Entrepreneurially, ethno-tourism belongs to the class of “the creative industries”. These are those activities which have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent, and which have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property”.
In addition to the more readily recognized “creative industries” (performing arts; for example), this definition includes broader cultural and closely related sectors such as heritage, museums, galleries and tourism. The definition is not entirely satisfactory because:
(i) there is no consensus about the definition of heritage; and
(ii) Tourism is not always cultural nor is its economic base generally dependent upon the exploitation of intellectual property. The issue is further complicated because even within the tourism industry, terms describing several distinct activities are regularly conflated.
