1208 | 78 | Exploring Ecocentrism for International Tourism Management – Húsavík, Iceland

The Arctic nation of Iceland is one of the last frontiers of tourism (Huijbens, 2022) representing an island and population transitioning rapidly from being primarily a fishing-dependent community to a tourism destination (Einarsson 2009). These changes bring with it various ethical reflections on human-nature relations, the subjects of moral consideration, and the preservation of essential ecosystems. This presentation focuses on the locality of Húsavík, the self-proclaimed whale-watching capital of Europe. As the town prepares for marine planning processes, tourism is identified as a sector to be investigated for future management. However, in scholarly terms, tourists have been primarily treated through quantitive methods. This study uptakes qualitative methods and participant observations to shed insight to the international tourism experiences of nature and wildlife. _x000D_
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The research brings together an interdisciplinary perspective (including anthropology, psychology, geography), the theoretical frame of ecotourism (i.e. wildlife and nature-based tourism) and a discussion of classifications of ecocentrism, to interpret qualitative data. Philosophical approaches to environmental orientations distinguish between ecocentrism and anthropocentrism which are understood as a way of positioning our being-with and relating-to the world. Here, environmental ethics offers a basis who rethinking humanity`s place in the natural world (Sarkar, 2012). From a methodological point of view, challenges in measuring ecocentrism are discussed and strategies for identifying profiles along a wider spectrum are brought forward. Studies approaching ethical perspectives for tourism (Chauvat et al., 2021) have argued that management such as for wildlife tourism, based in nature, respectively call for policies which reflect an ecocentric value system. As such, the results may contribute to further informing management in the case of Iceland.

Jade Zoghbi
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

ID Abstract: 78