The ecotourism operation was successful, but the patient died: a case study from Western Samoa

The paper is based on experience, not research, and describes the expanding ecotourism programme in Western Samoa. The authors present the pro-active approach being taken in Western Samoa to implement enviornmental management strategies, especially forest conservation, using ecotourism as a powerful environmental management tool. While Western Samoa lends itself to ecotourism, without responsible tourism Samoa's future development could be seriously comprised. This is the result of the current exploitation of the natural resources by the custodians of the land. These problems cannot be blamed on foreigners or tourists