2012 Volume 64 Issue 4 Pages 299-318
The paper discusses the issue of ecotourism development in Japan, particularly in rural areas filled with modified natural environment. Based on a case study of Iida, it argues that the origins of ecotour, which emphasize environment conservation, are hardly suitable in these areas. Instead, it is rather a combination of conventional tourism (i. e. school excursions) and alternative tourism (i. e. experience-based and home-stay programs). We would like to discuss this method as “ecologicalizing” process in school excursions. The model is called “ecotourism” by the Ministry of Environment because it has adopted the ecotourism-oriented managerial skills through a shift to local management.
The paper makes a contribution by explaining why a semi-governmental tourism stock company is effective, both economically and socially, for local governments to revitalize rural areas. By these explanations, the paper gives a hint to distinguish ecotourism businesses initiated by the Ministry of Environment and green tourism businesses by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery. This lesson is also valuable for local governments in other developing countries such as Vietnam, who want to increase the economic scale of ecotourism without scarifying sustainable principles. The final part of the paper concerns two issues of the Iida’s model: namely the participants’ degree of satisfaction towards its programs, and the current situation of home-stay providers, with suggestions for improvement.
