About

Summary 

The CBI, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, commissioned Acorn to research and write a series of business guides aimed at supporting SMEs in developing countries enter the European Tourism Market.  The Nature and Ecotourism sector was the focus of this guide, a significant niche in the global tourism industry, with sustainability and responsible tourism at the heart of the research.

Our Approach

Along with the mandatory requirements demanded by European tourism partners such as the European Package Travel Directive and GDPR, extensive research was conducted to uncover the key features of the nature and ecotourism sector with a particular focus on the need for sustainable practices.  Acorn provided robust research into the various sustainable certification programmes suitable for local tour operators, outlining the key factors to be taken into account when selecting the most appropriate scheme for the business.  Global certification schemes such as the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) were profiled along with a variety of regional and national schemes in order to demonstrate the extent to which sustainability has become the most important factor for operators wanting to succeed in the sector.

Outcome 

Along with sustainability, research into the sector also established the close relationship between nature and ecotourism and CBET (community-based ecotourism).  Nature and ecotourists were identified as keen environmentalists and look to operators to actively minimise their impact on the environment and make positive contributions to offsetting schemes.  Channels to market were analysed, identifying the importance of tour operators and OTAs to a broad market of ecotourists that span various consumer groups.  Competing nations were identified along with a number of competing organisations, profiled for their commitment to sustainability and community development schemes