Types and relevance of advocacy in destination-based non-profit organisations - Evidence from New Zealand ecosanctuaries

Abstract

This paper identifies advocacy objectives and priorities by non-profit organisations at the conservation-visitation nexus in tourism destinations. Focussing on ecosanctuaries, a type of protected area in New Zealand, it employs a pragmatic qualitative approach using 14 semi-structured interviews with leading actors in and related to the ecosanctuaries as an empirical basis. The Advocacy Strategy Framework is applied during data interpretation. Community involvement through volunteering and visitation, and fundraising emerge as central advocacy objectives of the ecosanctuaries. By determining the advocacy priorities, this paper illustrates the conflicts of interest that the ecosanctuaries, as non-profit organisations, balance and negotiate. It expands existing concepts of non-profit organisations' advocacy strategies by differentiating target audiences for advocacy communication and relevant actions. The paper further demonstrates that volunteers in non-profit organisations are subject to a distinct set of advocacy efforts.