Abstract:
Increasingly, third-world countries are relying on ecotourism to boost their economies. Similar to other forms of tourism, ecotourism as a business initiative is perceived to contribute positively to economic development. However, tourism service providers generally do not deliver satisfactory services to ecotourists due to misunderstanding the segment’s needs and the customer traits. In emerging countries such as South Africa, which has a conducive economic environment for tourism businesses, some provincial departments such as the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism has set objectives to make the Limpopo province a preferred ecotourism destination. These have been propagated by service providers who passively participate in ecotourism yet claim to be ecotourism service providers. Moreover, the attitude of passiveness by service providers is derived from insufficient knowledge of the ecotourist. This set the foundation for the current study, which sought to provide detailed profiles of ecotourists in the Capricorn District Municipality in order to gain a clear understanding of the ecotourists visiting the Limpopo province. The study reviewed theoretical and empirical works conducted by tourism scholars. The study was developed on a descriptive research design and employed a quantitative approach. It made use of self-administered questionnaires with a sample of 295 participants selected from tourism establishments and attractions in the region, utilising convenience and purposive sampling methods respectively. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 24 and Microsoft Office Excel was used to analyse the data. Descriptive statistics, factor analysis, cluster analysis and Chi-square tests were conducted to analyse the data of the study. The findings revealed demographic, psychographic and behavioural descriptors associated with the ecotourists in the Capricorn District Municipality. In addition, information sources preferred by ecotourists in the Capricorn District Municipality were identified. It is envisaged that the findings of the study will be of value to ecotourism service providers as they will provide a sound understanding of ecotourists and thereby help to deliver satisfactory ecotourist experiences. This will ultimately provide valuable input for the planning of the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism in promoting the Limpopo province as a preferred ecotourism destination in South Africa.
