Ecolodge patrons' characteristics and motivations: a study of Belize.

Starting in the 1980s ecolodges emerged as an increasingly popular accommodation form. Since the ecolodge industry is relatively young, the literature on the subject is limited, yet growing. The purpose of this study was to expand the current literature by determining the demographic characteristics, trip characteristics, and travel motivations of ecolodge patrons in the Cayo District of Belize. The study found that ecolodge patrons were typically highly educated, older adults from the USA who worked full time or were retired and had a very high household annual income. On average, patrons stayed in Belize for 8-11 days and stayed at the ecolodge for three to four nights and travelled with their spouse to learn and explore nature and a new culture. An importance-performance analysis found that performance scores exceeded importance scores for all of 41 ecolodge attributes. This is a very positive finding indicating that the ecolodges are successful in providing a broad suite of hospitality, personal service, and environmental features. As the ecolodge business grows and becomes more competitive, managers must learn about and cater to their market group in order to position themselves favourably in the global marketplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]