Ecotourism as a Core of Sustainability in Tourism
231
slow movement is currently very popular and has become a way of life for many
people and groups, it seems to create opportunities for refreshing and giving new
character to the concept of ecotourism.
4 Ecotourist Profile
Each year, the number of tourists interested in nature tourism and ecotourism is
growing, which means that both forms have been developing faster in recent years
than tourism combined (Mehmetoglu 2007). Protected areas attract more than 8
billion tourists annually, which means that every inhabitant of the Earth visits them
statistically more than once a year (Balmford et al. 2015). Trips related to observations of wild animals in their natural habitat have become especially popular.
For wildlife tourism, already in 2015 the number of participants was estimated
at about 400 million (Moorhouse et al. 2015), with predictions that it will more
than double in 50 years (French et al. 2011). However, because ecotourism is very
demanding, not many people decide to identify themselves as ecotourists (Deng and
Li 2014; Nowaczek and Smale 2010). What’s more, they have their own problems
with defining their actual attitude, not only in this form. If one relies on the definition, then the ecotourist is a person who is aware, well prepared and engaged, and
therefore there should be no problems associated with his visit to the area. Paradoxically, beginners or ‘pseudo-ecotourists’ who want to meet their ‘cognitive needs’
at all costs could become a more dangerous group than the so-called mass tourists,
who for years were accused of all damages caused to the nature and culture of the
visited area (Machnik 2013), and that even organized ecotourism events can cause
environmental damage (Trave et al. 2017). On the other hand, Acott et al. (1998)
argue that it is possible for individuals to be ecotourists in so-called non-ecotourist
locations. In the very beginning, Ballantine and Eagles (1994) designed a model
for distinguishing ecotourists from other tourists on the basis of two motivational
criteria—an ‘attraction travel’ motivation to visit wilderness or undisturbed natural
areas and a ‘social travel’ motivation of learning about nature. According to Dodd
(2005), an ecotourist is rather:
• educated and travels a lot
• older and more prosperous
• active
• willing to learn and work on shaping their own consciousness
• ready to pay more for a valuable offer.
The last feature is often mentioned by scientists that explore the ecotourism
phenomenon (e.g. Amendah and Park 2008), especially in the context of nature
conservation (e.g. Sabran et al. 2019). Mary Eppler Wood, on the other hand,
considers that the following aspects are important for ecotourists:
• excellent local guides
231
slow movement is currently very popular and has become a way of life for many
people and groups, it seems to create opportunities for refreshing and giving new
character to the concept of ecotourism.
4 Ecotourist Profile
Each year, the number of tourists interested in nature tourism and ecotourism is
growing, which means that both forms have been developing faster in recent years
than tourism combined (Mehmetoglu 2007). Protected areas attract more than 8
billion tourists annually, which means that every inhabitant of the Earth visits them
statistically more than once a year (Balmford et al. 2015). Trips related to observations of wild animals in their natural habitat have become especially popular.
For wildlife tourism, already in 2015 the number of participants was estimated
at about 400 million (Moorhouse et al. 2015), with predictions that it will more
than double in 50 years (French et al. 2011). However, because ecotourism is very
demanding, not many people decide to identify themselves as ecotourists (Deng and
Li 2014; Nowaczek and Smale 2010). What’s more, they have their own problems
with defining their actual attitude, not only in this form. If one relies on the definition, then the ecotourist is a person who is aware, well prepared and engaged, and
therefore there should be no problems associated with his visit to the area. Paradoxically, beginners or ‘pseudo-ecotourists’ who want to meet their ‘cognitive needs’
at all costs could become a more dangerous group than the so-called mass tourists,
who for years were accused of all damages caused to the nature and culture of the
visited area (Machnik 2013), and that even organized ecotourism events can cause
environmental damage (Trave et al. 2017). On the other hand, Acott et al. (1998)
argue that it is possible for individuals to be ecotourists in so-called non-ecotourist
locations. In the very beginning, Ballantine and Eagles (1994) designed a model
for distinguishing ecotourists from other tourists on the basis of two motivational
criteria—an ‘attraction travel’ motivation to visit wilderness or undisturbed natural
areas and a ‘social travel’ motivation of learning about nature. According to Dodd
(2005), an ecotourist is rather:
• educated and travels a lot
• older and more prosperous
• active
• willing to learn and work on shaping their own consciousness
• ready to pay more for a valuable offer.
The last feature is often mentioned by scientists that explore the ecotourism
phenomenon (e.g. Amendah and Park 2008), especially in the context of nature
conservation (e.g. Sabran et al. 2019). Mary Eppler Wood, on the other hand,
considers that the following aspects are important for ecotourists:
• excellent local guides