Environmental education as a crucial component of the environmentalist dimension of ecotourism: Inducing short-term effects on environmental literacy with long-term implications for protected area management

Abstract

Ecotourism can be conceptualized as a reconciliation of tourism and environmentalism. The environmentalist dimension of ecotourism involves environmental education and financial support of nature conservation. In this regard, environmental education has the potential to enhance visitor environmental knowledge and prompt change of visitor environmental behaviour. For instance, one of the main challenges for ecotourism is to move visitors from a passive state to an active contribution to the sustainability of protected areas. Indeed, previous research showed that there is a significant potential of ecotourists financing environmental conservation and providing voluntary work in the frame of the protected area management. However, a considerable number of studies highlighted a significant inefficiency of educational programs to support nature conservation. Most ecotourism activity seems to foster a frivolous understanding of particular megafauna and does not aspire to transform visitor behaviour. The prevalent circumstances at most ecotourism destinations, including non-captive audiences and a limited time frame, challenge even the goal of effective interpretation. Superficial learning opportunities are usually concentrated on flagship species, which may be easier to provide and guarantee visitor satisfaction. The objective of this paper is to show how environmental education can support a comprehensive approach in ecotourism development, which wishes to foster a deep understanding of natural and social characteristics of ecotourism destinations and endeavors to transform visitors' and locals' behaviour. We recorded baseline information of visitors and local people in the National Marine Park of Zakynthos, Greece, including demographic information, self-reported environmental behaviour, pro-environmental behaviour intention, consensus estimates for pro-environmental behaviour intention, environmental knowledge, and environmental concern. The crucial questions to be addressed are (1) how can baseline information derived by the present study inform the development of aims and specifications of environmental education interventions targeting ecotourists who visit protected areas as well as local people residing in ecotourism destinations (2) how can the potential effects of environmental education programs contribute in protected area management.© 2010 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.