Ecotourism is defined as 'purposeful travel that creates an understanding of cultural and natural history, while safeguarding the integrity of the ecosystem and producing economic benefits that encourage conservation'. The definition recognizes that ecotourism is an important educational tool. Real life exposure to a natural situation in the accompaniment of an experienced guide leads a greater increase in knowledge than real life exposure without a guide, or exposure to a knowledgeable guide in an artificial setting. 

    More than 50 years ago, Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget studied the development of human cognitive capability and its dynamic relationship with the physical world. He viewed cognitive development as an Interaction between physical maturation of the brain and environmentally induced changes in learning. He observed that, as children grow, they proceed through a series of increasingly abstract thinking styles. Piaget demonstrated that a primary motivation for learning is resolution of cognitive conflict, which he described as 'disequilibrium'.
 
    Borrowing upon principles of cognitive psychology, my colleagues and I have developed an interpretive model for presenting information about marine mammals and their ocean environment during whale-watch excursions in Hawaii and Australia. The model has more recently been extended to include snorkeling excursions to coral reef areas near Maui, Hawaii. 

    Its application can be examined in the context of a typical 2.5 h commercial whale-watch trip aboard a Pacific Whale Foundation passenger vessel to observe humpback whales in Hawaii. Each whale-watch trip is a different venture, controlled by such variable factors as the number and type of passengers, weather conditions, what the whales choose to do (or not to do, as the case may be), the type of vessel, and the experience of the captain. Nonetheless, it is possible to view the trip as a structured experience, and to guide patticipants through an educational sequence that has very clear goals and objectives that can be monitored and evaluated over time.

(Adapted from Ocean a Coastal Management 20, 1993, pp, 267-282) 

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