VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY IN ECOTOURISM CONTEXT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18623/rvd.v23.5719Keywords:
Ecological Awareness, Ecotourism, Focus Groups, Sustainable Consumption, Voluntary SimplicityAbstract
Increasing environmental challenges caused by excessive consumption have led individuals to adopt more sustainable and simplified lifestyles, giving rise to the concept of voluntary simplicity. This transformation has also influenced the tourism sector, contributing to the emergence of ecotourism as an alternative form of travel. In this context, this study examines the voluntary simplicity lifestyles of guests staying at the Pastoral Valley Ecological Life Farm in Fethiye, Türkiye. The study adopts a qualitative research design and uses focus group interviews conducted with voluntary participants and paying guests. The findings are analyzed based on the core dimensions of voluntary simplicity—material simplicity, self-sufficiency, ecological awareness, human scale, and personal growth—along with additional emergent themes. The results indicate that voluntary participants exhibit a deeply internalized and ideologically grounded simplicity, whereas paying guests demonstrate a more conditional and pragmatic approach. The findings further suggest that voluntary simplicity should be understood as a continuum rather than a binary construct. Moreover, ecotourism environments function as transformative spaces that foster ecological awareness and encourage more sustainable consumption practices. This study contributes to the literature by integrating ecotourism and voluntary simplicity and by providing a comparative perspective on different levels of engagement with sustainable lifestyles.
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