Revisiting the Ecotourist: The Case of Grasslands National Park

Abstract

In 1992 and 1994 surveys were conducted on visitors to Grasslands National Park in Southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada, an ecotourist site. The objectives of the two studies were as follows. First, to better define the demographic, sociographic and psychographic attributes of ecotourists, especially those who travel independently. Gaining further insight into the travel motivations, preferences and satisfaction-inducing factors that pertain to the ecotourist was a key concern of the study. Second, the study aimed to develop recommendations useful to ecotourism planners and managers. The paper reviews the recent literature on ecotourists. It summarises the results of the two studies, comparing them to the existing knowledge on ecotourists. Finally, the managerial implications that emerge from the two studies are discussed.