Contribution of Wilderness to Survival of the
Adventure Travel and Ecotourism Markets
Peter B. Myles
Abstract—There is a global concern that ecotourism and adventure travel is becoming a mass tourism market rapidly losing its
tourist appeal. Ecotourism is fast becoming “egotourism,” and the
benefits are not flowing back to the host communities, especially
communities in rural areas where poverty alleviation is essential
for the protection of the environment. Tourism in wilderness settings can make a valuable contribution by restoring an appreciation
for an authentic nature-based tourism experience. This will require
repositioning ecotourism and adventure travel in the marketplace
by introducing elements of exclusivity, perhaps at a premium price,
so that the true value of the outdoor tourism experience will be
measured by learning from nature rather than by boasting of
luxury lodges in exotic locations filled with noisy, adrenalinpumping activities
Ecotourism: Curse
or Blessing? ___________________
There are many different definitions of ecotourism, but
most agree that it involves tourism into areas of great
natural beauty or interest, with minimum impact on the
environment and maximum benefit to local communities.
The Ecotourism Society (1992) defined ecotourism as:
…purposeful travel to natural areas to understand the cultural and natural history of the environment, taking care not
to alter the integrity of the ecosystem, whilst producing
economic opportunities that make conservation of natural
resources financially beneficial to local citizens.
Many commentators have criticized the use of the term
ecotourism because it has been applied widely to cover all
manner of tourism experiences with a vaguely “green” tinge,
particularly nature-based tourism. The term ecotourism has
many meanings. It can refer to a genuine attempt at environmentally sustainable tourism, or it can be used in a cynical
way to try to attract greater numbers of visitors to an area.
For example, the term ecotourism does not differentiate
between:
1. A large group of people visiting a private game reserve,
arriving at their destination by aircraft, staying in luxury
accommodations, expecting to be pampered with all the
Peter B Myles is a Tourism Consultant and Researcher, Tourism 2000
Network cc, P.O. Box 12653, Centrahil, 6006, Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
E-mail: tournet@iafrica.com
In: Watson, Alan; Sproull, Janet, comps. 2003. Science and stewardship to
protect and sustain wilderness values: Seventh World Wilderness Congress
symposium; 2001 November 2–8; Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Proc. RMRSP-27. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky
Mountain Research Station.
USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P-27. 2003
modern conveniences, and spending very little money at the
destination because everything is prepaid before departure;
and
2. A low impact ecotraveler, backpacking or camping to
save money on accommodations, but spending money spontaneously wherever they travel, pursuing a minimal impact
experience in a wilderness environment.
These hypothetical examples illustrate that ecotourism
can refer to a wide range of activities that might have
different environmental impacts and attract people with
different sets of values and motivations. Special interest and
activity holidays represent the single largest growth area
within the tourism industry.
Special interest travel is travel for people who are going
somewhere because they have a particular interest that can
be pursued in a particular region or destination. What sets
special interest tourism apart from other forms of tourism is
that the whole point of the trip is to exercise the mind and/
or body in some fashion. It is interesting to note that in the
year 2000, the year of millennium activity, global travel
experienced its best growth in a decade, as many tourists
selected destinations that they had identified with some
body, mind, and spiritual experience.
Adventure Tourism ______________
Activity-based tourism is another form of special interest
tourism. There are so many examples of stress-related
behavior in society such as road rage, air rage, family killings,
and school rampages. The question that needs to be raised is,
“why would anyone engage in a potentially dangerous activity as a form of recreation?” The common answer is, “adrenaline rush.” While those involved in high-risk activities may
welcome the initial adrenaline rush, such as whitewater
rafting, bungee jumping and extreme sports, it is not possible for them to sustain the rush for any length of time,
hence, the adrenaline junkies. One cannot help wonder if
most adventure tourists are not substituting one kind of
stress for another.
However, what is of greater concern is that many of these
adventure tourism activities disturb the environment, causing noise pollution, visual pollution, and in some cases, even
mud slides and avalanches. These activities are all marketed as ecotourism.
Nearly 80 percent of the world’s population is now urban.
Therefore, it is logical that urban dwellers need rural experiences for a change in daily routine. There is an old saying
that says “a change is as good as a holiday.” Humankind
generally needs spells of solitude, peace, and tranquility,
and an escape from heavily industrialized, overcrowded urban environments in order to relax and recover. A wilderness
experience is far more therapeutic and ultimately beneficial
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Myles
Contribution of Wilderness to Survival of the Adventure: Travel and Ecotourism Markets
to society than most of the ecotourism and adventure tourism activities currently offered. We need to put wilderness
back into ecotourism experiences if nature-based tourism is
to have a positive impact on society in general. We need to
awaken a spirit of wilderness deep within the human psyche
to restore sanity to the human race.
“Deep ecotourism” and “shallow ecotourism” are terms
that can be used to differentiate between ecotourism that
verges on a form of mass tourism, and genuine attempts at
environmental tourism. Deep ecotourists should demonstrate in their lifestyles a true sense of values, that is, a
philosophy of sustainability wherever they are.
Spiritual Leaders ________________
All the great spiritual leaders who founded religions
needed times of solitude in exclusive areas not only for
prayer and meditation but also for stress relief. They were
physically and mentally exhausted from the demands of
their followers. They had to escape from crowds and get in
touch with nature in order to recover. Mohammed went to
the mountain, Jesus had both a wilderness and mountaintop
experience, and Buddha recovered in retreats. Many people
describe certain places with almost a spiritual reverence
because the space, tranquility, and solitude provide a therapeutic benefit. They feel better after their visit. The karoo is
almost a natural wilderness area and has been described as
a place “where the land meets the sky.” It is a place where the
crisp clean air invigorates stressed minds and tired bodies in
a silent world where it is said “you can hear God think.”
A Healthy Society _______________
Governments need to expand wilderness areas for the
future mental and physical well-being of their citizens.
However, keeping wilderness areas exclusive, pristine, and
free from crowds means that they should remain relatively
undeveloped. With limited infrastructure to generate income, it is difficult to make wilderness areas viable. Wilderness areas therefore need to be subsidized to survive, but
there is a cost benefit. A financial contribution by Government dedicated for the expansion of wilderness areas will
yield a good return on investment. This is mainly because a
more balanced, considerate, relaxed, friendlier, and stable
society will ultimately be a far less destructive force and
therefore cost less in health maintenance, for example, lower
medical bills.
Sustainable Development ________
The delicate relationship between tourism and the environment was highlighted by the Manila Declaration of the
World Tourism Organization (1997), which stated:
The protection, enhancement and improvement of the
various components of man’s environment are among the
fundamental conditions for the harmonious development of
tourism.
In the mid-1970s, sustainable development became a
global buzzword, but since then it has become a concept
much discussed, used, and abused.
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The World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) first introduced the so-called “stewardship” role
of sustainable development, aimed at maintaining resources
in perpetuity and stated:
Sustainable development is development that meets the
needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs.
Colin Hunter (1995) suggested in his Journal of Sustainable Tourism that over the short and long term, sustainable
tourism development should:
1. Meet the needs and wants of the local host community
in terms of improved living standards and quality of life.
2. Satisfy the demands of tourists and the tourism industry,
and continue to attract them in order to achieve the first aim.
3. Safeguard the environmental resource base for tourism, encompassing natural, built, and cultural components,
in order to achieve both of the preceding aims.
Perhaps the future survival of ecotourism as a unique,
nature-based, outdoor experience has something to do
with the implementation of the second point suggested by
Hunter, that is, have tour operators gone overboard in
their quest to satisfy the demands of tourists and the
tourism industry? Has greed transformed ecotourism into
“ego-tourism?” In many cases, ecotourism and all other
forms of responsible tourism are little more than marketing ploys—mass tourism disguised as responsible tourism. There is a need to review ecotourism to address some
of its negative perceptions.
Ecotourism and Protected Areas:
Mutually Beneficial? _____________
Tourism uses landscape, flora, and fauna as important natural attractions, while conservation of the built environment
also provides tourists with sites of interest. Where conservation interests have been successful in designated zones from
which all human activity is excluded, tourism interests are
forced to compete with other excluded interests in the zones
adjacent to protected areas. Under such circumstances tourism is often easily outmaneuvered, or outbid by well-organized interests such as mining or forestry.
A rather unusual variation on this theme is where
ecotourism acts as the forerunner to alternative developments, as in the case of biotechnology prospecting, to seek
out species that might provide genetic material to produce
pharmaceuticals or other products. Bio-piracy is the theft of
plant and animal species by unscrupulous biotechnology
companies, including the theft of intellectual property, such
as local knowledge of herbs and medicinal plants.
Most definitions of ecotourism include travel to “natural
areas,” or refer to “natural beauty” and “natural resources.”
Perhaps this is where ecotourism has deviated from its
original purpose and the term nature-based tourism has
become too wide in its interpretation. The International
Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) views a natural area as:
…one where biological processes and geological features are
still relatively intact and where the primary objective of the
area is to ensure that natural processes remain as the dominant force in the system.
USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P-27. 2003
Myles
Contribution of Wilderness to Survival of the Adventure: Travel and Ecotourism Markets
Reinventing Ecotourism __________
According to international tourism consultant Dr. Auliana
Poon (2001), there is a paradigm shift occurring in the
tourism industry the world over. The golden age of mass
tourism, of unlimited growth and disregard for the environment, and of standardized, rigidly packaged products and
services is over.
A new tourism is emerging: sustainable, environmentally
and socially responsible, and characterized by flexibility and
choice. A new type of tourist is driving it: more educated,
experienced, independent, conservation-minded, respectful
of cultures, and insistent on value for money. Information
technology is opening up an astonishing array of travel and
vacation options for this new tourist. To remain competitive,
tourism destinations and industry players alike must adapt.
For many, the challenge is to “reinvent tourism.” Market
intelligence, innovation, and closeness to customers have
become the new imperatives.
Taking a leaf from this book, perhaps we need to “reinvent
ecotourism.” And this is perhaps what we are trying to
achieve in Africa by introducing our own unique brand of
“Afrikatourism,” that is, ecotourism that is unique to Africa.
Afrikatourism: Ecotourism Unique
to Africa _______________________
Afrikatourism, drawn from Open Africa’s vision (1994), is
a restorative, sustainable, and profitable tourism sector,
particular to Africa’s circumstances and characteristics. It
defines an entirely new, responsible, and essentially African
industry, with community participation and conservation as
its cornerstones. Afrikatourism highlights a niche for African
supremacy in nature-interactive tourism. It can be found
and experienced only in Africa. It also integrates perfectly
with the political vision for an African Renaissance.
Conclusions ____________________
Ecotourism is, at its best, perhaps somewhere close to
our ideals for responsible tourism. However, the difficulty
is that there is nothing to prevent any operator, destination, or other “player” in the tourism industry from using
USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P-27. 2003
any title they choose. Because there are no clear industry
standards, there are no guarantees to the consumer that a
particular tour to a particular protected area complies to
any acceptable guidelines for responsible ecotourism. “Mass
ecotourism” is already emerging, and many will say that
ecotourism is not delivering on its promises. Ecotourism is
therefore in danger of losing its integrity, and perhaps
there will come a time when deep ecotourists will be prepared to pay a premium price for the exclusivity of a true
wilderness experience. In this regard, it is imperative that
large areas are set aside for wilderness.
To illustrate this point, the Eastern Cape is the poorest
Province in South Africa in terms of the economy, but the
richest in terms of biodiversity. Few people are aware that
the Eastern Cape is the only Province in South Africa, and
one of the few places on earth, where all seven biomes can be
found as well as 29 Acocks Veld Types. However, 19 of these
veld types are threatened and fall well below the 10 percent
of each vegetation type that should be set aside for pristine
or near-pristine use proposed at the Rio Convention.
Perhaps the answer lies in stimulating a desire amongst
ecotourists and ecotourism operators for an authentic natural experience. This may mean that we have to awaken a
“spirit of wilderness” in the human psyche.
References _____________________
Ecotourism Society. 1992. In: Study notes on responsible tourism.
Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, Wellesbourne
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Hunter, Colin. 1995. In: Study notes on responsible tourism.
Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, Wellesbourne
Campus, School of Leisure and Tourism, Kingshill Road, High
Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP13 5BB, UK.
Open Africa. 1994. Afrikatourism. [Online]. Available at: http://
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Poon, Auliana. 2001. Reinventing tourism. [Online]. Available at:
http://www.tourism-intelligence.com/reinventing.html
World Commission on Environment and Development. 1987. Our
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