AU kursuskatalog arkiv

During the second half of the 20 ^th century, tourism has emerged a major global industry. According to many analysts, it is now the world's largest and fastest growing industry, surpassing petrochemicals and automobile manufacturing. Development of tourism has become a major economic goal of most countries. The United States has the world's largest tourism industry, and ranks third in attracting foreign visitors.

In recent decades, the largest segment of tourist activity has been mass tourism, with a focus on sending large numbers of visitors to well-known destinations. This form of activity has many drawbacks, however: overcrowded destinations, uniform and bland facilities and experiences, negative environmental impacts, and disruption and distortion of local communities and economies.

Both tourist destinations and travelers are increasingly looking for alternatives to mass tourism. Local communities are seeking development that does not have the negative impacts of traditional tourism, and results in more economic benefits accruing locally. Both destination communities and tourists have an increased awareness of environmental issues, and many are committed to reducing environmental degradation due to tourist activities. Travelers are also increasingly attracted to experiences that are more inspiring and exotic than those found at homogenous mass tourism destinations.

Because of this, within the tourism industry today the fastest growing segment is ecotourism. But defining what ecotourism is presents difficulties. It is based on broad and potentially ambiguous principles such as responsible travel, visiting natural environments, sustaining natural resources, and improving the well-being of local people. The term is also subject to misuse, with businesses and communities hoping to capitalize on creating an image of environmental responsibility, while simply "greenwashing" their activities.

This course has three main objectives:

• To introduce students to methods and issues involved with the creation of tourism destination images
• To explore the various meanings of the term ecotourism
• To examine specific cases of ecotourism in the United States  

In the United States , the natural environment is often being stressed by overuse, even in protected areas such as national parks,. Local communities are frequently left with ugly strips of tourist facilities such as hotels and fast food restaurants, and low-wage employment, while the bulk of profits go to outside developers and operators. Among the cases to be examined are (provisionally):

·         Appalachia , a chronically poor and environmentally exploited region

·         The Florida Keys

·         Pacific whale watching

·         Native American peoples and reservations, also poor and environmentally exploited