Towards sustainable tourism models
The feasibility study of an ecovillage project in Scotland

Area 13 – Scienze economiche e statistiche

In the last decades, sustainable tourism, in its various meanings and classifications – ecotourism, environmental tourism, nature-based tourism, green tourism- has become a key topic in the academic debate, as well as in policy makers’ strategies. Within the tourism industry, there is an emerging need to match the expectations of a new and consistent niche of tourists, who increasingly demand tourism accommodation facilities with ecological features. The present marketing study - drawn from the Feasibility Study realized in May 2011 within the Craik's Zero Carbon Project of the University of Strathclyde - pertains to this branch of sustainable tourism research and specifically analyses the feasibility of a tourism ecovillage project in Scotland. The study offers an overview about the main characteristics of the demand and the supply of the international ecotourism market, as well as of the main tourism features in Scotland. The ecovillage project represents a challenging opportunity to experiment with a new model of sustainable tourism accommodation in Scotland and aims to contribute to the international sustainable tourism management practices.

SINTESI