Can Eco-tourism Help Tourists Understand Conservation?

E. Boo of the World Wildlife Fund defined eco-tourism simply as "travelling to relatively undisturbed or uncontaminated natural areas with the specific objective of studying, admiring, and enjoying the scenery and its wild plants and animals". This approach to eco-tourism, according to M. B. Orams, is a passive one whereby tourists "must simply be unobtrusive and seek to minimize their damage to the environment." He prefers a more active approach which pushes "the visitor experience beyond mere enjoyment to ... [facilitating] attitude and behaviour change". For Orams, then, more attention must be paid to the educational potential of eco-tourism.
More commonly, we hear about the economic rationale for eco-tourism (whereby it is hoped that governments and local communities, encouraged by the potential income to be made, tend and protect the wildlife and natural features that are attractive to tourists) and much has been written about both the potential and pitfalls in that regard. Increasing attention is now also being paid to the educational aspects of eco-tourism, including my own research on orangutan-focused eco-tourism and whale watching.
Orangutan-focused Eco-tourism. In 1992, I conducted research on tourist-orangutan interactions at the Orang-utan Research and Conservation Project in Indonesian Borneo. Through analysis of participant observation data, guided conversations, and post-trip questionnaires, 3 ways of perceiving the apes emerged: orang-utan as child; orang-utan as the embodiment of pristine nature; and orangutan as photograph-ic collectible. Each approach, quite logical in particular cultural and historical contexts, had different implications for environmental education and conservation practice, not all positive.
For example, some tourists imagined young, ex-captive rehabilitant orangutans to be much like human infants and sought out every opportunity to hold and cuddle them. While these young orangutans undoubtedly did need comfort, many of the tourists seemed unable or unwilling to acknowledge that the orangutans could become infected by human diseases or humans could be hurt by habituated animals. Further, I was concerned about the educational message that seemed to prevail: do we really want tourists to think that it is acceptable to cuddle wild animals?
Other tourists were more interested in the wild orangutans to the point of dismissing the ex-captives because they were less "real." Their days were thus spent in the forest seeking out wild orangutans. This emphasis on pristine nature can put increasing pressure on rare and endangered species and can lead to further exploitation of natural areas as tourists push into wilder areas. For those tourists fixated on getting the perfect photograph, much on the periphery of their camera lens was overlooked, giving them a decontextualized, fragmented view of nature.
Whale Watching. I conducted a case study of whale watching in the small town of Tadoussac on the St. Lawrence River in Canada. Data was collected on whale watchers through participant observation, interviews and pre-trip, post-trip, and follow-up questionnaires. Since most whale watchers showed strong commitment to whale conservation prior to the trip, they did not have their attitudes significantly shifted - it seemed to be a matter, really, of preaching to the converted. In fact, there was little evidence of much learning of any kind on the boats. In pre- and post-expedition tests of whale knowledge, many fared more poorly after whale watching. As well, close to a third reported in the interviews that they learned very little or nothing on the trip, and expressed desire for more emphasis to be placed on educational interpretation.
With such minimal educational gains and growing concerns about the negative impacts of whale watching on whales, one must ask whether whale watching is really worth the potential costs? I am tempted to simply answer "no". If, however, educational interpretation shifted from providing basic information (e.g., naming the species of whales seen, their size, and what they eat) to explicit discussion of recent scientific research on the impacts of whale watching on whales, current threats to whales, and concrete suggestions for activism on behalf of whales, it might hold more possibility.
Conclusion. Eco-tourism is unlikely to go away. I thus believe that greater attention must be paid to educational interpretation. A strong educational program ought not stop with the simple relaying of facts but ought to explore the complexities of the conservation of the particular primate species and other members of the natural community. Further, education needs to explicitly address the negative impacts linked to primate-focused eco-tourism (e.g. disease transmission, habituation, trash, habitat destruction). This will require an investment of thought, time and money.

Constance Russell

Prof. Constance Russell teaches in the Faculty of Education at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.

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