ABSTRACT
A new group of tourism clients has emerged who are demanding different activities, experiences and approaches to tourism from the industry: ‘these are the ecotourists – people who require environmentally compatible recreational opportunities . . . where nature rather than humanity predominates’ (Kerr, 1991: 248). They are ‘shrugging off the shackles of traditional tourism’ in search of knowledge and experience. Their interest is not in ‘lounging by hotel pools or hectic sightseeing schedules’ (Collins, 1993:7). They are, however, ‘interested in visiting wilderness, national parks, and tropical forests, and in viewing birds, mammals, trees and wildflowers’, they want to ‘experience new lifestyles and meet people with similar interests to themselves’ and they want to see their travelling dollars contributing towards conservation and benefiting the local economy (Eagles et al., 1992).
