Public perceptions of ecotourism activities and their ‘authenticity’ in regional Australia

As a concept, ecotourism sells both ‘authentic’ nature and ‘authentic’ local culture and experience. Ecotourism has long invited debate surrounding a standard definition of the term itself. Most definitions and descriptions of ecotourism do not directly mention authenticity. When connected to authenticity, ecotourism can be defined as the rarity of the experience, in natural and pristine global environments free from the plunder of human development. Unnaturalness and human interference are eschewed by ecotourists, who wish to avoid any visible exploitation. A survey of households in the Central Queensland region was undertaken as one part of a larger survey: the 2009 Central Queensland Social Survey. The sample of questionnaire respondents included 1,273 persons, aged 18 years or older, who had experienced an ecotourism tour or holiday. The gender breakdown of respondents was 50.2 percent male and 49.8 percent female. Respondents were more favourable in their judgements of ecotourism if they had some previous ecotourism experiences. Women were more favourable towards ecotourism than men. More educated respondents also had more favourable views towards ecotourism. Three quarters of the respondents (75%) indicated a preference for an ecotourism tour or holiday in Australia, either nationally, intrastate or within their local region.