advertising eco-tourism on the internet

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New Media & Society

DOI: 10.1177/146144804044328 2004; 6; 753 New Media Society

Elizabeth R. Dorsey, H. Leslie Steeves and Luz Estella Porras culture

Advertising ecotourism on the internet: commodifying environment and

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ARTICLE

Advertising ecotourism onthe internet: commodifyingenvironment and culture

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ELIZABETH R. DORSEYH. LESLIE STEEVESLUZ ESTELLA PORRASUniversity of Oregon, USA

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AbstractThe increased attention to environmentalism in westernsocieties has been accompanied by a rise in ecotourism,i.e. ecologically sensitive travel to remote areas to learnabout ecosystems, as well as in cultural tourism, focusingon the people who are a part of ecosystems. Increasingly,the internet has partnered with ecotourism companies toprovide information about destinations and facilitate travelarrangements. This study reviews the literature linkingecotourism and sustainable development, as well as priorresearch showing that cultures have been historicallycommodified in tourism advertising for developingcountries destinations. We examine seven websitesadvertising ecotourism and cultural tourism and concludethat: (1) advertisements for natural and cultural spaces arenot always consistent with the discourse of sustainability;and (2) earlier critiques of the commodification of culturein print advertising extend to internet advertising also.

Key wordscommodification • cultural tourism • ecotourism •environment • internet advertising • sustainabledevelopment

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INTRODUCTIONCommunities globally are becoming quickly linked through travel,communications and commerce. Tourism and the internet are agents ofglobalization; both generate the sense of a closer world, one that can bepreviewed by clicking on the appropriate link. Contemporary touristdestinations are exhibited seductively for the virtual consumer’s gaze; theyhave become spaces that sustain consumerism via the standardization ofimages and packaging of landscapes, leading also to a privileging of ‘sights’over ‘sites’ (Holmes, 2001: 5).

Increasingly throughout the 1990s to the present, the internet hasfacilitated transactions between suppliers and consumers of travel and touristpackages. Travel has become the internet’s second largest commerce areaafter computer technology (Sheldon, 1997). In 1999, 52 million Americanswent online to plan travel and make reservations (Sampat, 2000). In 2001,in spite of the declining American economy, nearly a half of internet userspurchased at least one product online and one-fifth of them arranged travelor travel accommodations (UCLA, 2002). Although global travel droppedafter 11 September 2001 there was a quick rebound. By February 2002 NuaInternet Surveys reported that traffic to travel websites had recoveredsubstantially and by March, traffic to travel sites in the US rose by 12percent. As of 1 May 2002, 32 percent of US travelers had used the internetto book travel. Also, the Nua website indicates that tourism accounts forhalf or more of the increased use of the internet for travel information andarrangements over the past two years.

As a reaction to mainstream tourist practices, the alternatives ofecotourism and cultural tourism propose a less exploitive relationship tonatural and cultural environments. The United Nations designated 2002 asthe Year of Ecotourism, in recognition of its potential economic,environmental and social benefits. The information strategies provided bythe internet were a fundamental part of the Year of Ecotourism Conferenceagenda.

In examining internet websites for ecotourism, we assume that they domore than facilitate purchases. As with other forms of advertising, they playa role in providing information and shaping perceptions of the places thatare being marketed. The internet can go beyond traditional advertising incombining vibrant images and sound with text. In some ways, one nolonger needs to leave home to travel (Mowforth and Munt, 1998). Evidencethat domestic users carry out internet research for purposes of self-empowerment (as opposed to turning to experts) and escape from isolationor dull daily routines (Bakardjieva and Smith, 2001) seems to be particularlyrelevant to the use of tourist websites.

A unique feature of tourist information is that the product cannot besampled prior to purchase; rather the buyer reserves future access to the

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product (Pigram and Wahab, 1997). Hence there is a systematic constructionof attractive places in tourist advertisements (Hughes, 1998). As the decisionto purchase a trip is based solely on information, the quality of thatinformation is important in shaping both expectations of the tourismexperience and later satisfaction (Sheldon, 1997; World TourismOrganization, 1999).

We further assume a distinction between perceptions and knowledge.Despite the tremendous influx of information from many sources, ourknowledge of foreign countries and their natural and cultural environmentsmay not be increasing:

The First World can have the whole world on its dinner table. A massed feastof cultural images are placed before us. Ingredients of many cultures, divorcedfrom context, are blended into a hotch-potch global dish. (Boniface andFowler, 1993: 4)

Two questions become central.

(1) Do ecotourism enterprises advertise destinations, landscapes andcultures on the internet in a manner consistent with thediscourse of ecotourism and sustainable development?

(2) Do they represent a different online communication strategy indepicting Third World societies, compared to traditional forms ofadvertising?

In this article, first, we consider tourism as a cultural practice. We focuson ecotourism and cultural tourism as subcategories of tourism, the place ofecotourism and cultural tourism in sustainable development and theincreased role of the internet in marketing destinations. Second, we reviewprior studies on tourism advertising. Finally, we examine seven websites tofind out to what extent ecotourism advertising supports sustainabledevelopment, and whether and how the rise of ecotourism and the internethave changed the way in which destinations are advertised.

TOURISMBetween 1950 and 1990, the number of tourism arrivals increased by anaverage of 7.2 percent per year and the average annual expenditure on travelincreased by 12.3 percent (Cooper, 1997). Reasons for this include advancesin the airline industry and an increase in the affluent people who valuetourism. Also, tourism has proven to be highly profitable in creatingindustries, markets and jobs (Wahab, 1997). Over the last 50 years, tourismhas expanded to become the world’s largest economic sector (World TourismOrganization, 1995). Additionally, it can facilitate cross-culturalunderstanding. According to UNESCO (1997: 10), tourism is ‘the foremostworld vector of cultural exchange’.

Dorsey et al.: Advertising ecotourism on the internet



Critics have noted that the ideals of tourism are not always realized.Impacts on culture are difficult to assess (Robinson, 1999a) and poormanagement can denigrate the very resources that attract tourists (Ringer,1998). Additionally, tourism has been viewed by some as a form of neo-colonialism in which wealthy nations, or centers, project their desires ontoless developed nations or peripheries (Boniface and Fowler, 1993; Selwyn,1996). As a result, tourist destinations become ‘tourist spaces’, defined bytheir ability to attract customers. This leads to a commodification of space(Rojek, 1998) and obliges host communities to reproduce themselves forconsumption (Boniface and Fowler, 1993).

Postmodern critics also address the inauthentic nature of most touristexperiences. Typical destinations are like bubbles: safe, controlled andmediated environments that resemble internet virtual spaces. In his study oftheme parks, Ostwald (2001) argues that however fictional, stereotypical andbanal, these experiences ‘in bubbles’ help the tourist to find a state ofanonymous enjoyment. Auge (1995) suggests that theme parks, casinos,shopping malls, airports and resorts are invented ‘non-places’ in having littleor no historical or cultural connection to physical localities. Citing Auge,Holmes (2001) notes that these non-places are the physical manifestations ofthe time–space compression familiar to internet travelers (Holmes, 2001:26–8).

ECOTOURISM AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTGetz (1986) traces the evolution of western tourism from its predominantlyeconomic role to its attempt to fit a sustainable development paradigm.Increasingly, scholars and policymakers have researched the impact oftourism on landscapes and cultures. At the same time, tourists have soughtmore ecologically- and culturally-sound experiences, leading to an increasein travel to developing countries.

This trend can be understood from several perspectives. Some scholarsnote a correlation with the evolution of consumer culture. Mowforth andMunt (1998) state that the postmodern crisis of representation is marked bya shift from the consumption of goods to the consumption of services, inwhich people are defined not by possessions, but by lifestyle. One way ofdoing this is to travel to other, more ‘primitive’ worlds.

Similarly, Edwards (1996: 201) views tourism as a ritual journey from the‘ordinary’ to the ‘non-ordinary’. Through this journey, tourists gainknowledge, which they expect will make them better people and willovercome the alienation of modern society. Furthermore, tourists strive to‘transcend modern homogeneity’ through the celebration of globaldifference (Wirosardjono, 1992: 196).

Developing countries’ societies, especially the most remote areas, areviewed as ‘pre-modern’, ‘natural’ and somehow more authentic and whole




than modern societies (Selwyn, 1996). According to Mowford and Munt(1998), this expansion of the possibilities of tourism – to increasingly remotedestinations – parallels what Marxist philosopher David Harvey (1989) calls atime–space compression, in which capitalists overcome barriers of distanceand time in their economic relations. This phenomenon is aided by theinternet, as we will discuss shortly.

Referred to by many names, including adventure tourism, alternativetourism, green tourism, nature tourism, sustainable tourism and landscapetourism, this ‘new’ brand of tourism is characterized by travel to ‘unspoiled’areas and is marketed as low impact and ecologically sound. A study by theUS Travel Data Center revealed that American travelers on average wouldspend 8.5 percent more for travel services and products fromenvironmentally responsible suppliers. Furthermore, 43 million US travelerssaid that they would take an ecotourism trip in the next three years (TravelIndustry Association of America, 1992, see Wight, 1994). The tourismindustry took the hint and began to realize that ‘green’ sells.

However, the precise definition of ecotourism is a matter of interpretationand many use the term as little more than a marketing tool (Acott et al.,1998). The International Ecotourism Society (TIES, http://www.ecotourism.org/index.htm), a non-profit organization dedicated topromoting sustainable ecotourism worldwide, defines ecotourism as‘responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment andsustains the well-being of local people’.

In essence, then, ecotourism is defined by its sustainability. However, theword ‘sustainability’ is also subject to debate. Gartner (1997) points out that‘sustainable’ is a value-positive word that is embraced by the majoritywithout consideration of its meaning. Wall (1997) views ‘sustainabledevelopment’ as a catchphrase that has gathered widespread support, eventhough it is simultaneously used as a political tool, philosophy, developmentstrategy and product. He also notes that ‘sustainable development’ is anoxymoron in its simultaneous promotion of change and lack of change.

Although tourism is not even mentioned in the most referenced earlydocument on sustainable development, Our Common Future (WorldCommission on Environment and Development, 1987), tourism andsustainability since have been entwined in scholarship, policy discussions andthe market. Robinson (1999a) points out that ecotourism is one of theeasiest means for countries to implement a sustainable developmentprogram, as it can lead to a rapid generation of currency with minimalinvestment as compared to manufacturing. It is also less invasive thanforestry, mining and other forms of development (Time, 1999).

Robinson further points out the tensions and contradictions involved inblending concepts and practices of tourism and sustainable development:




Indeed, we can view sustainable development as essentially a cultural constructborne of an uneasy mixture of first world angst, guilt and a desire for thepreservation of the ‘quality of life’. By framing sustainable tourism between thetwo opposing poles of economic development and environmental quality weare following a traditional pattern of environmentalist debate and failing topenetrate the deeper and more meaningful value-systems upon which bothdepend. (1999a: 383)

Many scholars note that often, sustainable ecotourism may refer to thepreservation of natural resources for the benefit of the tourism industry,which has an obvious vested interest in preserving the environment. Hence,ecotourism is consistent with the other forms of capitalist appropriation(Mowforth and Munt, 1998; Robinson, 1999a; Ross and Wall, 1999).Additionally, ecotourism can increase the reliance of indigenouscommunities on the global economy and weaken cultural bonds throughcommodification (McLaren, 1999). Despite these risks, more and morecountries are developing ecotourism, allowing western consumers topenetrate even the most isolated of cultures (Epler Wood, 1999).

Because of the link between ecotourism and sustainability, the industryhas initiated highly-visible discussions on sustainable development. Forexample, the Symposium on Tourism Diversity and Information, held inFrance in 2000, emphasized factors that define sustainability for ecotourism(Di Castri and Balaji, 2002):

• diversification of tourist activities;• connectivity among stakeholders (local population, tourist

operators, planners, managers, tourists); and• empowerment of local people as entrepreneurs.

Additionally, the World Ecotourism Summit of the World TourismOrganization, held in Quebec in 2002, focused primarily on sustainabledevelopment principles (World Ecotourism Summit, 2002; World TourismOrganization, 2001). Key topics were:

• planning toward sustainability in ways that involve localcommunities;

• monitoring and regulating at the national level;• marketing strategies via the internet; and• cost benefits of sustainable ecotourism.

CULTURAL TOURISM AND COMMODIFICATIONCultural tourism is a type of ecotourism emphasizing the people that are apart of natural landscapes (Prentice, 1997). At first glance, this is a benignand positive notion. The Global Code of Ethics put forth by the WorldTourism Organization (2002) states, in article 4–4, that:




Tourism activity should be planned in such way as to allow traditional culturalproducts, crafts and folklore to survive and flourish, rather than cause them todegenerate and become standardized.

These ideas fit well with the construct of sustainable tourism. However,like other forms of ecotourism, cultural tourism has not escaped criticism.

Cultural tourism has a tendency to reveal cultures as they once were, notas they are, reflecting a view of culture as static and unchanging (Butcher,1997; Ringer, 1998; Robinson, 1999b). This idea conflicts withindustrialization, which obliterates agrarian, hunting or nomadic societiesand co-opts them into the nation state (Rojek, 1998). The result of thecompeting forces of development and preservation is that traditional societiesmust exhibit their ‘primitiveness’ for tourists, while their real lives aremarked by change. A prime example is the Kagga Kamma Bushmen of theKalahari, who work by day at a tourist resort where they practice thetraditions of their forefathers in a model village. In reality, they live awayfrom the village in tin-roofed houses, wear baseball caps and listen to rapmusic (Boynton, 1997).

The process of cultural commodification, of reducing cultures to ritualsand handicrafts for consumption, is widely criticized by scholars. First, thecommodification of culture, as the Bushmen example attests, fetishizescultures and hides the social relations that contribute to the production ofcommodities. Tourism places tourists in a position of dominance relative tolocal people who sell souvenirs and demonstrate their traditions (Mowforthand Munt, 1998). Second, noted earlier, to view a culture as static is todeny the dynamic nature of culture and therefore to deny the culture itself.Third, the presence of tourists can alter traditional cultures (Hughes, 1998;Robinson, 1999b). Fourth, the celebration of difference disaggregateshumanity and denies the similarities that bind people (Butcher, 1997). Forinstance, cultural tourism defines ‘other’ by the link between environmentand culture, thereby denying a connection between the two in Westernnations that supply tourists:

Indeed, it is the search for glimpses of ‘closeness’ between nature and culturewhich is at the root of the expansion of alternative, eco and ethnic tourism;what we no longer have, or think we don’t have, we seek elsewhere(Robinson, 1999a: 381).

Other scholars note benefits of cultural tourism, particularly in exposingtourists to alternative lifestyles and revealing ‘the socially constructedcharacter of our beliefs and values’ (Rojek, 1998: 38). Cultural tourismleads to a ‘fuller view of oneself ’ (Wirosardjono, 1992: 197). For the hostcountry, it can lead to a development of pride in its cultures and enablelocal communities to control their own development (Enright, 1992).




One example is Bhutan, where the government retains tight control overtourism, limiting foreign visitors to 5000 a year (for comparison, 400,000foreigners visit Nepal every year) and all visits are arranged throughgovernment sanctioned travel agencies (Park, 1999). However, Bhutan maybe the exception. For instance, Cancun in the early 1970s was inhabited byjust 12 families. Now, Cancun receives 2.6 million visitors a year andsupports 20,000 hotel rooms and a permanent population of 300,000 people(Park, 1999). In most contexts, local participation in tourism is anafterthought. One study, for example, showed that Maori control of tourismin New Zealand accounts for less than 1 percent of the tourism industrythere (Robinson, 1999b).

TOURISM ADVERTISINGInternet advertisingFor the reasons noted above, ecotourism and cultural tourism constitute anexpanding industry. Because of their popularity, it is useful to address howdestinations are advertised, particularly on the internet, which is rapidlybecoming the center of tourism commerce. According to article 6–6 of theGlobal Code of Ethics for Tourism:

The press and particularly the specialized travel press and other media,including modern means of electronic communication . . . should provideaccurate and reliable information of tourism services; the new communicationsand electronic commerce technologies should also be developed and used forthis purpose. (World Tourism Organization, 2002)

There are now thousands of home pages for tourism suppliers, in additionto many chat rooms, electronic bulletin boards and news groups. Theinternet is convenient and inexpensive, allowing remote and small tourismoperations to market themselves (Buhalis, 1998; Schley, 1997). Also, manysites make use of computer-based reservation facilities and multimediatechnology (Connell and Reynolds, 1999).

However, according to Sampat (2000), the optimism for democraticinternet communication is tempered by the fact that the web isconcentrated: 80 percent of the traffic goes to just 15,000 popular sites.Additionally, most internet users are from the western world and mostecotourism destinations are in the developing world (Rojek, 1998). In asense, the use of the internet mirrors access to travel. Internet usage ispredominantly in the US, though there has been significant growth inEurope, Asia and Australia. The US, Europe and Japan account for 79percent of the world’s internet population. These nations also account for 41percent of foreign tourism expenditure (World Tourism Organization, 1999).

Though the internet can potentially allow people in destination countriesto take a larger role in the control of tourism, the reality is that sufficient




infrastructure does not yet exist in most developing countries. For example,Kenya has noted an influx of foreigners who come to gather information inorder to return to Europe and America and develop tourism websites. As aresult, the Tourism, Trade and Industry Minister of Kenya urged the nationaltourism sector to move faster in creating its own websites.

The use of the internet was a major point in the agenda of theInternational Ecotourism Summit in Quebec in 2002. Documents note anincreasing interest in reaching consumers through internet marketingstrategies. Elements of internet messages should be: ‘raising awareness,strengthening impact control and preventing environmental damage’ (WorldTourism Organization, 2001: 5). The documents also express concern aboutthe explosion of websites that facilitate direct transactions between suppliersand consumers, because such transactions may eventually undermineconsumers’ faith in the products. The use of ecolabels and control ofcommunication by certified ecotourism operators is recommended forethical marketing.

One active voice from the ecotourism sector is Ron Mader, who hasdesigned workshops and websites on ethical internet marketing. Hecomplains that many websites do not specify why tours are environmental, orhow they benefit local conservation efforts. He recommends information andeducational ingredients that would attract environmentally consciouscustomers in a win-win scenario for all the stakeholders, including travelers,travel agencies, conservation groups and national governments (Mader, 2002).

Traditional advertisingWhile there has been little or no analysis thus far of internet representationsof tourism, there have been many studies of the content of traditionaladvertisements.

Britton (1979) examined themes in the marketing of Third World touristdestinations, concluding that advertising portrays destinations – like otherproducts – in a favorable manner, neglecting the actual poverty ofdestinations. Britton grouped the images of destinations according to sixthemes: exotic; the ‘pastoral myth’ (i.e. urban areas are rarely shown);minimization of foreignness (exotic, but still friendly); incorporation fortourist enjoyment (e.g. ‘America’s treasure island’); romanticization of localsocieties; and the making of inauthentic places (i.e. tourist ‘non-places’).Thus, the world conveyed through tourist images is sanitized and idealizedin a process of commodification.

Albers and James (1988) studied travel postcards historically. They citedStuart Hall, among others, to argue that photography is not a window onreality, but rather a subjective process in which the photographer selects andshapes images. They concluded that in communicating ethnicity throughphotography, the tourism industry produces a homogenization,




decontextualization and mystification of culture. This is accomplishedthrough the artificial posing of subjects, a focus on ‘exotic’ people and on‘happy scenes’. They also suggest that tourists may seek out the realitybehind postcard images. When they find it, they reproduce it in their owntravel slides or photographs, thereby perpetuating the decontextualization.

Cohen (1993) also examined travel postcards plus other tourism souvenirs,concluding that there is an incongruity between the images and the socio-political situations of the people depicted. This is partly because images ofcultures are usually produced by outsiders. Additionally, he noted that mosttourist images fall easily into four metaphoric categories: beautiful, exotic,cute and comic (Cohen, 1993: 43–45).1

Dann (1996) analyzed representations of native people in brochures foreleven destinations. He noted four groupings of images: paradise contrived,where there are no people except for an occasional native in thebackground; paradise confined, where the only people are tourists; paradisecontrolled, where natives are depicted as servants, entertainers and vendors;and paradise confused, where natives are depicted as seducers, or asdestinations in and of themselves.

Edwards (1996) studied modern postcards to update Albers and James(1988). She notes that newer postcard photos have taken on a more historicdocumentary appearance, adding authenticity and connecting authenticitywith ‘pastness’.

Print advertisements, brochures and postcards all use captions and text toadd meaning to the images. Mowforth and Munt (1998) point out that thewords selected can influence our ability to decide what is true and false.Albers and James (1988) note that postcard captions are frequently‘poeticized’, which creates a mythical and dreamlike frame of reference.Edwards’ (1996: 201) postcard study suggests that words and phrases such as‘journey of lifetime’, ‘unique experience’ and ‘never-to-be-forgotten’reinforce the perception that indigenous cultures have a sacred quality thatmakes them potentially life-changing for visitors. Hughes (1998: 19) addsthat these words and phrases ‘come, in time, to stand, like icons, logos, ormottoes, as shorthand statements of their [indigenous] character’.

Studies of language have also noted a shift from words such as ‘budgetand affordable’ to more value-laden language, such as ‘small groups’,‘indigenously owned’ and ‘supporting local economic development’ (Wight,1994: 45). Mowforth and Munt (1998: 200, emphasis in original) note thatalthough the language now used to promote ecotourism is different than inthe past, it is still just as narrow: ‘Instead of words such as pleasure, relaxation,carefree, resort and so on, the new tourism plays heavily on words such asconservation, ecology, responsible, environmental and so on’. Other commonlyused words include: discovery, exploration, understanding, peace,sustainability, energy, adventure and education.




INTERNET REPRESENTATIONS OF TOURISMTo examine ecotourism and cultural tourism advertising on the internet, weused multiple search engines to select seven websites that promoted eco-friendly tours. Our initial criteria for consideration were that the sites:

(1) represented well-established companies that offered more thanone or two tours;

(2) claimed to offer ‘sustainable’ tours;(3) specified that culture was the primary focus of at least some of

the tours; and(4) specified developing countries as primary destinations.

Additionally, we sought websites with fairly extensive information aboutthe cultures and trips, including a variety of both photographs and text.Finally, we selected sites advertising varied geographical destinations.2

We emphasize that this is a case study of seven websites. Thousands ofecotourism websites may be found and the fluidity of the internet meansthat none of them provide stable sources of information. All of them changefrequently and did so over the duration of this study. Additionally, websitesdisappear periodically and new sites become available. We believe that ourcriteria for selection and our analysis provide useful insights in order toaddress our questions and provide a foundation for further research.

We did not systematically address how the cultures advertised actually arein comparison to how they are represented, except to note an absence ofadequate context in most instances. We assumed that with the interactivetechnologies and the space available on the internet, destinations could bepresented more comprehensively than in other forms of advertising, withconsiderable information on indigenous societies and on local environmentalconcerns.

We specifically addressed two questions, noted earlier: do ecotourismenterprises advertise destinations on the internet in a manner consistent withthe discourse of ecotourism and sustainable development? Do they representa different online communication strategy in depicting Third World societies,as compared to traditional forms of advertising?

The methodology for the study was a qualitative textual analysis,emphasizing the in-depth examination of the content of the seven websites.Manning and Cullum-Swan (1994) divide the analysis of documentary datainto the following categories: content and narrative analysis, structuralismand semiotics. According to their system, our study is a ‘macrotextualnarrative analysis’, which views texts as ‘symbolic action’ and assumes therole of words and images in representing, dramatizing and shaping society(Manning and Cullum-Swan, 1994: 465). In this form of analysis, theresearcher typically identifies and interprets the ways in which a particular




• Table 1 Comparison of visual and internet elements of the websites

WEBSITE

VISUAL ELEMENTS

LAYOUT PICTURES GRAPHICS

INTERNET OPTIONS

BANNERS/ICONS/ANIMATION INTERACTIVITY COMMENTS

HiddenCultures

Conventional; 5frames; mainly text;plain background.

24 photos. Local groupshunting, men with snakes, bodypainting, genitalia ornaments,spears, ritual ceremonies.Amateur quality.

5 maps(plain).

Identificationbanner.

Low Small site; emphasison primitive; lowsophistication.

West AfricanJourney

Basic layout; noframes; plainbackground;sidebar menu; nobanners.

29 photos. Casual everydayactivities (farming, cooking,selling, herding); 9 picturesdepict landscapes of city life; andarchitecture. Amateur quality.

Clickablemap; clipart;flags; TIESseal.

None Low Straightforward textrealistic images.Low sophistication.

DiscoveryInitiatives

Distinctivehomepage: puzzleof high-qualityphotos. Otherpages: 3 frames;boxes; top icon-bar.

Over 100 pictures, 3 to 5 perdestination. Mostly wildlife andlandscapes. Three countries showpeople. Homepage shows theWestern founder in explorer’sclothes. Professional quality.

Interactiveworld map.

12 icons; 6banners; pop-upmessages; friendlyprint; newsletters.

High customizationin 12 categories;search site tool.

Animals, humansand scenery part ofthe same puzzle toexplore. Highsophistication.

NomadicExpeditions

One column frame;blank spaces;elegant backgroundof Mongolian art;side menu bar.

32 photos: landscapes,Mongolians horseback riding,celebrating the Golden EagleFestival, local children, thefounder and paleontologistsexcavating. Professional quality.

ClickableMongol artlogo; soundeffect; TIESseal.

6 banners persection include onead banner; originalancient art icons.

Mediume-brochure emailtrip info request.

Small site. Ancientaesthetic design,with cultural vistas.Mediumsophistication.

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Asian PacificJourneys

Homepage has full-size photo ofjungle river;contains frame ofinteractive iconsand menu bar;banner; tool bar;consistent layoutfor other pages.

Over 100 high-quality colorfulpictures, 4 per destination.Additional gallery, with someart-like images (credits forartists). Most depict ‘perfect’natural, empty scenery. Culturalimages of ruins, anonymoustemples. People are shown asfleeting stereotypic images.

PDF versionof each tripincludesmaps.

Logotype of thecompany; ‘motion’banners.

Highly interactive;newsletter; searchtools; customizationtools; interactivegallery.

Large site. Easy tonavigate. Art-like,postcard imagery.Mediumsophistication.

EcuadorExplorer-Ecotours

Non-distinctivehomepage; 3column frames;side menu bars; 4columns of text.All sections withsimilar layout.

16 Amazon forest photos in the‘eco’ section: 6 of fauna andlandscapes, 10 of natives mining,hunting, plus storytellers’ facesexplaining rituals. Contextprovided. Subsections showvisitors, volunteers, NGOworkers. Spontaneous settings.Amateur quality.

Clickablemaps ofregions,climate, androads.

Ad banners ofcruises toGalapagos Island donot match to thestyle of the site.

Despite searchengine and surveys,the site does notoffer high levels ofinteractivity.

Part of a larger site.Amateur butrealistic imageswith contextualinfo. Emphasis ontext. Mediumsophistication.

MountainTravel Sobek

Homepage: full sizephoto of Antarcticexpedition; boxeswith trips of themonth; trip-findertool. Consistentlayout; sectionbanners; top barmenus.

Over 100 high-quality photos ofthe 64 destination countries; 5for each of the 12 types ofactivities (kayaking hiking, etc).45 postcards on scenery, animalsand people. Natives weartraditional clothes in ruralsettings; no context. Visitors(white men) scale mountains.Names for expedition foundersand guides.

Each of theover 100touristpackageshave clearroute maps.TIES seal.

Banners identifyactivities, regions,types of trips;boxes explain the 5levels of difficulty;clear icons.

Highly interactivewell-organized;video clips; slideshows, interactivegallery; newsletter;search tool; tripfinders; tripcustomization.

NationalGeographic-styleimages emphasizelandscapes andachievements ofvisitors. Highsophistication.

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point of view (e.g. sustainable environment or cultural sensitivity andauthenticity) is supported or undermined in images and texts. Narrativetechniques, including the use of cultural symbols and contextual frames(Entman, 1993), may be interpreted as supportive (or not supportive) of thepositions or perspectives in question.

Further, given the importance of visuals in ecotourism advertising, wedrew upon suggestions from Rose (2001: 189). Rose recommendsexamining a wide variety of compositional elements in the analysis of visualtexts. These may include: overall layout, presence and nature of pictures,presence and nature of graphics and the use of banners or icons.Additionally, we sought information on features that were unique to theinternet, such as links to other websites, extent of interactivity andcustomization and the overall sophistication of the site as compared to theother sites. A comparative summary of this information is presented inTable 1.

To address the first research question, our analysis sought evidence ofconcern for the environment both in general and specific to the destinationsadvertised. Such evidence could include contextual information that isrelevant to sustainable environment, information on how the ecotourismsupports a sustainable environment (including people as a part of it), howvisitors may choose to help and/or links to environmental websites.

The second question considers to what extent the online advertisingoffers messages that are consistent with prior studies of traditionaladvertising. As prior studies reveal considerable commodification of nativepeoples and cultures, this aspect of the websites was scrutinized in particular.

In the following discussion, we assess each website in view of our tworesearch questions. We document evidence for our interpretations, but alsorecognize that our interpretations are not complete and that others mightmake different interpretations. As van Zoonen (1994: 146) argues, thequalitative researcher’s task is ‘to find a balance between faithfullyreconstructing the meanings, definitions and interpretations’ of thoseexamining the research material and ‘an an analytic and encompassingpicture’ that illuminates the questions under study.

Hidden CulturesThis company (http://hiddencultures.com) offers five package tours tovillages of Irian Jaya. According to their website, the focus ‘is culturalexpeditions which promote the preservation of and respect for, the fantasticindigenous people of Irian Jaya’. Links are included to Irian Jaya websites.Overall, Hidden Cultures is the least sophisticated website in the group (seeTable 1 above).

The ecotourism focus is on local culture. Of the 24 photographs, onlytwo are of landscapes and the rest are of native people. The website does not




seriously discuss either cultural or environmental sustainability, and it offersno information on, or links to, the conservation of natural resources, or thepotential role of local people or tourists in conservation. However, thecompany’s credo – ‘We avoid leaving any trace of us’ – does at leastrecognize that a western presence might compromise the sustainability ofthe environment or its communities.

The sole sustainable development goal for the tour appears to be‘incenting them (local people) to keep their traditions and rituals alive’, i.e.sustaining indigenous practices for the benefit of tourists. Otherwise, the sitefails to address just how and why ‘hidden’ communities become involved inthe tours and agree to share their practices with western tourists. Nor arethere suggestions as to how the tours provide opportunities forempowerment, as recommended by TIES.

Photographs of native people show them working and dressed intraditional clothing, with the majority of men wielding spears. In all photos,the people appear oblivious to the camera (except for one posed shot ofyoung boys holding spears), supporting the notion that tourists are just‘observers and guests’ with no cultural impact. The only photo where alocal person appears to be having fun includes a white westerner smilingand holding a native man’s hand.

References to the host cultures refer to their primitiveness. They arecalled ‘people from a previous millennium’, ‘remote’, ‘traditional’, ‘warrior-cannibals’, ‘untouched’ and ‘among the last hunter-gathers left on earth’.While the emphasis is on their exotic qualities, their friendliness is alsostressed: ‘people who might appear to be from a previous millennium, butwho could easily be your friend and neighbor’.

The overall representation is consistent with that described by Britton(1979) and Albers and James (1988) who observed that often, destinationswere represented as exotic but friendly. Additionally, the ‘adventure’ is theterm to describe the tours. The tours are presented as a personal challenge,an invitation to be a member of a kind of ‘Survivor’ episode. Although thetourist activities offered do not present great rigor, the message is that theexperience will be life-changing, as Edwards (1996) found in his postcardstudy. In sum, the destinations are idealized in the commodification process.Although the site includes links to Irian Jaya websites, pointing the reader tocontextual information, the website itself includes little historical, cultural orenvironmental information.

West African JourneyThis company (www.westafricanjourney.com) offers tours and homestays in14 West-African countries, through which participants can learn aboutmusic, dance, ecology, healing arts and handicrafts. The website is not highly




sophisticated, but does provide considerable information on every countryand links to sources of news, history and culture.

The company emphasizes the small groups and low impact of the tours.It includes a basic definition of ecotourism: ‘responsible travel to naturalareas which conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of localpeople’. It also includes suggestions on how to be an ecotraveler. The tipsare connected to principles of sustainability. For example, the companyencourages prior education about the destination, sensitivity to localcustoms, the consumption of local foods and products and the use oflocally-owned transportation to benefit the host community. Also, it warnsabout purchasing goods produced from endangered species. The TIES sealand a statement of its principles bring credibility to the site.

The site devotes much space to dispelling commonly-held assumptionsabout Africa, e.g. that it is plagued by revolutions, disease, famine and bugs;there are dangerous animals; transportation is difficult; and that it isunbearably hot.

Photographs show images of men and women laboring: cooking, makingcrafts, carrying food baskets, herding livestock and growing crops. Picturesalso include urban scenes, the city’s skyline and colorful buses. Most photosshow people in traditional clothing, although some show western styles.While this company does not elaborate on the primitiveness of the culturesas in the previous example, it points out that the local people still practicethe same traditions that they have done for centuries. The homepage statesthat:

[The visitor will find] youngsters having fun on a cart pulled by brayingdonkeys. The family gathered in the afternoon shade for three rounds oftraditional Arab tea. Sitting under a baobab tree philosophizing with villageelders. Such is a typical afternoon in this West African village and you can bepart of it!

Despite mentions of timeless traditions, this website shows diverse imagesof countries in a less exotic way than many other sites. It depicts culturalchanges, urban settings and history. The site provides information aboutenvironmental problems and links to background information. Theinformation on ancient African empires is unusual in providing a culturaland historical context from pre-colonial times.

Discovery InitiativesThis sophisticated website (www.discoveryinitiatives.com) includes over 100pictures of its 27 destinations on all continents. The site offers customizationin 12 categories (related to the intensity of physical challenge, type ofactivity and degree of comfort that is desired), plus tailor-made trips.

The tours are mostly sightseeing visits to natural areas. Eco-friendly safarisaim to ‘discover’ and experience nature without using rifles but cameras.




Most of the pictures depict natural scenes: savannas, mountains and desertsand wildlife such as gorillas, pandas and whales. Photos of people or ofcultural artifacts are scarce on this site.

This website emphasizes sustainable development, which is understoodprimarily as natural resources and animal conservation. The companyextends this commitment to the visitor by suggesting that ‘your journeyprovides the economic, ethical and environmental incentives to conservesuch areas for future generations’. The fact that some proceeds fundconservation programs such as the one in the Galapagos Islands helps tosupport this claim, along with claims of Fair Trade partnerships with thelocal communities visited.

The logos of 13 different non-governmental organizations (NGOs) suchus The Gorilla Foundation and the Tusk Trust on the homepage of the siteadditionally suggest mutual concerns that help to legitimize the seriousnessof the company’s environmental propose. Links are provided to furtherenvironmental information, including articles on global warming and thedangers of the gorilla’s extinction.

While this website is quite progressive in its presentation of the naturalenvironment, its limited depictions of people reflect findings of previousadvertising studies. For example, one of the few descriptions of people statesthat Tibetans live in ‘picturesque villages’, are ‘friendly’, ‘ancient’ and ‘stillwear their traditional colorful clothing’. Meanwhile the visitors are called‘discoverers’ (after the name of the company and also its newsletter),emphasizing the western/non-western distinction.

The company also states that it makes every effort to preserve localcultures. However, no historical or political/economic information isprovided about the countries involved, beyond links to environmental sites,as previously noted. Additionally, the experience itself reflects the findings ofprevious advertising studies in emphasizing adventure without risk.

Nomadic ExpeditionsThis company (www.nomadicexpeditions.com) offers 10 different toursvarying in duration and intensity to Mongolia, China, Nepal and Tibet;however, the main emphasis is on discovering the natural and culturalwonders of nomads in Mongolia. This medium-sophisticated websitesuggests an aesthetic of ancient culture. Links connect the user to lodgeadvertisements and to TIES.

The site emphasizes the sustainability of the nomadic culture. One way toprovide support is via charitable donations, a strategy that is not necessarilyenvironmentally sustainable, but a way of showing the company’scommitment to host communities. The site also includes considerablediscourse emphasizing mutual respect and sensitivity to cultural difference,claiming that Mongolian educators and local experts work together to create




a ‘truly cross cultural perspective’. At the same time, there is no informationon just how the tourist experience supports either sustainability or cross-cultural understanding. The participation of the western tourist in nomadicadventures is not explained, but simply depicted as ‘friendly’ and ‘inspiring’.The willingness of nomads to share their journeys with foreigners and theresulting costs and benefits are not addressed.

External partners such as museums and foundations are called ‘Clientswith a Cause’, because their goal is to preserve the local cultural heritage.Photos of scientists excavating provide some evidence of this interest incultural preservation.

Again, the representation of local people is consistent with traditionaladvertising studies. The tourist participates in ancient cultures by ‘discoveringthis land of nomadic horsemen and traditions dating to the time of ChingisKhan’. Adjectives used to describe native people and their villages include:‘last remaining’, ‘inaccessible’, ‘mythical’, ‘age-old’, ‘legendary’, ‘unspoiled’,‘ancient’, ‘pristine’, ‘proud’ and ‘isolated’. Photographs show deserts, yaks,nomads riding horses, people hard at work and ancient artwork.

Despite much rhetoric of ‘adventure’, tourists have the option to observe‘cultural treasures’ from a comfortable position. The best example is the‘Lost Cities private jet tour’ that takes tourists, in a single trip, fromUzbekistan to Cambodia passing though four countries. The advertisementrecommends seeing the ‘timeless’, ‘mysterious and ancient cultures’ in onesingle trip. This form of tourism clearly does not relate to sustainablepractices but groups multiple cultures into one package for observation fromthe air. All the travel details are taken care of to make the tourist’s dream areality.

Asia Transpacific JourneyThis sophisticated website (www.southeastasia.com) claims that the companyis the expert in ‘our corner of the world’, a corner formed by 24 countries.Most of the images are unlabeled natural scenes, although some ‘cultural’photos show isolated ruins, ancient architecture, towers of anonymoustemples and washing hanging out to dry in an unknown street. The siteoffers a high level of interactivity and links to charitable projects and generalinformation on the countries, such as CNN Asia. There are noenvironmental links.

This company’s understanding of sustainable development is quitesuperficial, but includes both culture and environment: ‘[it facilitates] cross-cultural understanding, encourages environmental sustainability and fulfillslong-held personal dreams’. The site claims to promote positive experiencesbetween the tourist and hosts via a page called ‘our commitment’, whichdisplays a photo of two hands shaking, one pale, the other dark. The




company also has a charitable component that supports grass-rootsorganizations, primarily to benefit children.

The ‘nature’ dimension of the tours consists of ‘intimate tribal visits’,rainforest walks and tours related to projects for endangered species (e.g. apanda preserve program in China). Descriptions of the tours do notseriously connect to sustainability by providing environmental informationor explaining how the tours benefit the environment. Rather, theyemphasize that the places are unspoiled, remote and offer opportunities tosee the rainforest and wild animals. This shows how the discourse on places,their environment and culture is constructed as separate from localinitiatives, programs or debates on the environment issues. In fact,sustainability is little more than a catchword to draw customers with aninterest in nature and culture.

The trips emphasize the ahistorical and acontextual cultures to beencountered: ‘This is a tropical paradise with a surprising wealth oftraditional cultures. It remains untouched.’ As for other companies, the localpeople are exotic, yet friendly: ‘There are few places where the visitor is sotaken by the exotic and yet feels at home so quickly.’ The word ‘exotic’ isused throughout the site, as are the words ‘traditional’, ‘remote’, ‘gentle’,‘gracious’, ‘spiritual’ ‘unspoiled’, ‘removed in time’, ‘primitive’, ‘fearsomeappearance’ and ‘pre-Stone Age’. (‘Despite their fearsome appearance – wildfeathered headdresses, boar’s tusk nose ornaments and imposing penis gourds– the Dani are among the most gentle people we’ve encountered’.) Photosare of professional postcard quality. Some include captions that are as vagueas ‘girl from the north’, ‘tribal woman’, ‘friendly Balinese’ and ‘marketvendor’. There are just a few photos of tourists, two posing with localpeople.

The customization further reinforces the superficiality of the encounters.The website customizes trips according to the terrain/activity selected (land,cruise or diving) or the travel style (romantic, cultural or active). Knowingabout places and local cultures is secondary, as the place can be any thatmatches the emotional state or activity interest of the customer, The site alsooffers customized gifts. The place as a package becomes a construction ofthe itinerary created by the site. For example, ‘romantic’ (‘Opulent India’),or ‘cultural’ (‘The Treasures of Siam’) could be given as a present throughthe site. Hence the destinations are practically interchangeable on this site,reminiscent of Auge’s (1995) ‘non-places’.

Educador Explorer Eco-ToursThis site (www.ecuadorexplorer.com/tropic) does not belong to a singlecompany, but to a network of tourist operators, hotels, national parks,community organizations and government offices related to the environmentin Ecuador. Most of the cultural trips are to villages in the Amazon and a




few to the Andean mountains. This is a large site with extensive text. Itincludes a large ecotourism section and links to dozens of local touroperators, the Ministry of Tourism, NGOs, government and economic sitesand sites on history, food, health, news and transportation. The site does notoffer a great deal of interactivity and it favors text over images.

The section devoted to ecotourism dedicates a page to the oftenimproper use of the prefix ‘eco’ to attract tourists. The page delineates fiveprinciples that eco-sites and eco-operators should follow: conservation,minimal environmental impact, sustainability, meaningful communityinvolvement and environmental education. Each principle is explained andthe associated tourist agencies and packages seem to follow them. Also, thelinks are consistent with the eco-principles discussed. A link to one hotelexplains the use of solar panels. Other hotels’ sites offer information ontheir organic gardens, terraced reforestation to combat erosion, recyclingpolicies and composting toilets. This site also includes a selection of articleson the conflict over oil, mining policies, abuses of land in Ecuador and thecultural value of native people’s storytelling. The site recognizes the complexissues of environment and sustainability by informing the tourist about thehistory of the problems and local activism.

In addition to its nuanced attention to principles of conservation andsustainability, the company prioritizes community involvement, as indicatedin its discussion of eco-principles. Plus, cultural preservation and meaningfulencounters are included in the discussion of sustainability. There are anumber of pictures of tourists and local people interacting. Most of theother websites showed tourists either posing with local people as part of thescenery or observing them at a distance. In this site, local people areportrayed with greater respect and with contextual information, includingacknowledgement that the cultures have undergone dramatic changes overthe last few decades.

In addition, photos include the complete identification and testimony ofthe people who are portrayed. One page on ‘Amazonian people’ shows anative man telling how to build a canoe; another page explains the meaningof a jungle festival according to one indigenous leader. The voices,traditions, knowledge and names of the people are recognized. The voice ofthe local community is prominent in the discourse on the site.

Mountain Travel SobekThis company (www.mtsobek.com) offers many eco-treks with cultural tripsto 64 countries on every continent. The website is elaborate. The menuoffers a customized trip-finder tool according to activity, region and type ofactivity (‘easy’, ‘family’, ‘short’, etc.) as criteria for selection, again suggestingthe interchangeability of places. The website has well over 100 high-qualityphotos with an additional gallery that the visitor can customize as travel




postcards. Links are primarily to commercial outdoor equipment websites,with some links to general country information (e.g. CIA factbook) andinformation on health precautions and visa procedures.

In general, this site is centered on adventure, of men facing the wildness,conquering the highest peak and feeling ‘the achievement as you stretchyourself and the boundaries of your horizons’. The company’s focus is notlocal environments or cultures, but rather enhancing each traveler’sexperience of the adventure. The ecotourism dimension of the company isadvertised in two ways: as their small group policy (‘Long before theconcept of “Ecotourism”, we took pains to travel in a conscientious manner,in small vessels carrying no more than 10 to 12’) and in their philosophy of‘giving back’ by sponsoring conservation foundations that are devoted toprotecting endangered species and environmental research. The TIES seal isincluded. However, the website provides no discussion of sustainability,environmental issues or links relevant to particular destinations.

Like most of the other companies, this one refers to the indigenouspeople as ‘exotic’, ‘enigmatic’, ‘traditional’, ‘colorful’, ‘unchanged forcenturies’ and ‘timeless’. Photographs in the postcards page are of smilingpeople in traditional clothing, though in the tour pages there are severalpictures showing tourists and local people interacting and having funtogether. Tourists in the photos are predominantly young, white, male adults(in their 20s–40s), whereas many of the photos of local people are of theelderly or children. Hence, the tourist photos provide a clear indication ofthe target market for these trips. The founders of the company were maleadventurers and the site seems to follow their interest in reaching the limits,extending the horizons of male adventure. However, the last update of thesite offers a women’s adventure trip due to popular demand.

CONCLUSIONSGiven the popularity of ecotourism and cultural tourism, their relationshipto a sustainable environment and their increased partnership with theinternet, we investigated how they are represented on seven websites. Wespecifically examined consistency with basic ‘eco’ sustainable principles andwhether internet representations of culture essentially replicate those intraditional forms of advertising, as indicated in prior research.

All but two of the sites revealed missing elements that are at the core ofdiscourses on ecotourism, as reviewed earlier. These include localparticipation in the development process, respect for natural and culturalresources and history and a proactive interest in learning from othercultures. This is not a problem of space constraints, as might be the case inprint advertising.

Further, only two of the websites show consistency between the self-claimed eco-friendly tours and an explanation of why and how they offer




‘eco’ tours, as Mader (2002) also has observed. Most do not discuss theprinciples of sustainability and only rarely refer to the environmentaldynamics of the communities and landscapes that are visited. Their failure toprovide links to other sources with information on history, demographicsand news of the countries and regions demonstrates an interest in depictingthe spaces as unchangeable and isolated. In essence, then, the language ofecotourism, environment and sustainability in internet advertising appears toreflect a form of commodification that is similar to the culturalcommodification also observed.

While ecotourism conferences, as those organized by the World TourismOrganization, often focus on issues of certification, eco-labels and otherstrategies for building trust, credibility and cooperation among stakeholders,the online discourses of ecotourism companies do not express theseintentions for the most part. Three of the sites that we examined carried theTIES seal; however, only one out of the three – West African Journey – hadcontent that was deserving of the recognition. In fact, it appears that criteriafor carrying the seal are minimal, beyond paying membership fees (TIES,2003).

Additionally, most online information fails to argue for a non-exploitativerelationship between tourists and host communities. Rather, legitimacy issought primarily through donations to related causes and unsubstantiateddiscourse, including claims of strategic partnerships.

We also examined the extent to which representations of cultures showconsistency with prior studies of tourism advertising. In general, images ofindigenous cultures online varies little from those of older brochures andpostcards and some of the very same themes can be seen in the onlineadvertisements. For example, there is an emphasis on the exotic in both thephotography and language. Most of the online photographs could beclassified as beautiful, exotic and/or cute, which are three of Cohen’s (1993)metaphoric categories.3 Indeed, little has changed since the research byBritton (1979). Many of the six themes that he identified in traveladvertisements are blatantly obvious. Only the Ecuador Explorer Eco-Tourssite really acknowledges that there are problems in indigenous societies.

With the exception of West African Journey, there are extraordinarily fewreferences to any overlap between the traditional and modern culturespresent within each country, even though for most trips, tourists fly intourban areas. Thus, there is a clear separation between the urban and thepastoral in most internet advertisements. Similarly, there is an emphasis onthe simultaneous strangeness and familiarity of the local cultures and aromanticization and idealization of the cultures. Finally, there is an elementof inauthentic place-making in the sale of indigenous festivals and rites totourists. Many of these traditions are carried out for the sole benefit of the




tourists. In essence, some of the websites and associated tours appear to offerthe acontextual ‘non-places’ theorized by Auge (1995).

The postmodern scholars cited earlier seem to have described very aptlythe desires and motivations of western tourists, at least as imagined by touroperators. Indeed, with instantaneous access to so much information and theopportunity to travel without leaving home, there is an apparent time–spacecompression. This compression is reflected in the ahistorical texts and imageson most ecotourism websites.

While clearly these ideas are represented in internet advertisements, it ishard to assign a value judgement to them. It seems inappropriate tocommodify a culture and its environment, holding it in a static state. Valuingcultures monetarily invariably leads to a time when they become devaluedand less appealing. The power dynamic between wealthy and developingnations is blatant, with the extreme illustrated by the customization optionsof several companies – and certainly by Nomadic Expeditions’ private jet‘ecotour’. At the same time, travel can be deeply fulfilling, providing one ofthe few opportunities for information to flow two ways between developingand industrialized nations. While it is mostly wealthy tourists and indigenouspeoples who participate in this exchange of information, it is perhaps betterthan nothing.

Additionally, at least some ecotourists are more environmentallysophisticated and receptive than tour companies recognize. These touristscare about values of environmental and cultural sustainability, want toeducate themselves and do the right thing. More realistic and context-basedadvertising, including internet advertising, may help to provide the necessaryinformation that truly supports the goals of sustainability, while at the sametime reducing the extent of commodification that takes place.

AcknowledgementsWe thank Kim Sheehan and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions.

Notes1 He distinguishes metaphoric images from metanymic or ‘neutral’ images, common in

journalistic and scientific publications. Metanymic images are infrequent compared tometaphoric images in tourist literature (Cohen, 1993).

2 Search engines included Google, Altavista, Yahoo! and Infoseek. We also made use ofabout.com and ecotourism.org as starting points. Search terms were ‘nature tourism’,‘environmental tourism’, ‘ecotourism’, ‘cultural tourism’ and ‘sustainable tourism’.These keywords produced thousands of results, for example, 8000 in Google and 7000in Yahoo!. For every five pages of results we chose one commercial website thatmatched our criteria. From the best 30 websites we selected seven that met thefollowing criteria: three specialized in geographical regions of Asia, Africa and LatinAmerica; two promoted tours globally but emphasized the exploration of developingworld regions; and two claimed to specialize in cultural immersions and tourism toremote regions.




3 Cohen (1993: 55) suggests that, because of an increased ‘appreciation of foreigncultures and growing opposition to chauvinism and racism’, indigenous people should‘less often be represented as “exotic” or “comic” and more often as “beautiful” or“cute”’. Our study shows that ‘exotic’ remains a popular metaphoric representation ofindigenous people. However, we found few pictures that were comic in nature, whichmay indicate partial support for Cohen’s suggestion.

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ELIZABETH DORSEY received a master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Oregonin 2000. She is a freelance writer in Brunswick, Maine.Address: 52 Weymouth Street, Brunswick, ME 04011, USA. [Email:[email protected]]

H. LESLIE STEEVES is Director of Graduate Studies and Research in the School ofJournalism and Communication, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR. Her research and teachinginterests include communication in developing countries, especially Africa, feminism andmedia. She is co-author (with Srinivas Melkote) of the book Communication for Developmentin the Third World: Theory and Practice for Empowerment (Sage, 2001).




Address: School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403,USA. [Email: [email protected]]

LUZ ESTELLA PORRAS is a doctoral candidate at the University of Oregon. She is interestedin development communication in Latin America.Address: School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403,USA. [Email: [email protected]]


