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The sustainability and efficiency of ecotourism regarding biodiversity conservation are under constant scrutiny and often dismissed based on negative effects arising from other types of nature-based tourism. Our study assess the impacts of infrastructure, human activity, and environmental factors on medium-large ground terrestrial species within the Lapa Rios Ecolodge Nature Reserve; results indicate that restoration, preservation, and conservation efforts are responsible for the wide range of species found within their reserve, including increased abundance of highly threatened rodents and ground birds. There is no indication that visitation or tour activities have negative impacts on wildlife; instead, the Ecolodge effectively created a 'human shield' that weakens threats to wildlife arising from hunting, logging, and gold mining. This shield effect ripples across the Osa Peninsula through the socio-economic benefits provided by ecotourism. Our results support a conservation model incorporating private reserves and parks to sustain biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wildlife tourism industry faces increasing threats of climate change and human demand, both of which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The decrease in human activity resulting from the pandemic has created disruptions for wildlife tourism destinations that are being felt by the local communities, the wildlife, and the surrounding environment. This paper examines the impacts of these disruptions and highlights the opportunity for wildlife destinations to start building back towards the goal of sustainability with increased resilience. The principles of resilience and ecotourism are examined, with the intersecting and applicable fundamentals further explained. A framework for wildlife destination sustainability is then presented alongside a conceptual model for policymakers, tourism operators, and community leaders to consider. This study argues that wildlife tourism destinations should apply and promote sound ecotourism principles to better prepare for and recover from disruptions, promote biodiversity conservation, and support socio-economic stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since tourist behavior plays the primary role in protecting the environment, this study has been conducted to extend the psychological perspectives of visitors' environmentally responsible behavior (ERB) in one of the most important natural heritage sites in Iran (Damavand Mountain) in the COVID-19 pandemic timeline and provide awareness for destination environmentalists as well as managers on how to control visitors' behavior. Likewise, Robbins (2002) Organizational Behavior model has been tested on ERB in ecotourism. Generally, 260 reliable questionnaires have been analyzed by using PLS-SEM2.0. The findings showed that (1) Visitors' attitude and ability toward nature would positively affect their ERB; (2) Motivation and learning mediate the impact of visitors' attitude and ability on their ERB; (3) Ability plays a significant role in the formation of visitors' ERB. Thus, the best way to change visitors' behavior is to educate them to make ERB more like a habit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research note was to introduce a novel system of animal health warning labels to (i) contribute to better welfare (health) of animals used at nature-based ecotourism and wildlife (NEWT) attractions and (ii) provide a method to communicate to tourists in a language they are already exposed to daily. Two different frameworks inform the development of the proposed system, both of which are new to the tourism studies domain. The first situates an animal health warning label system within a 'health and social-ecological systems' mode of thinking, while the second focuses on the psychological, social, and philosophical mechanisms that determine participation at NEWT attractions. The research note concludes with policy, practice, implementation and monitoring recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delivers a critical review and assessment of the last 15 years of experience design research in an NBT context. We employed a systematic approach to review the literature and identified 99 relevant out of 1378 studies published in selected databases. The analysis has demonstrated that research on NBT experience design is cross-disciplinary and faces increasing interest. Despite significant progress, the concept of the NBT visitor experiences is still vague and lacks systematic understanding. Destination managers must focus on structuring visitor opportunities in line with market requirements and consistent with their legal and organizational mandates. This requires understanding the linkages between visitor participation, expectation, and outcomes from NBT activities to influence settings and co-design memorable experiences, reduce hassles, and promote proenvironmental behaviour and visitor commitment. Monitoring visitor experiences remained poorly defined, with few advances to its definition and measurement. Major lessons learned and new avenues for research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The creation of protected areas is one of the main strategies used for the conservation of natural resources. In the Amazon, they have suffered from illegal deforestation, causing damage, most of which is irreversible. In this sense, it is necessary to investigate the relationship between public visitation and the suppression of forest cover in the biome. Multiple linear regression by Weighted Least Squares (WLS) was used, with cutting data from the conservation units of the Amazon, to develop a Linear Probability Model for the occurrence of deforestation due to the existence of visitation and other explanatory aspects. The results highlighted that the existence of managed public visitation in a conservation unit represents a reduction in the probability of deforestation, suggesting that this may be an important strategy for the protection of forest cover and, consequently, regional biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In celebration of the twentieth anniversary, this research provides a comprehensive overview of the Journal of Ecotourism (JE) between 2002 and 2020. The main objectives of the study are to determine the publication trends, the conceptual, intellectual and collaboration structure in JE. Co-citation, co-word and collaboration techniques were used to understand and interpret the intellectual, conceptual and social structure in JE respectively. Bibliographic data were obtained from Scopus and analysed using 'bibliometrix' tool. The findings reveal that JE has made significant progress in terms of publications and citations and its articles are cited by the premier journal in tourism. Co-word and co-citation analysis identified five and three clusters, respectively. Collaboration structure revealed that there is a good collaboration between authors in JE and 70% of the works are completed through collaborative research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims at investigating the rural tourism development perceived by involved local farmers in China with a case study of Gaochun County. A total of 25 local famers were interviewed and 3 interviews were conducted on the employees from a major external tourism developing company. The text data transcribed from interviews were categorized and analyzed within the framework of the adaptive cycle. The findings indicate that becoming a Gaochun town is an external disturbance to the activation of system release and reorganization, and the subsequent support and tourism policies from the local government can be regarded as an improvement force that accelerates the system into the phase of exploitation and then into a new cycle. Secondly, rapid rural tourism development didn't last for a long time before confronting bottlenecks at the crossing of development. Local farmers prefer to stay in the conservation phase in the form of tourism cooperatives, while the government prefers to push the system into the phase of release and reorganization again by attracting external companies to invest on and manage the tourism development without involving local farmers. Both the advantages and disadvantages of those different approaches, as well as management implications, were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As most of the chateau gardens and parks in Central and Eastern Europe have been neglected or misused, there is a strong need for their transformation. This transformation has become even more important now due to the growing competition in the tourist destination market. The chateau gardens are at the crossroads of choosing the variant of their future development. Tourism of this kind is able to maintain its original features and it can also find new commercial uses. The aim of this paper is to identify the demand segments and to assess the relation of the visitors to the elements that form the character of a chateau park. We have succeeded in identifying three motivating factors for tourists in the making their choice. While some types of use are mutually complementary (knowledge and relaxation), other types are not used as much (amusement). The introduction of an entrance fee implies that there will be a change in the preference for those parks with the presence of peacocks and ducks, as well as the outdoor collections of plants including both French and English style gardens and they are equipped with detailed information board. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On-going discussion surrounds the definition of ecotourism. Definitions are usually constructed by policy-makers involved in developing ‘ecotourism’ destinations, tour operators, organisations such as the International Ecotourism Society, certification bodies and academics who wish to bring some order to the multiplicity of definitions that exist. This paper seeks to add information relating to tourism provider understandings of ecotourism, by assessing evidence based on in-depth interviews against diagnostic criteria compiled by Fennell, D. A. [2001. A content analysis of ecotourism definitions.Current Issues in Tourism,4, 403–421. doi:10.1080/13683500108667896]. The research was conducted in the Greenbox ecotourism destination in the north midlands of Ireland. The Greenbox provides an example of an emerging destination, without a strongly developed image, providing a multiplicity of ecotourism products, the providers of which held narrow understandings of ecotourism for the most part. It was a short-term ‘top-down’ experiment but had longer-term impacts in contributing to a provider-led initiative. Ecotourism was understood principally as being based on the natural environment which needs to be protected and conserved; more detailed understanding was influenced by the personal background and experience of a minority of providers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Place attachment to protected areas has been associated with pro-environmental behaviour and visitor loyalty. It is therefore worth gaining insight into the factors that play a role in explaining attachment to nature-based tourism destinations. Various studies indirectly suggest that wildlife experiences play a role in visitor attachment to protected areas. Our paper explores the relationship between wildlife and overnight visitors' emotional attachment to a nature-based tourism destination in the Netherlands, the Lauwersmeer area. Our results demonstrate that motives centring on seeing wildlife, the perceived intensity of wildlife experiences, and an interest in guided wildlife encounters significantly explain emotional attachment to the Lauwersmeer area. However, since the majority of our respondents visit the Lauwersmeer area to see wildlife, it is likely that their pre-disposed emotions towards wildlife steer the relationship between wildlife experiences and emotional attachment. Facilitating and improving (guided) wildlife experiences may therefore be reinforcing, rather than increasing, emotional attachment to the Lauwersmeer area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]