A Study of Bird Watchers at Hegurajima

Abstract

Ecotourism has been considered as a new type of tourism that has attracted interest from both the conservation sector and the tourism sector. It is widely accepted that ecotourism is a substantial initiative which attempts sustainable use of the environment in destination areas. Based on that, ecotourism has provoked a great deal of argument in Japan as well as in the rest of the world since the mid 1980s. However, there have only been a few attempts made so far to study the practical features of ecotourists in Japan. This paper is about an investigation of bird watchers at Hegurajima off Noto Peninsula, and is intended as a case study of nature oriented tourism. Hegurajima is a small island, famous as one of the best places for bird watching in Japan. Over 800 bird watchers visited the island in 1994. This survey was carried out in 1994 and 1995, and questionnaires were distributed to all bird wachers coming to the island. The results present various useful indications for both the environmental conservation and future visitor management of the island.