Ecotourism in Appalachia: Marketing the Mountains

The central Appalachian states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina have a lot to offer tourists: nature treks, farmhouse bed-and-breakfasts, birding, historical hikes and more. Yet many of these attractions are not environmentally friendly. In this volume, environmental activist Fritsch and environmental writer Johannsen urge local communities to gain control of their own finances and local governments to regulate tourism business practices so that the region's resources will no longer be exploited by visitors. The authors encourage""responsible tourism,"" exposing abusive practices and offering steps to change them. Encompassing history, economics and culture, and using examples of other tourism areas such as Hawaii and Alaska, Fritsch and Johannsen lay out a comprehensive, if sometimes dense, treatise on the importance of fostering green tourism. Their volume is sure to intrigue land developers, business owners and anyone working in the Appalachian tourism industry. 24 b&w photos.