Ecotourism: Towards a key elements approach to operationalising the concept

Abstract

Increasing usage of the term ecotourism has done little to clarify the concept. Indeed, a wide range of definitions now exist, with much of the debate in the field occurring at a conceptual or semantic level. This paper presents a new approach to operationalising the concept, one based on classification using a set of measurable key elements covering the participant, operator and resource management perspectives. The approach is illustrated by a survey of 22 nature‐based tourism operators in British Columbia. Less than a quarter of the operations surveyed were subsequently classified as ecotourism, the majority of the ventures being excluded on the protected area criterion. Classification in this way enables the importance of specific key elements to be assessed and highlights the sorts of issues, both conceptual and methodological, which systematic field testing generates.