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ECOCLUB, Issue 90
structure it and present it the way they prefer. Enabling user innovation is another way that companies aim to exploit on users
creativity instead of investigating only on R&D.
Wikis
Wikis are technologies that enable users to add, delete, and in general edit the content of a website. As a result, such websites
develop collaboratively through their users. The most popular is the wikipedia.com website, an online encyclopaedia that is
created and continually updated by its users. In tourism, wikitravel.org represents the effort of Internet users to collaboratively
create and continuously update an online global travel guide. Visitors’, creators’ and content sizes at wikitravel.org are
mushrooming.
In conclusion, Internet users and travellers are nowadays empowered to create and distribute in their own way the content and
the channels through which they wish to distribute it. Web 2.0 technologies enable Internet users to become the co-producers,
the co-designers, the co-marketers and the co-distributors of tourism experiences and services as well as the co-entrepreneurs of
new e-business models. The business implications (threats but also opportunities) that are created for tourism and hospitality
enterprises are tremendous. However, Web 2.0 is here to stay and unless a firm realises its potential and try to exploit it,
unfortunately it will not manage to survive.
? Dr Mariana Sigala lectures in Tourism Management at the Business School, University of the Aegean, Chios, Greece
ECO VIEWPOINT
Urban Ecotourism, a contradiction?
By Yi-Yen Wu
*
& Hsiao-Lin Wang
*
Introduction
Taking the limited usable land of the earth into account and the increasing number of facilities that are available in urban areas,
the importance of developing urban ecotourism has gradually been emphasized by many international originations, such as
Urban Green Tourism Association (UGTA), ECOCLUB International Ecotourism Club, Osaka Tourism Association (OTA).
Even when
the 1st Urban Ecotourism Conference was held online (at Planeta.com & ECOCLUB.com) in September-October
2004, the validity of urban ecotourism was argued, based on ecotourism’s original definition, by many scholars who participated
from more than 12 countries. It appears that when the practical purposes of ecotourism are
discussed, it is better to ruminate
over the potential of urban ecotourism.
Urban ecotourism
It seems that urban ecotourism has not been noticed for decades. But in the book,” The Encyclopedia of Ecotourism”, Lawton &
Weaver (2001) started to argue that urban areas cannot be excluded as ecotourism destinations. They declare that there are urban
areas full of green spaces in developed countries, just like oases in urban deserts, and those spaces can be viewed as ecotourism
destinations. It is highlighted that modified space can provide better opportunities and scope for viewing because of the greater
accessibility to population concentrations (pp. 315, Lawton& Weaver, 2001). Hence, once the idea that relatively ‘natural’ or’
unmodified’ space exists in urban areas, is accepted, there is no strong reason to deny that urbanized areas are regarded as
legitimate ecotourism venues, while the notion of ‘ urban ecotourism’ may still be considered an oxymoron by some. There is
usually disagreement in mentioning urban ecotourism – it is thought of as an impossible conundrum (Kastelein, 2004) even
though urban ecotourism was brought up after reviewing all the definitions of ecotourism.
According to the Osaka Tourism Association website, Urban Ecotourism means tourism that respects the natural ecosystems in a
city. To express this concept, the word “urban” is topped on “ecotourism” (What is Urban Ecotourism, 2006). According to the
definition given at the 1st Urban Ecotourism Conference in 2004, urban ecotourism is simply nature travel and conservation in a
city environment. UGTA (2006) defined Urban Green Tourism (urban ecotourism) as travel and exploration in and around a city
with various advantages. Firstly, Urban Green Tourism (urban ecotourism) provides visitors and residents with a greater
appreciation of the City’s natural and cultural resources. Secondly, it encourages respect and conservation of urban resources
and cultural diversity. Next, it not only enriches local heritage and arts but also benefits the city’s ecological health. Also, it
inspires physically active experiences, as well as intellectually stimulating and socially interactive ones. In addition, it supports
local economies and communities’ accessibility and equitability. The 1st International Urban Ecotourism Conference asked
interested stakeholders to focus on common goals, such as restoring and conserving natural and cultural heritage including
natural landscapes and biodiversity, and indigenous cultures; maximizing local benefits and engaging the local community as
owners, investors, hosts and guides; educating visitors and residents on environmental matters, heritage resources,
sustainability; reducing our ecological footprint
In summary, the content of urban ecotourism is similar to traditional ecotourism. As a result, Lawton& Weaver (2001) tried to
classify urban ecotourism in some potential areas of modified settings, such as parks, cemeteries, golf courses, sewage lagoons
and storm water control ponds, landfill and waste disposal sites, high-rise other structures, zoos and botanical gardens, artificial
reefs, service corridors, and devastated landscapes, which can provide relatively natural environments, enhancing the experience
of tourists, and are easily accessible.
