Ecotour Management

ONLINE COURSE ECOTOUR MANAGEMENT   

• Work in nature based tourism
• Start or manage an ecotour business
• Learn from professionals with years of experience in ecotour and environmental industries

Tourism has become a boom industry in recent times and a major employer of recreationists in the country. Ecotourism has emerged out of a growing interest in outdoor adventure activities - from mountaineering to low impact bushwalking.

Establishing such an enterprise requires an understanding of a wide range of issues including: legal considerations, safety, accommodation, the tour desk as a first point of contact, destinations, and management. This course develops your ability to establish and operate an ecotourism enterprise

Lesson Structure

There are 9 lessons in this course:

1. Nature and Scope of Ecotourism
   • Definition of ecotourism
   • Negative ecotourism
   • Principles of ecotourism
2. Management Issues
   • Recreation and the environment
   • recreational impacts on the environment
   • ethical and legal concerns
   • code of practice for ecotourism operators
   • incorporating ecotourism principles into activities
   • interpretation
   • visitor guidelines
   • planning for minimal impact
   • quality control
3. Industry Destinations
   • The ecotourism market
   • what do ecotourists want?
   • trends in international tourism
   • understanding the needs of the consumer
   • consumer expectations
4. The Tour Desk/Office
   • Office procedures
   • providing information
   • employment prospects in ecotourism
   • bookings
   • business letters
   • telephone manner
5. Accommodation Facilities
   • Types of accommodation facilities
   • layout of facilities
6. Catering Facilities
   • Introduction to catering
   • accepted practice for service facilities
   • storing and preserving food
7. Legal Considerations
   • National Parks
   • land use/planning restrictions
   • code of practice
8. Safety
   • The safety strategy
   • hazards
   • first aid
9. Planning an Ecotourism Activity
   • A special project where the student plans out an ecotourism activity including:
   • budget
   • accommodation
   • licenses
   • meals
   • destination

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Aims

• Describe the scope of ecotourism experiences available.
• Determine management issues related to ecotourism activities/enterprises, giving due consideration to environmental and ethical concerns.
• Develop in the learner an awareness of ecotourism destinations in existence and possibilities (in the learner's country).
• Explain the management and operation of an ecotourism office.
• Explain the management of ecotourist accommodation facilities including:
  • camp sites
  • cabins
  • caravans
  • resorts
• Identify catering options for different ecotourism activities.
• Identify legal and statutory requirements for the establishment and operation of an ecotourism enterprise.
• Identify/establish safety precautions/requirements/procedures for an ecotourism enterprise.
• Plan for an ecotourism activity.

There are many different types of ecotour developments, ranging from small scale bed and breakfast operations to large eco-resorts. The following list is indicative of the range of ecotourist facilities:

• Caravan parks
• Campsites that are specifically built to suit the ecotourist
• Guest Houses
• Back packer lodges
• Huts and cabins
• Houseboats
• Farm-stays
• Self-catering cottages
• Eco-Resorts
• Self-drive type vehicles
• Cruise boats and yachts.

Ecotourism uses the natural environment or culture of a given area as its primary attraction. However the developments may also include additions such as:

• Toilet facilities
• Cooking facilities (eg. barbeques)
• Car-parks
• Kitchens (communal, communal, self catering or organised)
• Transport services
• Education and information facilities
• Signs and maps
• Walks and pathways, steps etc.
• Guided Tours
• Anchorage, jetties or mooring points.

This infrastructure is supplied and maintained by the government authority. On private land this is supplied by the owner.

When planning for tourism, always remember:

• Does tourism give your area what it desires in the long term?
• What facilities and attractions can your area offer the tourist?
• What economic and physical capacity does your area have to cater to tourists?

A TOURIST is anyone travelling for either business or pleasure.

Tourists generally are travelling because they are seeking new or different experiences. The tourist will expect to be pampered, rarely giving consideration to the local individual or community which he is visiting; after all, the tourist is on holiday and is paying the bills. However, some tourists are not as focused on their own pleasures and are aware of the local communities they are visiting.

In a natural environment, the tourist can frequently cause damage; hence numbers need to be controlled if natural environments are not going to deteriorate. In a man made environment, the tourist's reaction is equally as predictable, but not necessarily as damaging. The response to a manmade environment is generally affected by the quality of that environment. Most evidence indicates that the majority of tourists are looking for quality in their experiences rather than the same type of facilities and attractions repeated over and over, each place similar to the last. The most successful tourist facility is generally the quality facility offering something different, something special, or something better than other places, without sacrificing quality of services.