Critical Issues in Ecotourism Understanding a complex tourism phenomenon

About this book

Critical Issues in Ecotourism seeks to shake the current stagnant literature on the subject of ecotourism out of a state of complacency. Drawing upon emerging insights provided by pre-eminent scholars in the field, it identifies and comprehensively addresses current critical issues. Accessible to both academic and non-academic audiences, it provides the reader with the following: a critical, direct and hard hitting analysis of the real issues that apply to the field of ecotourism; contributions from prominent international scholars that address issues of relevance to a diverse and international readership; dissemination of the scholarly works of social and natural science addressing this field; a collection of works by outstanding international scholars, in a comprehensively planned and integrated book. Incorporating rigorous scientific insights in specialised fields of research, for example, identifying and protecting critical habits where tourists engage with endangered species, "Critical Issues in Ecotourism" is an important and ground breaking contribution set to expose the increasingly mythologized field of ecotourism. This is the first book to identify and comprehensively address, hot issues in ecotourism. It is written by a team of pre-eminent international contributors including the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand. It incorporates cutting-edge scientific research which exposes the crucial issues.

Contents

Context: The Paradoxes of Ecotourism; The construct of ecotourism: definition paradoxes and developments;. Ethical issues in ecotourism;. The paradox of ecotourism environments; Sustainable ecotourism: a contradiction in terms?; The Search for Credibility: Certification or Greenwashing; Neocolonialism: Ecotourism as a manifesto of western capitalism; Critical issues of ecotourism demand: Motivation, capitalism, environmental usage, representation of Other; Eco or ego?; Independent and dispersed: Issues of energy consumption in ecotourism; Ecotourism representation: issues of interpretation; The myth of the ecotourist: visitor profiles and motivations; Viewers or doers? Meaningful contributions to conservation; Bridging the gap: Ecotourism and environmental values; Critical issues of ecotourism supply: Resource management, resistance and community identity;. Community resistance to ecotourism; Ecotourism and identity: culturally significant landscapes; Ecotourism and wildlife habituation; Ecotourism and biosecurity; Fragile and finite resources: Managing tourist encounters with engendered species; Responding to ecotourism business constraints; Conclusions: Negotiating the future of ecotourism.

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Biography

Dr James Higham has published many papers on this topics and also working on a co-authored book titled Sport Tourism Development, which will be published by Channel View publications in mid-2003.