Community-based ecotourism to meet the new tourist's expectations: an exploratory study

 
I
NTRODUCTION
 
Tourism generates significant revenues and accounts for 12% of the world gross domestic 
product. Tourism can be a driving force for economic development of communities that would 
otherwise have limited development opportunity. However, tourism contributes to the 
degradation of regional resources; for example, tourism accounts for 5% of global carbon 
emissions. Mass tourism affects the natural resources of a given community and also impacts the 
cultural identity of the community. 

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For the past three decades, even if mass tourism is far from disappearing, a new tourist has been 
emerging in correspondence with increasing concern for the environment. The new consumers 
are increasingly demanding of the quality of the residence and reception during vacation. They 
are also more sensitive to the values and the cultural identities of the places visited.
As the behavior of tourists changes, so too must the opportunities available. Usually, decisions 
about tourist activity in certain communities are made by professionals of the tourism industry 
and governments; the local population is regarded merely as an object of tourism, unintentionally 
negatively affected by the industry. Communities impacted by tourism tend to deteriorate and are 
eventually abandoned by tourists, leaving the local population living in bad conditions.
New tourism projects must take community choices and community welfare into greater 
consideration and optimize the consequences of economic growth caused by tourism to be 
relevant and to meet the expectations of the new tourists. In other words, it is essential to match 
the created economic benefits with the needs and the values of the local population (Michael, 
2007). 
Contemporary tourism must be economically profitable, environmentally sustainable and socially 
equitable (WWF, 2001).