ECOTOURISM’S LIFE CHANGING POTENTIAL 1 Ecotourism’s potential to stage life changing experiences Frans Melissen* and Bert Smit Academy of Hotel Management, NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences, Breda, the Netherlands * Correspondence: Academy of Hotel Management, NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences, PO Box 3917, 4800 DX Breda, the Netherlands. Telephone: +31 76 530 2780 or +31 6 247 39 133. Fax: +31 76 530 2785. Email: Melissen.F@nhtv.nl