Inevitably there exist several variations of hard –and soft ecotourists as well. Even if the hardsoft measure is widely used and supported the fact is that the motivations and preferencesbetween the ecotourists vary to a great extent; some of them fall between the ends of hardand soft, producing amalgams of these two types. For example, a tourist can demonstratetraits of hard ecotourist by taking long hikes and observing the nature enthusiastically butwhen it comes interacting with locals he might not find it comfortable or interesting at all.This illustrates a shallow interaction with one of the key elements of ecotourism, theinteraction with locals. Due to this duality one could suggest that classifying the ecotourists isnot meaningful at least in all the cases. Instead, the classification and evaluation of theproduct and destination itself would be more relevant. It is important to acknowledge thisfact because it helps us to understand better the ecotourism product that is sought and todetermine what kind of clientele is interested in particular destinations and activities.(Weaver 2004, 46).