Most definitions of ecotourism refer to nature travel experiences which promote the conservation of visited ecosystems. The purpose of this study is to investigate the demand side of ecotourism within the broader tourism context. To this end, the study compares ecotourists with other tourist types, on the basis of conservation involvement and socio-demographic characteristics. Moreover, the study examines recreation specialization among birders, as one subset of ecotourists, and evaluates the substitutability of ecotourism activities.
A case study was undertaken at Doi Inthanon National Park, Thailand, which, in 1993, attracted over 900,000 visitors. Primary methods included personal interviews (n = 857) to collect visitor data and participant observations to document impacts from ecotourism. Based on activities, motivations, and researcher and respondent descriptions, a tourist typology of five groups was developed: birding ecotourists, general ecotourists, highlights general tourists, highlights travellers, and trekkers.
Ecotourists were older and more educated than other tourist types. Ecotourists contributed more to general conservation efforts than other tourist types; however, for foreigners, these contributions occurred primarily in their home countries, not in Thailand. Compared to other tourist types, some environmental, economic, social, and educational impacts of ecotourists were distinct.
Using the recreation specialization model, based on economic commitment and centrality-to-lifestyle, birders were divided into three sub-types: advanced-experienced, advanced-active, and novice. Conservation interest and involvement varied only slightly among birder sub-types. Advanced birders were older, more affluent, and more likely to have professional occupations than other sub-types. Motivations varied among birder sub-types.
Using the recreation substitutability model, 82.7% of respondents were interested in a one-day nature trek, and 47.5% were willing to trade their current activities for this trek. Substitutability was higher for tourists with wildlife and natural environment motivations, conservation interests, higher education, and of a younger age.
The results are incorporated into conceptual frameworks to aid ecotourism management and to characterize linkages between ecotourism and conservation. Implications and recommendations, relevant to the ecotourism industry, environmental and development organizations, national parks, and other government agencies, are discussed. / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/9706 |
| Date | 17 July 2018 |
| Creators | Hvenegaard, Glen Timothy |
| Contributors | Dearden, Philip |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | Available to the World Wide Web |
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