Læringsutbytte

The students will receive a theoretical and practical introduction to the basic concepts, terms and theories of ecotourism.

- One aim is to elaborate and discuss the concept of ecotourism and its main components.

- A second aim is to illustrate and siscuss how the concept of ecotourism relates to and distinguish itself from other seemingly similar contecpts within tourism (e.g. naturebased tourism, sustainable tourism, adventure tourism, responsible tourism, etc.)

- A third aim is to elaborate the ecological and environmental aspects of the concepts more in detail.

Upon completing the course, the student should have a thorough and broad understanding of ecotourism and its main components, and also some insight into the main challenges and constraints regarding ecotourism development.

Innhold

Principal themes that will be covered during the course:

• History of ecotourism development, international processes and trends
• Definitions of the concepts of ecotourism
• Ecotourists and the ecotourism industry
• Certification and sustainability
• Impacts of ecotourism
• Planning and management of ecotourism

Developing ecotourism requires a good understanding of the challenges that appear in the context of responsible and sustainable tourism, and in relation to tourism in general. The ability to contextualize ecotourism is important. This course will therefore provide insight into and a better understanding of how ecotourism might be defined and how it relates to concepts such as environmental awareness, sustainability, social responsibility and economic profits.

Arbeids- og læringsformer

Lectures, seminars, group work and excursions. Groups of or individual students will work on mid-term papers related to basic concepts, terms and processes of ecotourism.

Vurderingsformer

Assessment is divided into two parts:a mid-term paper with oral presentation will form 40% of the final grade. The other 60% will be based on a 4-hour final written examination. Students must pass both parts in order to receive a passing grade for the course as a whole.

Det tas forbehold om mindre justeringer i planen.