The perception of ecotourism. Semantic profusion and tourists' expectations
The sector of the tourism meets numerous ecological problems today such as atmospheric and water pollution, degradation of the fauna and flora. These negative impacts on the environment allowed awareness on the necessity to adopt responsible tourism. The semantic abundance concerning this construct constitutes an indicator; we talk about sustainable tourism, ecotourism, responsible tourism, green tourism, etc. The offers considering these various concepts are very numerous. The objective of this research is to define the contents of the concept of "ecotourism" from the tourists' point of view and to determine the various expectations. We conducted a qualitative study with a sample of 26 French respondents by using face to face individual interviews. Their duration was of approximately thirty minutes each. Our results show that the concept of ecotourism evokes for the tourists essentially an environmental dimension related to the planet preservation, the visited sites' protection, the natural and sustainable character of the travel. Concerning their expectations, certain individuals express a preference for the regional travels. The tourists seek for rich educational and cultural experiences. The exchange based on the local populations' respect constitutes today an important concern for the responsible tourist. In terms of price, the tourists consider that the price of the ecological travels should be equivalent even lower than that of the conventional one. An additional cost must be justified by a superior quality service. Finally, our research highlights some barriers to the ecotourism development; they are particularly related to financial constraints and to a lack of confidence towards this kind of tourism. The profusion of labels observed last years strengthens distrust and harms ecotourism considerably. The conclusions of this research led to a set of recommendations for managers and decision makers.