the framework within a destination area seeking to
promote ecotourism. Of the eight elements that
comprise the ECOS framework, the first four can be
determined from on-site study. The remaining factors,
excluding the last one concerning an appropriate
management regime, require input from ecotourists
themselves, preferably from those visitors
who have experience in the region under consideration.
The eighth element requires dialogue with allthe groups and interests involved, both on an individual
basis and collectively in order to reach areas
of consensus over how ecotourism could be promoted
and who should be responsible for overseeing
the management of ecotourism within the region. To
assist with these tasks, a number of conceptual
frameworks have appeared in the ecotourism literature
in the past few years 5"~2 which have the potential
to be applied to the development of ecotourism.
They have addressed non-consumptive wildlifeorientated
recreation as well as the function of the
resource tour (group led by a competent guide), and
its relationship with and impact on the visitors and
the service industry.
Other researchers have commented on how tourism
within an area may change over time, noting
possible stages in the process of tourism
development. 3~ Understanding that the type of ecotourist,
and hence ecotourism itself, may shift in the
early stages of an area's development away from
catering for eco-specialists to serving an ecogeneralist
population has a bearing on the type of
opportunities for ecotourism which an area may
create. 3~ As a result, marketing may come to play a
more significant role in shaping ecotourism opportunities
in regions. If marketing is successful in attracting
and maintaining the desired and appropriate
type of ecotourist to a destination, then it could
reduce the pressure on the area which a set of
undifferentiated users would exert. 33 The need for
strict management and control over the types of
ecotourism activities that could be undertaken could
therefore be reduced. If ecotourism regions are to be
developed, then the specific developments should be
based on guidelines which evaluate the relative
priority of ecotourism activities and opportunities
compared with other resource uses and community
needs, and assess the significance of their environmental
and social impacts, and marketing efforts
should be in line with such guidelines.
It is important, however, to be able to apply a
management framework and management principles
to the development of ecotourism destinations. Ecotourism
development is often different from many
other forms of tourism development in that it is
frequently small scale, environmentally responsible
and selectively marketed, at least in its early stages.
It also occurs mostly in remoter areas. The potential
for public sector intervention, control and management
is much higher than in the case of a multinational
large-scale mass tourism development in an
established urban area, for example. Unlike many
forms of tourism which take place in urban or
developed areas on private land with no public
sector management role possible, much of the ecotourism
development occurs on public lands and the
potential for the establishment of a management
regime normally exists. As noted earlier in the
paper, ecotourism is often 'sold' as beneficial and
harmless to destination areas 4° for a variety of
motives ranging from ignorance to uncaring exploitation.
It is up to decision makers in these areas
to ensure an appropriate management framework is
in place before development occurs. The framework
proposed in this paper is a model, and it is recognized
that any model, by nature, includes a considerable
degree of generality. Divergent views can be
expected to change ovel: time in many directions, just as the type of tourism will also change. Reality is
always more complex than any model can portray.
That, however, should not prevent the introduction
of management controls, particularly where vulnerable
physical and social communities may be placed
at risk. The fact that ecotourism development tends
to occur in the more remote and marginal areas of
the world, often in fragile and endangered ecological
and human communities, makes the need for such
appropriate management all the more critical.