Under The Microscope

DEVELOPING ECOTOURISM IN NEW ZEALAND, by Julie A. N. Warren and C. Nicholas Taylor; NZ Institute for Social Research and Development Ltd, 1994; 76pp; $19.95

Ecotourism -- whether it is spelt ecotourism or eco-tourism -- is a buzz word in the travel industry so it was only a matter of time before somebody wrote a book about it.

The authors begin by suggesting that ecotourism "embodies a set of principles and business characteristics that help separate it from other tourism activities". Then they look at three definitions from which they draw seven characteristics which mark or set aside ecotourism from other forms of tourism. Up to this point any reader familiar with the subject should be nodding their head in agreement. But then slowly and surely the authors fall into a trap -- one that they had already identified -- "that the ecotourism concept is threatened by other tourism masquerading as ecotourism". The chapter "Ecotourism in New Zealand" is a good example of losing the plot altogether and the reader becomes uncertain whether the book is about ecotourism or tourism -- both words are used freely and are interchanged regularly.

Even before this section there were some questionable assumptions. In the introduction the authors suggest three important trends to account for the emergence of the phenomena called "ecotourism", one of the reasons being the "change of focus in the management of National Parks" to a more revenue generating regime. Ecotourism was around long before the Treasury started running the Conservation Department -- the name is relatively recent, but the practice has been around for decades. (We had never heard of the term when we began our business in 1985 yet our business embodies all the seven principles that set aside ecotourism from other forms of tourism.)

It is the authors' opinion that an integrated management approach is needed to ensure ecotourism's long term viability. This assumption ignores one of the more important characteristics of ecotourism that it that it "comprises mainly small, independent and locally controlled businesses". If an integrated management approach could be established it would destroy this fundamental -- and important -- element in ecotourism.

The book is clearly a plug for researchers. It sets out a case for more research and lists the areas which would benefit from research. I have no problem with that except that when I read the results of the research in Kaikoura, I wondered if it was the same Kaikoura I knew. No mention of arson attacks on operators' buses or sabotaging of boats' fuel tanks or High Court injunctions against the Department of Conservation!

This is not a practitioners' book. It will not help the individual who has a great idea and is looking for information that might help him/her set it up, or decide not to set it up which is equally important. The authors correctly point out the survival rates of ecotourism companies is not high -- low turn over in the first years of operation suggest that this form of business maybe even more fragile than non-tourist counterparts.

Anybody who is interested in "tourism", and I deliberately use that in the broadest sense of the word, should read this book. It is an important work and it has the advantage or disadvantage of being the first book on ecotourism in New Zealand. The challenge now is for researchers to look at some of the valid suggestions made by the authors and for somebody else to write a practical guide for developing ecotourism in New Zealand.

Rodney Russ co-runs Southern Heritage Expeditions out of Christchurch.