Photo credit: Hawaii Magazine

Photo credit: Hawaii Magazine

A big part of ecotourism is its role in educating people about conservation. A focus on the dimension of visitor experience reveals that the visitor is concerned not with merely looking at a setting or object, but with feeling and realizing some of its value. In light of this, the education that takes place during an ecotourism experience is geared toward visitors’ cognitive and emotional state in order to raise awareness, enhance understanding and perhaps even influence his or her attitudes and beliefs. This is in line with the three component of environmental education – cognitive components, affective components and behaviour components.

The cognitive component of education involves creating awareness of the environmental problems that affect the natural site and how people contribute greatly to these adverse effects. This knowledge and understanding is conveyed to ecotourist via the well-trained local guide who knows the land and has been trained in the conservation aspect of the ecotourism operation. The affective component of education encompasses increasing empathy for nature and an attachment to the place. By making the tour experience a fun and enjoyable one, people may develop an association of positive feelings with the natural environment. This might then lead to an attachment to the natural area as well as negative emotions towards the destruction or any threats to the area. Finally, the behavioural component that conveys specific instructions on how people can make more eco-friendly choices can be incorporated into ecotourism activities by getting people to participate in sustainable practices during the trip that they can extend into their daily lives. For example, during the tour, the guides will teach tourist proper waste disposal procedures to minimize waste left in natural sites. These same pro-environmental procedures can be made generalizable to everyday life.

Ultimately, the hope of ecotourism is that people leave the natural site with a greater awareness of the value of nature and how their actions can impact it so that they might turn these lessons into actions.