Four ecotourism archetypes: expressing symbolic desires

ABSTRACT Most ecotourism research focuses on logical, expressed desires, while deeper meanings (or symbolic desires), are less well understood, perhaps because elicitation is difficult. Consequently, prior research is relatively limited on the deeper motivations driving ecotourism behaviour. To address that lack, an ethnographic study of nature-based tourism activities in Malaysia and a symbolic interactionist approach is taken to unpack hedonic meaning-making. The data gave rise to four ecotourist archetypes: The champion, the adherent, the acolyte, and the spa-goer, for ecotourists seeking trial, spiritual, learning and purification benefits, respectively. The study provides both greater insight into how to use ethnographic research to elicit symbolic desires in ecotourism, and practitioner support for the design and delivery of more fulfilling nature-based tourism experiences. The archetypes can be viewed as a symbolic benefits-based market segmentation schema, forming the basis for developing more effective targeting, positioning, branding and value propositions for nature-based tourism activities.