This book introduces the concept of marine ecotourism and assesses its value as a sustainable development option.It examines the major issues involved in planning and managing marine ecotourism and examines a range of experiences, based on case examples from around the world, of how those issues are being addressed in practice.

Brian Garrod is Associate Head of the School of Economics at the University of the West of England, Bristol. He lectures in tourism economics, and researches on the interface between ecological economics and sustainable tourism. His work is published in a range of journals and he is co-editor of Managing Visitor Attractions: New Directions (2002). He has twice been consultant to the World Tourism Organization on the subject of sustainable tourism.

Julie C. Wilson is Research Associate in Tourism, also at the University of the West of England, Bristol. Her teaching and research interests include tourism and imagery, tourist behaviour, backpacker travel and ecotourism. She is presently working on projects funded by the Royal Geographical Society, the British Council/NWO Netherlands, and the Royal Society (UK).