1 U.S. Ecotourists’ Travel Experience and Satisfaction Reported on the World Wide Web: A Case of Costa Rica Ecolodges Weilin Lu Department of Tourism, Recreation and Sport Management University of Florida and Svetlana O. Stepchenkova Department of Tourism, Recreation and Sport Management University of Florida ABSTRACT Ecotourism is gaining popularity. Ecolodge is a unique lodging sector because it provides both accommodation and comprehensive ecotourism experience. This study aims at constructing ecotourists’ travel experience to ecotourism destinations and stay at ecolodges and finding the factors contributing to the consumption satisfaction. Costa Rican ecolodges are used as a case study. The online user-generated reviews posted by travelers were used as the qualitative material. The study methodology is content analysis. Research results indicated that ecotourists’ travel experience and stay with ecolodges could be categorized to 7 categories and 27 attributes. A typology of factors contributing to ecotourists’ satisfaction with eco-experience at ecolodges was proposed: criticals, satisfiers, dissatisfiers, and neutrals. Keywords: ecotourism, ecolodge, user-generated content, travel experience, satisfaction. INTRODUCTION Fennell (2007, p. 24) summarized ecotourism as “a sustainable, non-invasive form of nature-based tourism that focuses primarily on learning about nature first-hand, and which is ethically managed to be low-impact, non-consumptive, and locally oriented… typically occurs in natural areas, and should contribute to the conservation of such areas.” The Tourism Network rated ecotourism as one of the fastest-growing sectors in the tourism industry, with an annual growth rate of 5% worldwide, representing 6% of the world gross domestic product and 11% of all consumer spending (tourismknowledge.com, 2005). Ecolodge, the accommodation base of ecotourists, is the important industrial sector in the ecotourism market by largely providing the ecotourism experience. An ecolodge is a “nature-dependent tourist lodge that meets the philosophy and principles of ecotourism” (Russell, Bottrill, & Meredith, 1995, p. 147). It offers natural resource-oriented ecotourism activities and opportunities for learning about the environment (Lai & Shafer, 2005). Ecotourists staying in ecolodges typically have direct access to nature reserves and a variety of nearby nature-based attractions where they explore local flora and fauna, view wildlife, and participate in nature-based activities such as nature hikes and birdwatching. Although not all of the ecotourists stay at ecolodges, customers of this lodging segment present a sizable tourist market and an appropriate group to study demand for ecotourism.