A Educação Ambiental através do Ecoturismo: o diferencial das atividades de contato dirigido com a natureza

Abstract

This paper presents the results of the analysis of 107 ecotourism trips to the Alto Ribeira State Tourist Park, aiming to verify the role of directed and intensified contact with nature in the process of Environmental Education. Meetings with Focal Groups were held a few days after arriving, as a way both to verify personal opinions about the trips and to do a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the trips, comparing them with similar activities carried out by other agents, but with a more informal character, which is a strong feature of the Ecotourism market. The analysis was based on the Collective Subject Speech (CSS) method. The results point out the substantial differences in the interviewers' perception, reinforcing the hypothesis that Ecotourism must promote a more intensive contact with nature to become an effective Environmental Education instrument.