EXPERIENTIAL TOURISM

MANAGEMENT
Course Code: TTA207
Module 3

Prepared by
Dr. Manik Arora
Department of Management & Social Sciences
Amity University Tashkent, Uzbekistan
info@amity.uz
 EXPERIENTIAL TOURISM

Experiential tourism has become the current term that encompasses a variety of tourism and
traveler categories, including the following: cultural tourism, ecotourism, educational travel,
experimental tourism, heritage tourism and nature tourism, where activities are environmentally
sensitive, displaying respect for the culture of the host area and looking to experience and learn
rather that merely stand back and gaze. Experiential tourism involves active participation,
involvement, even immersion.

Ecotourism is now defined as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the
environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and
education” (TIES, 2015).

Ecotourists – people who require environmentally compatible recreational opportunities, where

nature rather than humanity predominates
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 ECO TOURISM

• According to Ceballos-Lascurain, Eco Tourism is the, “traveling to relatively undisturbed or

uncontaminated natural areas with the specific objective of studying, admiring, and enjoying the
scenery and its wild plants and animals, as well as any existing cultural manifestation (both past
and present) found in these areas.”

• Australian National Eco Tourism Strategy defines ecotourism as “A nature-based tourism that
involves education and interpretation of the natural environment and is managed to be
ecologically sustainable.”

• Ecotourism is a form of tourism which attempts to minimize its impact upon the environment, is
ecologically sound, and avoids the negative impacts of many large-scale tourism developments
undertaken in the areas which have not previously been developed.

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 PRINCIPLES OF ECO TOURISM

• Ecotourism is about uniting conservation, communities, and sustainable travel. This means that
those who implement, participate in and market ecotourism activities should adopt the following
ecotourism principles:
• Minimize physical, social, behavioral, and psychological impacts.
• Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect.
• Provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts.
• Provide direct financial benefits for conservation.
• Generate financial benefits for both local people and private industry.
• Deliver memorable interpretative experiences to visitors that help raise sensitivity to host countries’
political, environmental, and social climates.
• Design, construct and operate low-impact facilities.
• Recognize the rights and spiritual beliefs of the Indigenous People in your community and work in
partnership with them to create empowerment.
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 BENEFITS OF ECO TOURISM

1) Involves travel to the natural destination. These destinations are often remote areas, whether
inhabited or uninhabited, and are usually under some kind of environmental protection at the
national, international, communal, or private travel.

2) Minimize impact. Ecotourism strives to minimize the adverse effects of hotels, trails, and other
infrastructure by using either recycled or plentifully available local resources.

3) Builds environmental awareness. Ecotourism means education, for both tourist and residents
of nearby communities. It sensitizes the local community and tourist about the relevance of
environment for human survival.

4) Provides direct financial benefits for conservation. Ecotourism helps raise funds for
environmental protection, through a variety of mechanisms, including park entrance fees; tour
company, hotel, airline, and airport taxes. And voluntary contributions. 5
 BENEFITS OF ECO TOURISM

5) Provides financial benefits and empowerment for local people. Ecotourism holds that national
parks and other conservation areas will survive only if, there are happy people around the
perimeters. The local community must be involved with and receive income and other tangible
benefits (potable water, roads, health clinics, etc.) from the conservation area and its tourist
facilities.

6) Respects local culture. Ecotourism is not only “greener” but also less culturally intrusive and
exploitative than conventional tourism. Whereas prostitution, black markets, and drug often are
byproducts of mass tourism, ecotourism strives to be culturally respectful and the human
population of a host country.

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 THREATS OF ECO TOURISM

•Threats to Indigenous Cultures: The growing number of tourists puts a strain on the freedom of
cultural expression. Natives are seen as a backdrop or prop during tour guides, objectifying culture
groups and encouraging stereotyping. The interaction between tourists and locals creates a gradual
shift in culture. The more often native groups are exposed to travelers, the more they learn and
adapt to cultural behavior patterns of the tourists.

•Relocation of locals: Sometimes local groups of people are displaced from their homes in order to
make way for hotels, ecotourism expansions, and natural resource excavations.

•Ecosystem Degradation: Ecotourism specifically takes tourists to ecosystems relatively untouched

by humans. Introducing a foreign element to these delicate systems can disrupt a number of factors:
human presence can scare off prey and disrupt hunting patterns for predators, an increased number
of travelers can lead to soil erosion and habitat loss, and higher demand of resources like food and
water for travelers creates a stress on the environment in order to accommodate for more people.
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 THREATS OF ECO TOURISM

•Travel impacts on the environment: In order to visit some of these exotic places, you have to
travel long distances. Airplanes generate a huge amount of global pollution which can indirectly
affect the local ecosystems of your travel destination. Cars and boats used for local
transportation will have more direct negative effects, which can also lead to environmental
degradation.

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 References

• https://tourismnotes.com/eco-tourism/

• http://www.fao.org/3/w7714e/w7714e06.htm#TopOfPage

• https://traveltips.usatoday.com/problems-ecotourism-108359.html

• https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=68afe467d4ef4d6b880bff946e65792e