Ecological travel (ecotourism) is the “next big thing”. To experience nature up close and personal
is to backpack off the beaten track and these days this is the “hippest” way to travel. Ecotourism
is seen as the most excelling fragment of tourism and The United Nations World Tourism
Organisation (UNWTO) views tourism in an unspoilt natural area (ecotourism) as the fastest
growing concept of the tourism industry. Ecotourism has evolved into speciality travel; including
an assorted – and often confusing – collection of events and tourism types, for example bird
watching, methodical study, photography, diving and trekking. Ecotourism takes place in unspoilt
natural areas, lodges and conservation areas such as national parks.
South African National Parks, (SANParks), whom manages a system of parks, and signifies the
indigenous fauna & flora, landscapes and associated cultural heritage of the country. National
parks offers facilities for overnight tourist, with a range of accommodation, in arid, coastal,
mountain and bush veld habitats. A variety of incomparable adventure tourism opportunities, for
example game viewing, bush walks, canoeing and exposure to cultural and historical experiences
are offered by these national parks. SANParks’ objectives are the insurance of protection,
conservation and management of the protected areas for the purposes they were declared.
The key aspect of SANParks’ management operations is ecotourism. The three areas that the
management of parks cover are general management which include finance and marketing;
conservation management which consists of wildlife counting, sales of wildlife, environment etc.
and ecotourism management which includes aspects such as camps, accommodation, game
drives and picnic areas. Because ecotourism as an important aspect of park management and is
one of SANParks’ core pillars, the main concern is which strategies and policies are in place in
order to provide tourists with an ecotourism experience within South African National Parks?
Tourism products (especially accommodation products) need to recognize that customers
(tourists) have certain expectations and these expectations must be met. One way in meeting
these expectations is to adhere to tourists’ perceptions and satisfaction as well as to provide a
quality service. It is also seen as one of the most important influences on productivity and profit
of a tourism organisation. One approach to obtain customer satisfaction and meeting expectations
is to implement a grading/rating system. When managers and owners of accommodation and
tourism products want to convince tourists of the quality of the organisation or tourism product that is being presented, a classification or rating system plays an important role to communicate
this vital issue.
South Africa has various rating systems / schemes, however there are no acknowledged rating
systems for ecotourism products in South Africa National Parks. The shortcomings of these
current rating systems are that they rate mostly the hospitality and accommodation sectors. These
criteria’s tend to focus on the following: building exteriors, bedrooms, bathrooms, public area,
general facilities, general services, housekeeping services, additional facilities and responsible
environmental and business practices. None of these schemes focus primarily on ecotourism
principles. These systems need to be adapted for nature/wildlife products and the problem that
this study will address is to develop an ecotourism rating system for South African National Parks.
It is essential to have a rating system in place to compete in the global world where ecotourism
and green aspects are important and to deliver a valuable service. Therefore the problem that
this research will addresses, is to develop an ecotourism rating system for South Africa National
Parks.
The research approach used in this study included quantitative methodologies. An explorative
research approach was followed through an online questionnaire with the aim of determining the
perceptions of visitors about the perceptions of respondents regarding the importance of specific
ecotourism principles. These constructs were determined through a literature review. The
sources consulted included the following: De Witt, 2011; Du Plessis, 2010; Geldenhuys, 2009:5;
Saayman, 2009:70; Fennell, 2008:23; Blamey, 2001:12; Eagles, 1996; Dingwall and Gordon,
1996.
The questionnaire was distributed electronically on the SANParks’ website. Data collection took
place during April 2013. A total of 308 responses were received during the period of data
collection. The results of the empirical quantitative data was analysed by the Statistical
Consultation Services at the North-West University by means of the SPSS (Statistical Package
for Social Sciences) software programme. The statistical methods utilised included descriptive
statistics and causal research. The descriptive statistics includes the demographic profile of
respondents, the principles of ecotourism, the factor analysis and the factor correlation matrix.
The causal research includes the t-test and the analysis of variance (ANOVA).
The results of the descriptive data indicated that the language most spoken by the respondents
was primarily English followed by Afrikaans. The greater number of respondents was married and
live in Gauteng. They were well educated with a diploma or degree. Most of the respondents were
Wild Card holders and supports conservation organisations, such as Rhino Conservation,
followed by SA Wildlife, SANParks Honorary Rangers, Green Peace, UNITE against poaching and World Wide Fund for Nature. Respondents’ understanding of responsible ecotourism is
conserving and protecting nature, has a low impact on the environment and has an educational
travel experience in any environment.
The key principles of ecotourism, namely conservation of nature, conservation of culture,
community involvement, environmental education, tourist satisfaction, responsible tourism
practices, environmental education, tourist satisfaction, responsible tourism practices, role
players participating in ecotourism – the tourist and accommodation and were rated based on a
five point Likert scale. The principles that were rated with the highest mean values included:
water sources are protected (4.83); tourists are told not to touch or disturb birds and animals
(4.76); correct disposal of waste, including cigarette butts, into allocated waste bins is encouraged
(4.73); dripping taps are fixed immediately (4.70) and noise is limited in natural areas (4.70).
The exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the principles identified, they were as follows:
Conservation of nature had five factors namely, Conservation; Controlled development;
Environmental friendly; Alien plants; Water saving measurements. Conservation of culture had
two factors namely, Local community involvement; Benefit for community. Community
involvement had two factors namely, Benefits; Education for community. Environmental education
had only one factor namely, learning experiences. Tourist satisfaction also had one factor namely,
Tourist satisfaction. Responsible tourism practices had three factors namely, recycling and
environmental friendly practices; Interaction with nature; Responsible practices. Tourist
participation in ecotourism had one factor namely, Informed tourist. Accommodation had three
factors namely, Eco-friendly practices and development; Touch the earth lightly; Environmental
friendly accommodation.
Group statistics namely t-tests and ANOVA’s were performed to determine whether there were
any significant differences between the factors identified from the ecotourism principles. The ttest
was used to compare the socio-demographic aspects, namely home language (English and
Afrikaans) with all the ecotourism principles. The t-test was used to compare behavioural aspects,
namely Wild Card holders (Yes and No) with all the ecotourism principles. This were done to
determine if the respondents’ opinions differ about principles in terms of Wild Card holders or non-
Wild Card holders. The ANOVA was tested for socio-demographic aspects of respondents
namely, marital status. The ANOVA was tested for socio-demographic aspects of respondents
namely, level of education.
The research made the following contributions to the field of ecotourism. These contributions are
made in three categories namely, literature, methodology and practical contributions: * It is the first time that literature about ecotourism are combined to identify principles and
constructs. All rating criteria was investigated to do this.
* First time that different rating systems regarding ecotourism was identified, analysed and
compared to each other.
* Added to the literature on future trends of ecotourism which will assist in the planning and
development of ecotourism products as well as rating systems.
* The rating system can assist in future ecotourism development in protected areas as the
most important principle for ecotourism have been identified.
* The research contribute to more environment friendly development of ecotourism
accommodation products
* It is the first time that all relevant aspects of ecotourism was identified and developed into
questionnaire that test ecotourism rating constructs and principles.
* The research also contribute to the fact that one knows what are the ecotourism constructs
that are seen as important by the visitor to national parks.
The empirical results also determined statistical differences of the constructs and
principles regarding socio-demographic and behavioural aspects of the visitors to national
parks in South Africa.
* This was the first time that a specific rating system was developed for South African
National Parks.
* This rating system can also be adapted to other conservation areas such as game
reserves and game farms. / PhD (Tourism Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NWUBOLOKA1/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/14464 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Bothma, Lee-Ann |
| Source Sets | North-West University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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