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This study aims to provide novel insights via a joint investigation of the mediating role of environmental concern and ecotourism experiences. It further explores environmental concern and image as moderators of the association between tourists’ ecotourism experience and revisit intention.

The study used a three-way framework which provided novelty ways of combined moderation-mediation tests on a sample of 474 foreign tourists.

Results show that environmental concern and ecotourism experience mediated the relationships between motivation and revisit intention. The moderating test shows that foreign tourists’ revisit intention and ecotourism experience are highest when environmental concern and image are high.

Results of this study suggest that it may be beneficial to relate resources of tourism’s organization to prepare for potential sustainable requirements and/or to assist tourists to develop positive pro-environment attitudes (such as inspire tourists’ sense of social responsibility to improve environmental quality), which could possibly improve the feelings about the natural environment as serving the public good and may raise concern about environmental protection reasonability for tourists.

This research is the first comprehensive examination of foreign tourists’ pro-environment attitudes and conducts three-way interaction between tourists’ ecotourism experience, image and environmental concern, which may provide a benchmark for future studies.

The growth in the ecotourism industry has increased emphasis on sustainable practices. Despite the fact that ample research has been conducted on sustainable ecotourism practices, many ecotourism destinations fail to become sustainable. The growth of the ecotourism industry and the global population has called for greener practices to be incorporated in developing ecotourism destinations. Waterwheel, located in the Limpopo province of South Africa, is faced with this green development challenge and serves as a case study (located at the end of the chapter) for this chapter.

This chapter gives a brief overview of the green principles associated with developing ecotourism destinations. Green ecotourism destination planning is explained within the context of the tourists’ experience to highlight aspects necessary for sustainable ecotourism destination development.

Even though the green market is still in its infancy, tourists are increasingly demanding green accommodation. A green, sustainable ecotourism destination can only be developed if green principles are incorporated from the input phase. The input phase (e.g., building materials and infrastructure systems for water and energy) determines the output phase (e.g., operational materials, activities, suppliers, activities, and marketing) and, subsequently, the level of sustainability. It is therefore crucial to plan for these aspects and the level to which the destination aims to adhere to these aspects, as they are costly.

Even though research on the green economy is not a new phenomenon it has only recently trickled down to ecotourism development. This explains the lack of research currently experienced in the literature of ecotourism and a gap that should be addressed urgently. Although this chapter only briefly discusses green ecotourism development, the aspects highlighted in the chapter provides other researchers with research opportunities to pursue in an effort to bridge the gap.

Building on past debates and incorporating recent knowledge on the revised principles and definition of ecotourism as set out by the Global Ecotourism Network and The International Ecotourism Society, this chapter assesses consumptive activities, such as hunting and fishing, through a lens of authenticity. This examination of ecotourism extends to tourists’ predispositions, ethics, and motivations responsible for their choices of ecotourism destinations, activities, and observable behaviors, which often lead them to personal transformation. As the idea of authenticity gains momentum in marketing, certifications, and regulations, this chapter tackles its significance by drawing from literature on applied constructs such as Ecotourist Predisposition Scale and Ecotourist Ethics Scale, as well as fieldwork experience and research pointing to the historical roots of ecotourism philosophy and practice in Zambia.

This article examines the emergence of the “soft‐ecotourism” market and measures the extend of familiarity with ecotourism and the willingness of resort travellers to substitute, partially or totally, their vacation with an ecotourism experience. education, income and age are positively associated with ecotourism, while women and singles are a more in favour towards a substitution to ecotourism. The study indicates that there is confusion as to what constitutes ecotourism and the authors suggest that tourism agencies should be more actively engaged in explaining ecotourism to their potential clients.

Originally conceptualised as an innovative strategy for environmental conservation, ecotourism is now considered as one of the fastest growing segments of tourism. Although many definitions of ecotourism have been provided over the years, the application of the concept is still inconsistent, shifting its focus from purely nature-based towards more sustainable and conservative activities. Research on ecotourism reveals that ecotourism marketing initiatives are mainly driven by the supply-side or government/environmentalist organisations’ perspective, without taking into account the demand side, i.e., individuals’ motivations for ecotourism. This chapter will provide recognition of the different definitions of the ecotourism concept in order to distinguish it from other similar forms of tourism, e.g., nature-based tourism, and will review the research to build an understanding of the various motivations pushing individuals to choose ecotourism offerings. It will also function as the basis for the development of an appropriate protocol to investigate a sample of ecotourism providers and the congruency of their marketing initiatives with established consumer motivations.

This exploratory study aims to examines the multidimensional aspects of perceived value (functional value, financial value, emotional value, social value, epistemic value and conditional value) in relation to purchase intention in ecotourism. The study evaluates the influence of trust and perceived risk as mediators on perceived value.

Data for this exploratory study stem from online survey responses of 314 participants and are analyzed using descriptive analyses, factor analyses and multiple regressions.

The study findings show that four significant predictors influence ecotourism purchase intention: emotional value, functional value, boredom alleviation value and epistemic value. Trust partially affects the relationship between perceived values and purchase intention. Meanwhile, there is no mediation effect of perceived risk in the relationship between perceived value and purchase intention. This study concludes that perceived values influence ecotourism purchase intention, with emotional value providing the strongest relation to purchase intention.

The sample is based on selected criteria for a convenient sampling technique instead of a random sampling technique. However, criteria are in accordance with other ecotourism studies.

While multidimensional perceived values have been examined before, few papers have provided support for the emotional value dimension in ecotourism.

This study aims to analyze the capacity of ecotourists to exhibit behavior that aligns with the ecotourist scale using the Rasch model measurement.

The data was gathered using an online survey incorporating the five tenets of ecotourism using a seven-point rating scale on domestic tourists in Indonesia. Descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation and Rasch model measurement were used to analyze the data.

The ecotourist identification scale measurement items were reliable and satisfactory. The most challenging behavior for ecotourists was using the services of a tour guide who was concerned about the environment. Meanwhile, respecting cultural differences around the tourist destination was the most accessible behavior. Most respondents demonstrated a fit response pattern and satisfactorily met the validity and reliability criteria.

This study did not compare ecotourists’ ability to behave by the type of conservation visited as its limitation. However, it provides a significant methodological contribution to developing a measurement of ecotourist behavior implemented in well-established behavioral theories.

Integrating ecotourism into education, incentivizing eco-friendly tourism practices, promoting awareness, supporting local businesses, respecting local values and ensuring safe travels.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to be conducted in Indonesia. It uses a unique and innovative method to reveal the unobserved variables in ecotourists’ behavior. The findings confirm that tourists’ behaviors align with the five tenets of ecotourism.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and classify ecotourism service elements according to their instrumentality to customer satisfaction.

Drawing on the ECOSERV model, the authors conduct further qualitative and quantitative research to find additional dimensions of service quality. Kano’s model and Customer Satisfaction Index are then employed with a sample of 324 ecotourists to categorize these service quality elements.

A new scale of ecotourism service quality is proposed, with the addition of four dimensions: price-quality, interaction with locals, interaction with other customers and relaxation feelings. The paper also confirms the existence of four groups which are classified according to their level of impacts on satisfaction and dissatisfaction: attractive, one-dimensional, must-be and indifferent.

The paper improves the present ecotourism scale and develops an integrated approach to facilitate effective decision making by identifying areas that require greater attention, thus providing practical benefits for eco-site managers. It also hopes to contribute to better understanding about ecotourism services in the context of an Asia country like Vietnam and encourages further research in this area.

Ecotourism is a sustainability approach that has emerged as an alternative to the negative environmental impacts of tourism, where natural, cultural and historical values are used as sources. Ecotourism is a nature-based tourism activity that ensures the sustainability of natural resources and promotes the economic development of local populations. It also preserves sociocultural values and protects the ecological system for future generations. However, if ecotourism is well-controlled, it can positively affect nature, natural life, local people and the local and national economy. This study highlights the importance of ecotourism for sustainability in the tourism industry. It examines ways to deal with the ecotourism phenomenon. In this direction, the study defines the concepts of ecological tourism and sustainability. It describes the general characteristics of ecotourism and sustainable tourism and the developing and potential environmental impacts associated with them. The study highlights that any tourist activity that does not have a sustainable quality cannot be long-term and will increase awareness on this topic.

Ecotourism represents a growing industry with unique challenges. Although marketers must be concerned with the ultimate product provided to consumers, much effort must be expended working with local and federal officials, and maintaining good environmental practices. Examines some of the issues which confront marketers, their experiences, the benefits which can be derived from the successful marketing of ecotourism programmes, and the development of an ecotourism ethic, which is an underlying key to success in this area.