Birding Festivals, Sustainability, and Ecotourism: An Ambiguous Relationship

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Author(s)
Lawton, Laura J
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2009
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
A survey of 108 U.S.-based birding festivals reveals overall basic adherence to ecotourism criteria, although cluster analysis reveals four distinct subgroups whose members are labeled as normatives (47%), minimalists (30%), recruiters (15%), and fund-raisers (8%). Formal identification with ecotourism through promotion or membership was low and did not predict cluster membership or increase in visitor numbers. Hence, while ecotourism organizations could benefit from an influx of birding festival memberships, the reciprocal benefits for birding festivals with regard to performance and sustainability outcomes are unclear.A survey of 108 U.S.-based birding festivals reveals overall basic adherence to ecotourism criteria, although cluster analysis reveals four distinct subgroups whose members are labeled as normatives (47%), minimalists (30%), recruiters (15%), and fund-raisers (8%). Formal identification with ecotourism through promotion or membership was low and did not predict cluster membership or increase in visitor numbers. Hence, while ecotourism organizations could benefit from an influx of birding festival memberships, the reciprocal benefits for birding festivals with regard to performance and sustainability outcomes are unclear.
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Journal Title
Journal of Travel Research
Volume
48
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© 2009 SAGE Publications. This is the author-manuscript version of the paper. Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version.
Subject
Commercial Services
Marketing
Tourism