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Two specific destinations (Zakynthos in Greece, Dalyan in Turkey) were chosen to evaluate the impact of travel brochures on people's awareness of sea turtles and their habitat (for the full results of the study, please see Cosijn, 1995). In the late 1980's, only these two destinations in Europe were regularly marketed in travel brochures for their sea turtle nesting beaches. The other European turtle nesting beaches were virtually never mentioned explicitly in such brochures. In contrast, we found 141 citations (from a survey of hundreds of brochures) during the last five years, 1991-1995, directly referring to the presence of sea turtles or to a sea turtle nesting beach. The results were sobering. It seems that rather than being a force for education, the brochures often contain misleading or profoundly inaccurate information. The results were as follows.

Referring to sea turtles and their habitat: (i) only one out of 141 citations correctly mentioned the Dutch name of the loggerhead turtle, (ii) several brochures mentioned the scientific name, Caretta caretta, but it was usually misspelled, (iii) Dutch travel brochures often confuse tortoises, terrapins and turtles, which in the Dutch language are normally distinguished as 'land turtles', 'freshwater turtles' and 'sea turtles', (iv) many tour operators seem to think that turtles sit on their eggs to incubate them, much the same as birds. Other mistakes include incorrect nesting or hatching seasons, population numbers, turtle size and weight, etc. Finally, numerous comparatively minor errors were evident concerning geography and the specific location of breeding sites.

Referring to sea turtle encounters, never did any of these brochures mention that sea turtles come ashore at night and that visitors have a slim chance of actually seeing an adult turtle or a hatchling on the beach. Further, some beaches, including Laganas (Zakynthos Island, Greece) and Dalyan (Turkey) are not accessible by night. Nonetheless, some tour operators explicitly create expectations by stating that people may view nesting or hatching sea turtles.

Referring to responsibility with regard to sea turtle conservation, some tour operators explicitly state that the use of nesting beaches at tourism destinations poses little danger to the turtles. Most, however, avoid speaking to the issue. There are inconsistencies in the way that tour operators use sea turtles, depending on the target audience. For example, "family packages" mention sea turtles like an additional attraction. Perhaps this is because the presence of wildlife creates the suggestion of a quiet, clean beach. These same tour operators do not mention sea turtles at all in their brochures for young, activity-oriented audiences. Instead they promote the same beach for its excellent opportunities for beach picnics, jet-skiing, parasailing and other activities that actually endanger sea turtles.

The Dutch tour operator ARKE makes the following statement in their promotion of the 1995 program for young people near a turtle nesting beach in Zakynthos: "Parasailing is advised because watching from the air provides the best opportunity to watch sea turtles." Not only are parasailing and speed boating near this beach important causes of mortality to turtles, these activities are illegal. It seems that few Dutch tour operators show much constructive involve-ment with the need to conserve endangered sea turtles at tourist destinations . . . most show no involvement at all, or worse. Sea turtles are simply a commodity to be marketed and exploited to lure people to holiday destinations.

As indicated above, sea turtles are "marketed" differently depending on the target audience. We could clearly distinguish three broad marketing strategies: (i) package holidays, (ii) day tours, such as excursions from other primary destinations, and (iii) sailing cruises with land excursions. In the first case, sea turtles are often mentioned, sometimes sympathetically as unique, impressive, threatened, etc. In the second case, brochures often refer to the presence of sea turtles by mentioning the opportunity to visit a "turtle beach", but hardly any more detail. In the third case, sea turtles and their nesting beaches are rarely mentioned.

Regretfully, the overall conclusion of our study is that: (i) tour operator knowledge of sea turtles and their habitats is lacking, (ii) tour operators use information about turtles that is often misleading or inaccurate (which violates requirements under Dutch law concerning travel arrangements), (iii) tour operators do not consistently respect the laws of the destination country and in general do not indicate any awareness of their own responsibility toward nature conserva-tion in the destination country (and therefore violate the requirements and regulations of the Dutch Federation of Travel Organizations, ANVR), and (iv) tour operators consistently disregard advisements from the Council of Europe since 1987 concerning conservation of European turtle nesting beaches and tourism development.

We suggest the following guidelines: (i) wildlife, such as sea turtles, should only be mentioned in travel brochures if the species plays a role in the holiday destination (e.g., people are able and allowed to observe the species), and (ii) recognizing that tourism plays a role in both the endangerment and the conservation of species, tour operators should provide the following information when using threatened wildlife as a marketing tool: a) details on the availability of the species for direct viewing (including the numbers to be expected during different seasons), b) relevant aspects of the biology of the species, c) the effect of tourism (for good or ill) on the species and its habitat, and d) a code of conduct toward the species.

These guidelines are now being evaluated for use with sea turtles, as well as a variety of other wildlife species, in the promotion of travel destinations by the Dutch travel industry. As part of this evaluation process, a study (partially funded by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Fisheries) will involve inquiries to about 100 Dutch tour operators to assess what can be done to improve the performance of the industry in regards to sea turtle conservation. We are also actively evaluating the impact of travel brochures on other reptiles and on primates, as well as the information quality of these brochures. In 1996, we shall also include cetaceans and specific ecosystems that are marketed for their wildlife, such as the Galapagos Islands and the East African savannas.

Cosijn, R. 1995. Lopen op Eieren. Vermeldingen van Mediterrane dikkopschildpadden in Nederlandse reisbrochures ter beïnvloeding van aankoopbeslissingen voor vakantiereizen. Ecologie en Toerisme no. 2, Natour Foundation, Hengelo, Netherlands. 55 pp.

ROEL COSIJN, Natour Foundation, P. O. Box 762, 7550 AT Hengelo, THE NETHERLANDS