Title: Ecotourism development in a wetland area: between theory and practice

Authors: Noga Collins-Kreiner

Addresses: Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

Abstract: This paper analyses tourism development in the Agmon Lake site in Israel. Demand was assessed by analysing the perceptions of the site held by four different groups of respondents: tourism agents, tourism providers, visitors, and non-visitors. The study applied a methodology of comparative interview analysis to the four surveys. Supply-related aspects were assessed by examining the characteristics of the Agmon Lake site and its development process. The findings show that the differences between mass tourism, ecotourism, and niches such as bird watching continue to narrow and that it is currently extremely difficult – if at all possible – to distinguish between these types of tourism in theory and in practice.

Keywords: ecotourism; bird watching; Hula Valley; Israel; tourism development; supply and demand; wetlands; ecology; ornithology; Lake Agmon; tourism agents; tourism providers; visitors; non-visitors; tourist sites; comparative interview analysis; supply-related aspects; site characteristics; development processes; mass tourism; niche tourism; tourism policy; tourists.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTP.2011.046708

International Journal of Tourism Policy, 2011 Vol.4 No.1, pp.36 - 50

Received: 18 Jan 2011
Accepted: 10 Apr 2011
Published online: 02 May 2012 *

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