Dr Rochelle Steven

The ecology of tourism refers to the importance of understanding ecology in the context of tourism. In this case, tourism is referred to as the activity of people traveling to destinations for various reasons. Such travel may involve short- or long-haul flights, car journeys, visits to places of interest, organized tours, and a range of recreational activities. Ecotourism is particularly important to consider where the focus is specific to the natural environment. When managed carefully and coupled with interpretive components, ecotourism is environmentally friendly and sustainable.

There is a temptation to consider birders, or more specifically, avitourists, as a homogenous group of individuals that single-mindedly seek to add new and exotic species to their personal list of conquest birds. To make this generalisation under-appreciates the diversity of this niche tourism market as well as their drivers and motivators. Avitourists do indeed vary in terms of what tourism experience they seek and how the level of dedication to the act of birding is related to these experiential expectations. In this chapter, we will explore this diversity, but also the themes that unite avitourists. One of the most important unifying themes is the fact that almost all avitourists expect to see wild birds, as opposed to captive species. This underlines the need for effective management of the tourism product in natural areas and wild bird conservation, to ensure the avitourism industry can continue to provide the suite of benefits afforded to its participants and the communities avitourists visit.