Soon, however, the resort's manager began to see the cost of that decision. Two years ago, the resort restored the landscape to its native sand-dune ecology. The most important result, he reported, is that tourists like it. More resorts are offering nature education, too. Australia's Tangalooma resort teaches guests about the wild dolphins that frequent nearby waters.
Some tourists also like getting their hands dirty - literally.
Guests at the Footprints resort in Tobago can help plant trees as part of reforestation efforts. Marketing nature is not just a matter of tourists and trees, argue the report's authors, James Sweeting, Aaron Bruner and Amy Rosenfeld. National pride is at stake, too, in how a ountry sells itself. Fiji, for example, is promoting itself as an undiscovered, unforgettable place, trying to attract tourism and investment by offering a high-quality environment. All these approaches to tourism, good and bad, exist only because a market for them exists.