**2.3. Visitors attitude towards ecotourism**

Stem et al. [6] conducted a study in Costa Rica to assess ecotourism benefits, impacts and its potential for promoting conservation and community development with the help of semistructured individual and group interviews and direct observation.

Puhakka and Siikamaki [62] examines nature tourists' environmental values and perceptions of ecolabels in PAN Parks certified Oulanka National Park in northeastern Finland. The method includes 273 surveys, 212 to Finnish tourists and 61 questionnaires by foreign tourists of 13 European and 3 other countries.

Cheung and Jim [29] conducted a study in four remote ecotourism hot spots in Hong Kong to understand the resource base and visitor attitude and expectation. The study was conducted with the help of 456 questionnaire surveys with visitors to evaluate the preferences of eco‐ tourism services.

With an objective to identify the local tourism resources and calculate the ecotourism carrying capacity, Shi et al. [27] conducted a study in Shangri-La County in China. The information related to ecotourism related aspects and a resource was gathered with the help of seminars, randomized surveys and consultations with local authorities between September and October 2011.

Nepal [63] conducted a study to find the areas of satisfaction and concerns that tourists expressed on their stay in the lodges of Annapurna Conservation Area and its effect on their total ecotourism experience. The study was conducted in May 2004 for a period of three weeks based on on-site exit interviews with 130 trekkers in the Annapurna region by in-depth qualitative discussions.

Baral et al. [39] conducted a study in Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA), Nepal to evaluate ecotourism and rate their level of satisfaction from their ecotourism experience. For this, a sample of 315 international visitors were surveyed in April and May of 2006 in Ghorepani. Statistically valid and reliable confirmatory factor analysis ecotourism evaluation scale containing seven items was applied to assess visitors' perceptions of the socio-economic and environmental outcomes of ecotourism.
