Abstract
Ecotourism has emerged as a niche within the tourism market tourism. Somewhat
vaguely defined in literature, the term fundamentally comprises educational aspects
such as promotion of sustainability and active participation for local development at
its conceptual core; it therefore describes a future-oriented endeavour to protect
natural heritage while supporting local communities and contributing to economic
regeneration of remote areas. In the private sector, which this paper focuses on, it
hence basically aims to link revenue generation with conservation through education
and integration. Currently, the ecotourism market is experiencing rapid growth,
resulting in an intricate predicament on how to mitigate the effects of growth on
sustainability. While conservation and economic exploitation might seem inherently
contradictory, there is an opportunity for mutual benefit for both entrepreneurs and
communities within the concept of ecotourism as a rural business strategy. The paper
at hand aims to research on rural entrepreneurship in this regard; it employs a case
study methodology, surveying and comparing small ecotourism venues in three
countries (Portugal, Greece and Scotland) in respect to terminology usage and
compliance, opportunities detectable in the different markets and support available
from national authorities. Findings, while indicating favourable conditions for
business development, reveal a divergence between principal advocacy for ecotourism
and practical support actually retrievable for entrepreneurs.