Hi Everyone
Denise Goodfellow makes a good point yesterday, the 10 or so
birdwatching tour operators on this list would identify with it whilst
others on the list would be wondering what she is talking about.
Birdwatching tourism, an ideal "eco" pursuit, would not represent 1%
of "Ecotourism" and would only be about 0.25% of general tourism. This is
not only Australia but would hold true around the world. Presently in
Australia the birdwatching tour operators that I know are participating in
the biggest conservation exercise ever undertaken here, the Bird Atlas.
General tourism, operators, regional associations, state associations, the
Australian Tourism Commission and the Ecotourism Association of Australia
ignore birdwatching tourism, and the atlas, basically because it is not
profitable and too hard.
The responsibility of the industry is to it's investors and the
bureacuracy that forms within it. Disguising this responsibility under
headings of ecotourism, for natural history pursuits, may hoodwink many
tourists but does not fool those of us on the outskirts of general tourism
who work as birdwatching tour operators.
The purpose of this post is in the first paragraph and will
hopefully stimulate some debate. Results of it may help improve the tourism
industry, help its birdwatching operators, help the tourist, and, oh yes,
help the environment.
Cheers
Chris
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Chris Dahlberg's Specialised River Tours. Daintree Village Phone/Fax 4098 7997
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****** Our river tour can be seen on:
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~fnq/daintree/dvta01.html
along with links to other local sites especially
birdwatching.
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