Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries with international tourism accounting for 9% of the total GDP and one in every eleven jobs are related to tourism (Meleddu, Pulina, 106, 67). However, tourism by itself leads to various negative externalities on the environment, socio-economy, and local culture (Meleddu, Pulina, 106, 67). For this reason, ecotourism is important and is slowly gaining momentum. Ecotourism can be subdivided or classified into various categories such as sustainable tourism, scientific tourism, nature tourism, cultural tourism and many more. In the past 30 years, there has been a shift in tourism towards sustainability in terms of literature with the focus being on ecotourism and community empowerment (Boley, Maruyama,
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In one of the interviews with the current ecotourism council called the Hanna Ecotourism Promotion Council (HEPC) we found out that there are around 40 groups that provide ecotourism activities to visitors. Most of these activities, however, are provided in Japanese and hence this limits the visitors to being either Japanese people or those who understand the language. Also most of the visitors who participate in ecotourism in Hanno are, on an average, above the age of 50 years.
This presents Hanno City Council with the problem of attracting people who do not speak Japanese or those who are below the age of 50 years. So for our research we focus on ways of promoting ecotourism in Hanno to the foreign visitors, especially those who live in Tokyo or Chiba prefectures. We have defined ‘foreigners’ or ‘foreign visitors’ as people who cannot speak, understand, read or write Japanese language.
There are a number of issues linked with the ecotourism for foreigners in Hanno, the most predominant ones are:
- The number of foreign visitors have increased, but they come independently and not for ecotourism and they do not inform HEPC. HEPC would like to invite foreigners specifically for
In one of the interviews with the current ecotourism council called the Hanna Ecotourism Promotion Council (HEPC) we found out that there are around 40 groups that provide ecotourism activities to visitors. Most of these activities, however, are provided in Japanese and hence this limits the visitors to being either Japanese people or those who understand the language. Also most of the visitors who participate in ecotourism in Hanno are, on an average, above the age of 50 years.
This presents Hanno City Council with the problem of attracting people who do not speak Japanese or those who are below the age of 50 years. So for our research we focus on ways of promoting ecotourism in Hanno to the foreign visitors, especially those who live in Tokyo or Chiba prefectures. We have defined ‘foreigners’ or ‘foreign visitors’ as people who cannot speak, understand, read or write Japanese language.
There are a number of issues linked with the ecotourism for foreigners in Hanno, the most predominant ones are:
- The number of foreign visitors have increased, but they come independently and not for ecotourism and they do not inform HEPC. HEPC would like to invite foreigners specifically for