Nature-Based Tour Operators

“Environmentally sensitive, responsible, low-impact, alternative, softpath, and ecotourism are some of the new labels that produce guilt-free travel” (Ocko, 1990: 3). In the case of nature-based tour operators, companies depend on the natural environment for their existence. It is therefore imperative for their long-term survival that tours be environmentally-friendly in more than just their advertising.This paper is based on a study of nature-based tour operators in Australia. The results that are presented here pertain to three of the study objectives. The first of these was to determine the extent to which nature-based tour operators promote themselves as being environmentally-friendly. The second objective was to determine nature-based tour operators' perceptions of themselves as environmentally-friendly operators. The third objective was to explore the ways in which nature-based tour operators can contribute to an environmentally-friendly industry.The results of the study-are used to develop a framework for analysis of environmental-friendliness in future research.