Conclusion
Although ecotourism literature claims that tour guides have the potential to encourage visitors to adopt positive attitudes towards the natural environment, this study suggests that guides themselves regard practices associated with monitoring, protecting and conserving the natural environment as secondary to delivering technically accurate information.
This does not mean that guides are behaving in an environmentally irresponsible manner, but it does suggest that their potential to act as environmental caretakers has yet to be realised.
There is increasing evidence to suggest that using a range of interpretive techniques attracts and maintains visitor interest.
When guides were asked to rate specific practices, however, these interpretive techniques were generally accorded the lowest importance.
In fact, the use of models, diagrams, provocative statements, props, and gestures were all perceived to be relatively unimportant and were rarely used by those questioned.
The low priority given to interpretive techniques suggests that formal and informal training of tour guides needs to highlight the fundamental role played by these techniques. It seems that the importance of interpretation has yet to be communicated to those in the field, and that more effort needs to be made to inform guides of new techniques and developments.
Producing a training package focusing on interpretation techniques in natural environments is an important step in this direction, and one that was met with enthusiasm by those involved in the trial workshops.
This study highlights the importance of developing links between researchers, trainers and guides to ensure that research findings inform both training approaches and practices in the field.
Although interpretation and environmental protection are widely accepted in academic circles as fundamental to ‘best practice’ guiding, it seems that guides themselves have yet to realise and respond to the rapidly evolving and multi-faceted nature of their occupation.