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Costa Rica and Kenya As Ecotourism Destinations

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Costa Rica and Kenya As Ecotourism Destinations COSTA RICA AND KENYA AS ECOTOURISM DESTINATIONS Country Strategies vs. Visitor Perceptions Master´s Thesis in International Business Author: Miranna Talvinen Supervisors: D.Sc. Elina Pelto M.Sc. Katja Einola 17.4.2017 Turku Turun kauppakorkeakoulu • Turku School of Economics Table of contents 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 7 1.1 Tourism industry ............................................................................................ 7 1.2 Focus of the research ...................................................................................... 8 1.3 Objective and structure of the study ............................................................... 9 2 ECOTOURISM ..................................................................................................... 11 2.1 From tourism to ecotourism ......................................................................... 11 2.2 Brief timeline of ecotourism ........................................................................ 12 2.3 Ecotourism explained ................................................................................... 14 2.4 Ecotourists .................................................................................................... 16 2.5 Implications to social, natural and economic environments ........................ 18 2.6 Marketing of ecotourism .............................................................................. 20 2.7 Visitors’ satisfaction, expectations, and experiences ................................... 22 2.8 Theoretical framework ................................................................................. 23 3 RESEARCH DESIGN ........................................................................................... 28 3.1 Research approach........................................................................................ 28 3.2 Data collection.............................................................................................. 30 3.3 Data analysis ................................................................................................ 32 3.4 Evaluation of the study ................................................................................. 37 4 COSTA RICA AS AN ECOTOURISM DESTINATION .................................... 42 4.1 Short overview of Costa Rica....................................................................... 42 4.2 Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) ............................................... 44 4.3 Ecotourism strategy of Costa Rica ............................................................... 45 4.4 Visitor perceptions of Costa Rica 2003-2011 .............................................. 49 4.4.1 Ecotourism ....................................................................................... 49 4.4.2 Types of tourism .............................................................................. 51 4.4.3 Overall satisfaction .......................................................................... 51 4.4.4 Positive and negative aspects of the vacation .................................. 53 4.4.5 Perceived wildlife ............................................................................ 54 4.4.6 The tourists....................................................................................... 55 4.5 Visitors’ perceptions of a Costa Rican vacation 2012-2014 ........................ 55 5 KENYA AS AN ECOTOURISM DESTINATION .............................................. 59 5.1 Short overview of Kenya.............................................................................. 59 5.2 Kenya’s ecotourism strategy ........................................................................ 61 5.3 Visitors’ perceptions of vacations in Kenya 2012-2014 .............................. 62 6 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................... 66 6.1 Reflection on research questions .................................................................. 66 6.2 Discussion on ecotourism in Costa Rica and Kenya .................................... 69 6.3 Theoretical discussion .................................................................................. 71 6.4 Suggestions for further research ................................................................... 72 6.5 Limitations and strengths ............................................................................. 74 7 SUMMARY........................................................................................................... 77 REFERENCES................................................................................................................ 79 APPENDIX 1 ECOTOURISM PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINES...................... 87 APPENDIX 2 TEN COMMANDMENTS OF ECO-TOURISM ........................... 88 List of figures Figure 1 A framework for ecotourism .............................................................. 15 Figure 2 Simplified model of the visitor perception creation process .............. 24 Figure 3 Factors influencing the visitor perceptions and satisfaction .............. 25 Figure 4 Simplified flow of a netnographic research project ........................... 29 Figure 5 Data analysis in qualitative research .................................................. 32 Figure 6 Simplified data analysis framework ................................................... 35 Figure 7 Map of Costa Rica .............................................................................. 44 Figure 8 Four main features of ‘essential Costa Rica’ brand ........................... 48 Figure 9 One of the few eco-related comments ................................................ 50 Figure 10 Visitor’s comment about “Eco-Adventure” ....................................... 50 Figure 11 Example of a positive comment ......................................................... 52 Figure 12 Example of a critical opinion on the destination ................................ 53 Figure 13 Visitor recommending CST certified tour guides .............................. 56 Figure 14 Comment praising the wildlife ........................................................... 57 Figure 15 Map of Kenya ..................................................................................... 59 Figure 16 Seeing the famous Big 5 in Kenya ..................................................... 63 Figure 17 Visitor traveling to multiple countries during the same trip ............... 64 Figure 18 Negative experience during the Wildebeest migration ...................... 64 Figure 19 Example of some pros and cons of a Kenyan vacation ...................... 65 List of tables Table 1 General travel discussion forums analyzed in this study.................... 31 Table 2 Specific discussion forums analyzed in this study ............................. 31 Table 3 Frequency analysis of the trip reports ................................................ 34 Table 4 Nodes from the discussions ................................................................ 36 List of abbreviations and definitions World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) “is the forum for business leaders in the Travel & Tourism industry. With Chief Executives of some one hundred of the world's leading Travel & Tourism companies as its Members, WTTC has a unique mandate and overview on all matters related to Travel & Tourism.” (WTTC) The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) “is a specialized agency of the United Nations and the leading international organization in the field of tourism. It serves as a global forum for tourism policy issues and a practical source of tourism know-how.” (UNWTO) The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) “is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting ecotourism. Founded in 1990, TIES has been in the forefront of the development of ecotourism, providing guidelines and standards, training, technical assistance, research and publications. TIES' global network of ecotourism professionals and travelers is leading the efforts to make tourism a viable tool for conservation, pro- tection of bio-cultural diversity, and sustainable community development.” (TIES) Earth Council Alliance (ECA) “seeks to help foster cooperation among the organiza- tions around the world which share its commitment to the achievement of a sustainable development pathway to the human future with a particular focus on the community in grassroots leve. [They] actively mobilize support for the work of autonomous Earth Council members and other partners and organizations; NGOs, business, governments, academic and indigenous cultures.” (ECA) United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) “is the United Nations system’s designated entity for addressing environmental issues at the global and regional level. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the atten- tion of governments and the international community for action.” (UNEP Organization Profile 3) Environmentalism not only wants to conserve the natural environment, but also im- prove and protect the quality of it through changes to environmentally harmful human activities. (Encyclopaedia Britannica) Sustainable tourism has three principles that refer to the environmental, economic, and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development. It should try to establish a balance be- tween these three dimensions in
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