Academic Tourism in Lebanon: To What Extent is it Ecotourism?

Abstract

Academic tourism is defined as stays made in higher educational institutions in places outside their usual environment for a maximum period of a year or less. The purpose of this study was to conduct field work to try to collect primary findings that investigate the relationship between academic tourism and Ecotourism. To this end, a database of foreign students admitted for a year or less in various universities in Lebanon will be gathered to provide a sampling framework for our study.

Next, an online questionnaire will be designed and administered to a sample of those students looking into the drivers of academic tourism. Among others, ecological and eco-touristic motivations will be gauged, and data on lifestyle and consumption patterns will be collected. The data will be analyzed by means of regression techniques, and the extent to which academic tourism valorizes ecosystem preservation, boosts the eco-tourism sector and promotes rural development, not least in comparison to conventional tourism, will be developed.