Embracement of E-Tourism in Ecotourism: A Case Study of Tourism Websites for Galapagos

Ecotourism and e-tourism are both perceived as the overwhelming trend for today¡¦s tourism industry, and share some common features on both demand and supply sides, which lays the foundation for the feasibility of the application of e-tourism to ecotourism. The objective of this paper is to identify the critical issues of integration between them two through the empirical analysis of Ecuadorian Galapagos, which is generally accepted as an exemplary demonstration for ecotourism initiatives in the world. A total number of eighty-six websites concerning tourism in Galapagos are found and categorized into three types in terms of their hosts or affiliations, namely, tourism companies, governments and non-governmental organizations and professional tourism websites. As the focus of this study, the seventy-two websites belonging to tourism companies are examined in great depth, from aspects of inclusion of travel information, customer relationship management, online transaction and advocacy of ecotourism. As the findings show, these website have made good use of the sound environment and unique resources of Galapagos to boost their business, and have done well in information provision and customer relationship management, but still have considerable room for improvement in advocating ecotourism or responsible travel through online environmental education and visitor management. Finally, a few recommendations are proposed accordingly.