Ecotourism and Environmental Sustainability: Principles and Practice

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of tourism—what can be implemented and how can this knowledge be transferred to the tourism practitioner? Simply to be critical of the status quo without suggesting realistic alternative approaches is not going to advance practice. Third, and as the editor’s note, ‘‘a challenge to tourism researchers . . . is to direct attention and rigour of method and theoretical application to the structures and management of international tourism. Arguably, this is one of the most significant gaps in our collective understanding of international tourism’’ (p. 695). Unless academics seek to further our understanding of how tourism investment decisions are made and managed, the sector cannot hope to influence pre-investment decisions and eventual planning and implementation protocols. Academics leave themselves open to the charge of being unworldly. Every institution involved in tourism in any way or for whatever purpose should have a copy of this Handbook. With its companion, the Sage Handbook of Hospitality Management (Brotherton & Wood, 2008), these collections offer an important resource for students of tourism and a comprehensive perspective of the current status of our ‘‘industry’’. Carson L. Jenkins: Business School, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G1 4LH, UK. Email

REFERENCE Brotherton, B., & Wood, R. (Eds.). (2008). Sage handbook of hospitality management. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Assigned 17 December 2010. Submitted 9 April 2010. Accepted 21 April 2010.

doi:10.1016/j.annals.2010.07.004 Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 37, No. 4, pp. 1198–1200, 2010 Printed in Great Britain

Ecotourism and Environmental Sustainability: Principles and Practice Edited by Jennifer Hill and Tim Gale. Ashgate Publishing Limited 2009, xvii + 259 pp (figures, tables, index) £55.00 Hbk. ISBN 978-0-7546-7262-3 Teresa C.H. Tao University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong This rich collection covers major principles of eco-tourism including environmental conservation, improvement of local people’s well-being, and enhancement of positive attitudes and desirable behavior in tourists. The volume is divided into three parts. The first introduces eco-tourism and tourism-environment relationships at the local and global scales. The second is devoted to a diverse series of case studies from around the world, incorporating analysis from a range of geographic scales

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and integrating natural- and social-scientific knowledge that often is difficult to separate; still, the section helps readers put things into context. The final part summaries lessons learned from previous chapters and proposes directions for future research. The content is up-to-date and original. The cases presented illustrate a range of critical issues and challenges of interactions between eco-tourism and natural environment. They demonstrate that eco-tourism is being promoted by governments and the tourism sector as a sustainable alternative to mass tourism; however, the damage it causes to the natural environment is not insignificant with respect to the environmental costs of air travel and the potential for disturbing ecosystems through accommodation and activities on site. The book suggests the belief ecotourism is often environmentally benign could be a far bigger problem than some forms of mass tourism, particularly when the term is used as a slogan for marketing strategies driven by profit motives. The cases reveal eco-tourism inevitably is shaped by local politics, economies, cultures, and values. Therefore, it is unwise to apply a single standard to measure success and failure. Also, while the editors and authors tend to have high expectations of eco-tourism, readers should be aware that it is difficult to separate environmental and social changes due to tourism from those attribute to other agents of change. Such awareness reminds us that eco-tourism is not panacea to all problems as Simon Evans illustrates in his look at the roles of eco-tourism in protecting India’s tigers (Chapter 8). Although the book provides practical insights that are suitable for managers in parks and protected areas, tourism businesses, and public agencies, the conceptual base of some chapters could be stronger. The editors note inconsistencies in ecotourism definitions, but do not inform readers of the consequences of such inconsistencies. As a result, several contributors of the books mix, in varying degrees, a supply-side approach in which they emphasize the location or the nature of tourism services and products as a basis for defining eco-tourism, and a demand-side perspective that includes tourist motives, attitudes, and activities. For example, Ken Simpson in Chapter 13 writes, ‘‘. . . if we were to examine any specific example of tourism activity, which involves the pursuit of specific experiences in a specific spatial environment, provided by specific operators to specific visitor groups . . .’’ (p. 227). Lucy Sutherland, in Chapter 12, applies a list of settings/experiences that ranked as most important to eco-tourists in Wight’s study (1997) on relationships of accommodation to eco-tourists’ motivations to examine tour operator and tourist perspectives in the context of botanic gardens in South Africa and Cuba. The list mixes supply the side-approach with demand-side perspectives: 1) remoteness from civilization (supply side), 2) an uncrowded experience (demand side), 3) an opportunity to learn about plants/wildlife/nature (supply side), 4) an opportunity to view animals and plants (supply side), and 5) recreational opportunities that offer a physical challenge (supply side). Further, it is questionable whether the criteria for examining ‘‘true’’ eco-tourism in one setting (accommodation) can directly be applied to another (botanic gardens). Sutherland also assumes all visitors to the botanic gardens are eco-tourists and uses their responses to evaluate whether the two botanic gardens provide can be considered as true eco-tourism experience. The same assumption is also made by Ken Simpson in Chapter 13, ‘‘Foster Gardens meet the criteria of eco-tourism site and all of its visitors are thus eco-tourists by both definition and default’’ (p. 223). This is incorrect assumption. Tao et al. (2004) reveal that a substantial portion of visitors to a national park are not eco-tourists. Whether it is appropriate to directly apply westernized criteria to examine what is ‘‘true’’ eco-tourism experience in less developed countries such as South Africa and Cuba is open to question. Several chapters also need more logical description of their conceptual base. For example, in Chapter 11, Hill and Gough probe whether the attitudes and behavioral intentions of tourists to Australian tropical forests can be improved through

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biodiversity interpretation. They hypothesize that visitor satisfactions are a function of knowledge. However, how the hypothesis is relevant to the topic is questionable, particularly without provision of a theoretical background. In Chapter 6, Emma Stewart and Dianne Draper argue that little research has been done on the environmental effects of Arctic cruising and as a result, its exact consequences are still unknown. Nonetheless, they proposed an integrated coastal management approach for potential issues and this makes the reviewer wonder how useful their approach can be without more clearly describing the forms of Arctic cruise tourism. The objectives of the book are not clear; the book basically just presents applications of certain principles of eco-tourism through a diverse series of case studies. On the positive side, the writing in most chapters is clear and the physical production of the book is of good quality with clear typing, comprehensive indices, and complete and accurate references. Teresa C.H. Tao: Department of Geography, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Email

REFERENCES Tao, T. C. H., Eagles, P. F. J., & Smith, S. L. J. (2004). Profiling Taiwanese ecotourists using a self-definition approach. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 12(2), 149–168. Wight, P. A. (1997). Eco-tourism accommodation spectrum: Does supply match the demand? Tourism Management, 18, 209–220. Assigned 5 October 2009. Submitted 30 April 2010. Accepted 2 May 2010.

doi:10.1016/j.annals.2010.07.005 Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 37, No. 4, pp. 1200–1201, 2010 Printed in Great Britain

Event Management and Sustainability Edited by Razaq Raj and James Musgrave. CABI . 2009, xiv + 266 p. £60.00 Hbk. ISBN: 978-1-84593524-5 Linda M. Robson Endicott College, USA

Event Management and Sustainability has 24 chapters written by 41 contributors based in various areas of Europe. Recognizing the far-reaching impact of the event industry, this book stresses the responsibility that the industry needs to accept with regard to finding a balance between the economic, environmental, and socio-cultural aspects of events. Taking on this responsibility will guarantee sustainability and legacy for both the event industry and the global community at large.