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Ecotourism: an Environmental Concern Or a New Diversification of the Mass Tourism Market, the Case of Crete

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Ecotourism: an Environmental Concern Or a New Diversification of the Mass Tourism Market, the Case of Crete Ecotourism: An environmental concern or a new diversification of the mass tourism market, the case of Crete A Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Saatsakis Ioannis Bucks Business School Faculty of Design, Media and Management Buckinghamshire New University Brunel University November, 2017 This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author under the terms of the United Kingdom Copyright Acts. No quotation from the thesis and no information derived from it may be published without proper acknowledgement. Abstract Crete has experienced rapid tourism development since late 1960s when the growth in international tourism and broader socio economic changes disturbed past equilibrium patterns. Tourism has become a leading economic sector but also caused negative economic, environmental and sociocultural impacts, prompting tourism authorities to develop plans aimed at the achievement of sustainable development while continuing to promote tourism in the island. A critical review of the literature shows that the concept of ecotourism is closely associated with other concepts, such as nature, ecology, protection, culture, small scale, alternative, and others. Whilst a variety of ecotourism typologies and development patterns have been produced by academics derived from the residents’ perspectives, our knowledge is still limited because of the absence of the industry’s perspectives; thus the meanings of ecotourism from those responsible for its development remains incomplete. This study explores the industry’s perspective of ecotourism and its development in Crete and discusses its impacts. To this end, qualitative interviews (20) were undertaken with local and regional authorities, hoteliers, tour operators, and managers of tourism related enterprises. Data was analysed using the ‘comparative analysis’ approach, where responses of interviews were checked to identify similarities and differences to allow main themes and categories to emerge. The study's findings questioned the established argument of ecotourism as small scale, environmentally friendly, nature driven tourism activity. It produced some novel findings. The analysis suggests that eco-tourism in Crete is product driven, where the local industry perceives it as market extension, profit motivated economic activity that has little to do with nature. Hence, from the industry’s perspective, ecotourism is spontaneous and adhoc development concerned more with satisfying increasing consumers’ needs for seemingly authentic ecotourism products than with environmental issues. The analysis revealed that genuine nature driven ecotourism has yet to be demonstrated and practiced in Crete and that ecotourism is an entrepreneurial ploy, rebranding mass tourism to increase economic growth in a region ravaged by unemployment and stagnation. List of contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgements............................................................................................................................. 5 Author Declaration ............................................................................................................................ 6 Chapter 1 ............................................................................................................................................ 7 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 7 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 7 1.2 Aims and objectives ..................................................................................................................... 10 1.3 The structure of the thesis ............................................................................................................ 12 Chapter 2 .......................................................................................................................................... 14 Literature Review ............................................................................................................................ 14 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 14 2.2 Ecotourism and its main differential characteristics .................................................................... 16 2.3 Ecotourism in the context of other forms of tourism ................................................................... 17 2.4 Ecotourism defined ...................................................................................................................... 21 2.5 Ecotourism and sustainability ...................................................................................................... 30 2.6 Impacts and characteristics .......................................................................................................... 35 2.6.1 Environmental impacts ...................................................................................................... 35 2.6.2 Economic impacts .............................................................................................................. 40 2.6.3 Social and cultural impacts ................................................................................................ 44 2.7 Ecotourists & Types of Ecotourists ............................................................................................. 48 2.8 Profile of the ecotourists .............................................................................................................. 54 2.9 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 62 Chapter 3 .......................................................................................................................................... 64 Methodology ..................................................................................................................................... 64 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 64 3.2 The research problem and approach ............................................................................................ 64 3.3 Research Paradigms ..................................................................................................................... 65 3.4 The positivist Paradigm ............................................................................................................... 67 3.5 The interpretative Paradigm ......................................................................................................... 69 3.6 Methodological Justification ........................................................................................................ 71 3.7 Research design............................................................................................................................ 72 3.8 Secondary data in this study......................................................................................................... 73 3.9 Interviews ..................................................................................................................................... 73 3.10 Interview guide .......................................................................................................................... 75 3.11 Sampling .................................................................................................................................... 76 3.12 Interview data collection ............................................................................................................ 77 3.13 Interview data Analysis .............................................................................................................. 80 1 3.14 Credibility, dependability and transferability ............................................................................ 84 3.14.1 Credibility ........................................................................................................................ 84 3.14.2 Dependability ................................................................................................................... 85 3.14.3 Transferability .................................................................................................................. 86 3.15 Limitations ................................................................................................................................. 86 3.16 Reflexivity and the role of Researcher ....................................................................................... 87 3.17 Ethical Considerations ............................................................................................................... 88 3.18 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 88 Chapter 4 .......................................................................................................................................... 90 Tourism in Greece ...........................................................................................................................
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