Four ecotourism archetypes: expressing symbolic desires

Kunchamboo, V ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1698-8928 and Little, V, 2022. Four ecotourism archetypes: expressing symbolic desires. Journal of Ecotourism. ISSN 1472-4049

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Abstract

Most ecotourism research focuses on logical, expressed desires, while deeper meanings (or symbolic desires), are less well understood, perhaps because elicitation is difficult. Consequently, prior research is relatively limited on the deeper motivations driving ecotourism behaviour. To address that lack, an ethnographic study of nature-based tourism activities in Malaysia and a symbolic interactionist approach is taken to unpack hedonic meaning-making. The data gave rise to four ecotourist archetypes: The champion, the adherent, the acolyte, and the spa-goer, for ecotourists seeking trial, spiritual, learning and purification benefits, respectively. The study provides both greater insight into how to use ethnographic research to elicit symbolic desires in ecotourism, and practitioner support for the design and delivery of more fulfilling nature-based tourism experiences. The archetypes can be viewed as a symbolic benefits-based market segmentation schema, forming the basis for developing more effective targeting, positioning, branding and value propositions for nature-based tourism activities.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Journal of Ecotourism
Creators:	Kunchamboo, V. and Little, V.
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Date:	29 May 2022
ISSN:	1472-4049
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1080/14724049.2022.2077355 DOI 1552695 Other
Divisions:	Schools > Nottingham Business School
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	14 Jun 2022 11:35
Last Modified:	14 Jun 2022 11:35
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/46443

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