The new ecotourists of the 21st century: Brunei as a case study

Abstract

Literature often describes the archetypical ecotourists as well-educated, and financially secure, coming from the “Western” Baby Boomer with strong convictions on the need for the conservation of nature and indigenous cultures. Today, traveling is made affordable for the mass coming from diverse nationalities, particularly of the younger generation, who are eager to experience disappearing cultures and nature. Although they appear to share traits of the ecotourists, are they truly the younger generations of ecotourists or do they seek out similar destination sites but for different reasons? Our research is the first attempt to answer this question. The paper aims to redefine the archetypical ecotourists in a market dominated by generations X, Y, and Z. The study involved survey questionnaires administered to 237 respondents living in Brunei coming from multiple generations comparing their attitudes, travel motivations, interests, and behaviour. A stratified-convenience sampling method was used to distribute the questionnaire to capture equal numbers of respondents in the three different generation groups. The data reveals some degree of incongruency between the younger generations of ecotourists and of the old archetypes. We found that the new ecotourists deviate in ideology and value. The new ecotourists are more inclined towards hedonism, social approval and popular culture. The differences in archetype have implications for tourism planning in general, and ecotourism in particular.