Abstract
The Importance of Ecotourism Consciousness on Tour Guiding Education
Ecotourism is based on three main concepts: conservation and protection of the environment, supporting local cultures and economies and environmental education for both locals tourists and all stakeholders. Traditionally, tour guiding is one of the most effecting part of tourism industry. They are the mentor and leader of the tourist group who raise ecotourism consciousness and awareness. For this reason; the formal tour guiding education is an important issue in ecotourism. This paper investigated the ecotourism courses and their scope teaching at the department of tour guiding in Turkey. Within this scope, tour guiding curriculum in Turkish education system was determined and also the existence and prevalence of ecotourism were examined considering the Turkish tourism education. Ecotourism concept in structured education is available in different definitions and terms. Besides; it is important to have a broader perspective for tourism guidance students as they build environmentally oriented education that includes sensitive issues such as environmental ethics and environmentalist attitudes.
Keywords
Ecotourism, Ecotourism awareness, Tour Guides, Tour Guiding, Tour Guiding Education.
