Profiling Research Ecotourists
As 95% of the research ecotourists sampled were students in full-time higher
education, comparison of demographic attributes such as age and income with
other surveys of ecotourists or the wider population is irrelevant. However, in
common with a survey of Earthwatch participants (Weiler & Richins, 1995), the
majority of the research ecotourists (63%) were female, whilst most students
(75%) were reading for a degree in the natural sciences with the remainder
enrolled in environmental courses such as geography or environmental management.
With regard to personal interest in environmental topics, 91% stated they
frequently or occasionally read about environmental issues in the media, 61%
frequently or occasionally donated money to environmental charities and 34%
claimed to be currently members of such organisations. Table 3 summarises the
results of factor analysis with regard to individual perceptions of particular
attributes commonly associated in the literature with ecotourism. Three groups
can be described as reflecting perceptions associated with cultural, environmental
and communal benefits. Whilst the former is associated with the highest
loading, it is evident from the distribution of Likert scores that the most popular
statements within the sample as a whole related to the benefits of ecotourism
expressed with reference to the environment and host community.
Table 4 (p. 251) summarises Likert scores and factor analysis of responses to
motivational statements for participating with the research ecotourism organisation.
Factor 1 is described as representing a ‘culturally-oriented’ group of
respondents on account of the emphasis on immersing oneself and adapting to
Indonesian culture and society. The total variance explained by this group indicates
a high degree of internal consistency between individuals. Factor 2
constitutes a group highlighting the importance of using the opportunity to gain
newexperiences, primarily related to the natural environment of the destination.
Factors 3 and 5 display some degree of overlap in that they reflect groups prioritising
the social and relaxation aspects of their visit, with an emphasis on what
may be termed traditional holiday pursuits associated with sunbathing, bathing
and meeting fellow travellers. Factor 4 differs in that this group accentuates the
realisation of personal goals or milestones, not all of which may be linked to the
particular attributes of the destination.Acorresponding statement in this vein ‘to
stand out on my CV as a valuable experience’ was rated ‘very important’ by 49%
of respondents but was not highlighted by factor analysis, indicating that whilst
most individuals recognised this as of importance, these were not found by
factor analysis to be significantly associated with any other combination of
Research Ecotourism in Developing Countries 249
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responses. It is also notable from the distribution of Likert scores that the
responses associated with motivations described by factor 4 were particularly
popular with a majority of the respondents.
These results indicate that the typical research ecotourist could be summarised
as an undergraduate student in the natural sciences, interested and willing to get
involved in environmental issues and motivated by a general desire to realise
personal goals and gain new experiences which involve a combination of the
natural and human environmental characteristics of the destination. Such characteristics
differ from mainstream ecotourists whose motives focus more on
experiencing wildlife and natural areas to the exclusion of interacting with local
residents (Palacio&McCool, 1997; Wood, 2002) and are more congruent with the
‘deep green’ or ‘dark green’ end of the ecotourist spectrum as described by Acott
et al. (1998) and Swarbrooke and Horner (1999). Furthermore, these motivations
250 Journal of Sustainable Tourism
Table 3 Factor analysis and details of Likert scale responses relating to research
ecotourists’ perceived elements of ecotourism