A STUDY ON ONLINE ACTIONS OF ECOTOURISTS VISITING NATURE BASED ATRACTIONS IN KUALA LUMPUR

Abstract

Ecotourism is considered as an important facet of sustainable tourism development discourse. Eco-tourists’ are found to be driven by motivations of acquiring and exchanging knowledge in relation to ecological aspects as a part of their educational and learning elements of ecotourism. Another important motivation for eco-tourists is to engage in socializing activities while in an ecotourism experience that provides the main platform for knowledge exchange among them. Such knowledge exchange can often encompass dialogue on ecological protection, sustainable development issues and ethical consumption in ecotourism. Social media which is an online platform for social interactions and has the potential to provide socialization and knowledge sharing opportunities to eco-tourists beyond their ecotourism experiences. This chapter puts forward a case on the role of social media in providing a platform for dialogue on ecological stewardship through socialization and knowledge sharing opportunities it provides in the context of eco-tourists’ visit to Kuala Lumpur.