reserve offerings; and • stay in regular contact with visitors through social media, newsletters, blogs, follow up emails/calls or face to face discussions at the reserve.

Ecotourism has emerged as one of the fastest- growing sectors of the tourism market, influenced primarily by public demand for more environmentally responsible tourism. When planned properly, it has been asserted that ecotourism can integrate conservation of biodiversity with socio-economic development of local communities. For this reason, many governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are eager to develop ecotourism in protected areas in order to maximize these benefits. However, ecotourism can have significant negative impacts when poorly planned and managed including severe environmental degradation, negative cultural changes and decreased welfare of individuals or communities. Ecotourism should not be regarded as a panacea for harmonizing rural development with environmental conservation until the industryâ s influence on developing countries has been thoroughly analyzed. This paper shall explore whether ecotourism has proven to be an effective tool for integrating conservation and development. Through the examination of existing literature pertaining to ecotourism, I investigate the environmental, economic and social impacts of 14 ecotourism development projects in seven developing countries: Belize, Costa Rica, Dominica, Ecuador, Indonesia, Nepal and Peru. The case study analysis reveals that local communities adjacent to protected areas are often not fully involved in the tourism development planning process. Ecotourism as a mechanism for achieving local conservation and development goals is more successful when projects prioritize local involvement and control. Through the identification of trends emerging from the case studies, this paper contributes to the ongoing discussion of ecotourism as a development strategy and suggests that local participation should be encouraged in ecotourism development. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning

Magister Scientiae (Biodiversity and Conservation Biology) - MSc (Biodiv and Cons Biol) / African penguin (Spheniscus demersus) mainland colonies are a popular tourist attraction in the Western Cape of South Africa. The African penguin population is in decline and the species is listed as endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. This thesis aimed to investigate the impact of ecotourism upon African penguin colonies by comparing two colonies of differing levels of tourist visitation in the Western Cape in 2017. The high visitation colony is a mainland colony where ecotourism activities take place (Stony Point), and the low visitation colony is an island colony where ecotourism does not occur (Robben Island). As well as inter-colony comparisons, nests at the high visitation colony within areas of differing exposure levels were also compared.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Masters Degree in Recreation and Tourism in the Department of Recreation and Tourism at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2009. / The study was conducted with the view of investigating the development of ecotourism in the Dukuduku Forest Reserve and surroundings, with specific attention paid to policy and its implementation. In an effort to develop this natural environment, there has been much overuse and degradation of the natural forest reserve. What has also been implicit is that tourist visitation numbers at the Dukuduku Forest Reserve, could decrease, and these reduced numbers of tourists could affect the employment rate within the local community. Pursuant to these observations and problems, the researcher found it appealing and necessary to explore the attitudes and perceptions of the local communities towards the usage of the natural forest reserve in Dukuduku. This would be achieved by investigating the participation, practices, and patterns associated with the existing policies and their implementation in the the Dukuduku Forest Reserve environment. In an attempt to investigate the research problem, the following research objectives were formulated: (a) To find out the extent to which stakeholders understand the meaning and importance of ecotourism in and around the Dukuduku Forest Reserve. (b) To investigate the adequacy of the provision of nature-based tourism facilities for employment purposes in the study area. (c) To examine whether there is undue over-emphasis on the commercialisation of the natural resources in the study area. (d) To reveal the degree to which tourism stakeholders participate in ecotourism development initiatives in the study area. (e) To establish whether the ecotourism related policies and practices, existing in the study area are geared towards benefitting the local community. The above listed objectives were investigated using a methodology process that involved the collecting of data from the local community of Dukuduku and other stakeholders, by means of questionnaires. The data collected was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences [SPSS] computer programme, which led to acquiring research findings. The findings that emerged showed that among the majority of respondents there is a relatively good understanding of the meaning and importance of ecotourism as a human activity. Notwithstanding, the social involvement of local communities in activities of the Dukuduku Forest and Settlement Area, were seen as inadequate. The majority of stakeholders indicated that they perceived a substantial number of ecotourism resources or facilities as inadequate and not employment based. Regarding the upholding the policy of conservation in contrast to the commercialisation of ecotourism resources, the majority of respondents were in favour of upholding the policy of conservation of ecotourism resources. The respondents were also asked to reveal how they perceive local community participation in ecotourism activities, the majority of the respondents agreed that there was no beneficial participation in ecotourism activities in the study area. Finally it was established that respondents in the study area revealed that the existing ecotourism related policies and practices were not clear to them and that the policies were geared to benefit the local community. In this regard the majority of the local community and the service providers individually indicated that the existence of policy formulation and its beneficiation was poor in the study area. The study concludes by offering some recommendations associated with the objectives of the study listed above.

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This is an independent project which investigatesthe environmental impacts of virtual tourism and tourism overall, and what virtual tours can do for tourism as a whole. Through this project, I made a video which discusses the benefits and drawbacks of virtual tourism in relation to a place like Norway, a rich country witha popular iconic bird known as the puffin. In my video, I present the research that I gathered and through the help of my collaborators, showcase the alternative andvirtual way we can experience countries.