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In the tourism industry, environmental management is a critical component for sustaining competitive advantage (Barrett, 1992), starting to recognize environmental improvement as an economic and competitive opportunity, rather than an annoying cost or inevitable threat. Unfortunately, there has been no consistent approach to environmental marketing practices in tourism. Some destinations neglect their environmental obligations, perhaps due to lack of guidelines and examples of best practice, or perhaps because they don’t understand the benefits. Others exploit environmental communication for short-term gains, or fail to tell visitors about their environmental initiatives (Wight, 1994). A field survey was conducted based on qualitative approach, in order to investigate tourism and ecological experts 'opinions about specific environmental issues helping in applying responsible marketing for fragile areas. The purpose of the study is to highlight the complex relationship between tourism marketing and the environment protection responsibility and recommending environmentally responsible actions to Egyptian travel companies selling eco holidays, thus helping in the development of sustainable competitive strategies. Corresponding author: Dalia F. Amara Email address for corresponding author: daliaamara@hotmail.com First submission received: 20th February 2017 Revised submission received: 14th April 2017 Accepted: 12th May 2017 1Introduction The principle of sustainable tourism emphasizes the critical importance of environmental stewardship particularly for those destinations in fragile ecosystems areas (United Nations,1993). Similarly, the existing literature on competitiveness suggests that to be competitive, a destination must be sustainable from an environmental perspective (Ritchie and McIntosh, 2000). Yet, if environmental improvement is to provide a competitive opportunity there must be consideration of responsible marketing, defined as the balancing of environmental initiatives and environmental communication in order to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Responsibility is a keyword in sustainable marketing. The principal ingredient of responsible marketing is not to incite consumers to consume less but to consume better. It is often perceived as the engine to the ethical modes of consumption in society (Sloan., et al. 2009). Many tourism destinations may experience strong growth, but a challenge to this growth has appeared in the form of increased environmental awareness and opposition to such tourist activities by environmentalists. Some have raised concerns about the negative environmental impacts on natural and wildlife, about waste and visual pollution, noise pollution from tourist vehicles and activities, and compaction of solid causing increased surface run-off and erosion, change in risk of occurrence of landslips/slides in addition to damage to geological features (Hunter and Green, 1995). Journal of Business and Retail Management Research (JBRMR), Vol. 11 Issue 4 July 2017 www.jbrmr.com A Journal of the Academy of Business and Retail Management (ABRM) 185 Williams (1998) explains tourism-environment relationship as one in which tourism benefits from being in a good quality environment and this same environment should benefit from measures aimed at protecting and maintaining its value as a tourist resource. 2Saint Catherine Protectorate Fifteen per cent of Egypt's total area has been turned into natural protectorates, and the country continues to add to the number of its natural protectorates, which is expected to reach 40 by 2017. In Sinai alone, there are seven protectorates Ras Mohammad, St Catherine, Nabq, Abu Jallum, Ahrash, Zaraniq, and Taba“covering 14 per cent of Sinai's total area of 61,000 square kilometers. The city of Saint Catherine and other close towns, area of4250 Km2, fall within the region of Saint Catherine Protectorate, which was established in 1988. It is a unique high altitude eco-system with many endemic and rare species reserves or sanctuary. In 2002, UNESCO declared 640 km of the northern part of the St. Catherine Protectorate a World Heritage Site. The area combines religious and culturally significant places of global importance, lots of churches and monasteries including Mount Sinai, the 4th century Monastery of St. Catherine and numerous pre-historical sites, and relics from the Byzantine, Pharaonic and later eras. This arid mountain area supports a surprising diversity of flora and fauna. One of the principal goals of the Protectorate is to preserve the bio-diversity of the area’s fragile eco-system, with an emphasis on the Nubian ibex and the wild medicinal and aromatic plants. Over 472 plant species, 19 are endemic to Sinai and 115 known for their medicinal value. There are many Sinai agamas, harmless foxes, rockhyraxes. In addition to, a wide range of migrating and resident birds from Europe, the area includes the world's smallest butterfly, known as the Sinai baton blue butterfly. Mammal species such as the endangered Nubian ibex, Dorcas gazelle, Arabian wolf and striped hyaena exist. Over 36 reptile species such as small geckos, large desert monitors and spiny-tailed lizards. In addition to, a large number of feral donkeys in the mountains who migrate to the region, and who put a big pressure on the eco-system and there is a move to reduce their numbers by the Saint Catherine City Council. St. Catherine Protectorate is home to 7000 bedouin from seven different tribes who play a vital role in supporting the protectorate as community guards, guides and hosts for ecotourism. The Bedouin have long-standing conservation ethics controlling the use and protection of trees and pastures. The highest mountain in Egypt is Mount Catherine, and there are many other peaks in the area over 2,000 m (6,600 ft). The views from the highest mountains of St Catherine, Mount Sinai (Jebel Musa) are spectacular, and there are many other natural sights in the valley system. There are springs, creeks, water pools, and narrow canyons, steep valleys with huge boulders, amazing rock formations, and barren plains with islands of lush vegetation. On the top of the mountains, there are many interconnected basins with a unique high altitude ecosystem. There is a small orthodox chapel at the top. The Monastery constructed a small stone hut where trekkers and pilgrims can stay for overnight in the harshly cold weather. There are many small ponds flowing under the rocks in lush Wadi Talaa Kibira, leading down to the biggest water pool of the area, Galt el Azraq, the Blue Pool. Its colour is actually changing according to the regular floods and melting snow; one brings sand from higher up, the next takes it further down and cleans the pool. It is safe for swimming. At the beginning of Wadi Shag there is a narrow canyon where there are permanent granite water pools, from which water is disappearing in the sandy floor at one place and only emerging before the end of the wadi. Water is trickling from the rock into a double fountain in WadiTubug. The lower fountain is for animals, locals drink from the upper one. It is considered safe, although you might need to treat the water. 2.1. Ecotourism in St. Catherine Protectorate With ecotourism now controlling nearly 45 per cent of world tourism, Egypt is pouring money into green tourism with a view to promoting responsible and sustainable tourism, including Journal of Business and Retail Management Research (JBRMR), Vol. 11 Issue 4 July 2017 www.jbrmr.com A Journal of the Academy of Business and Retail Management (ABRM) 186 eco-lodges, clean energy, recycling, and biodiversity. Interest in ecotourism has picked up pace after some of the most popular tourism destinations began to show the wear and tear of excessive use. In order to stimulate awareness of the environment and to enhance political attention and public action, the Minister of Environmental Affairs Mustafa Hussein highlights his ministry's strategy to preserve Egypt's rich natural heritage while guarding the balance between touristic needs and ecological sense."Ecotourism at essence is a compromise between the tourist’s need to have fun and nature's need to recover," When you are engaged in ecotourism, "you minimize the damage to nature while engaging in a lifestyle that brings you closer to all the wonders of nature offered," he added (Al-Ahram Weekly, 2012). Protecting biological diversity is not only an environmental need, but rather "an economic imperative." Shedding the light on the Environment ministry's plan, it focuses on the intention to turn the spectacular Sinai ‘s protectorates into green destinations, "not only to promote environmental stability but also to protect the local culture. The Ministry of Environment (MOE) has moreover set up local organizations to boost the income of Sinai inhabitants. One such organization, Dahab Katrin (Catherine's Gold), focuses on the preservation of medicinal herbs. It has planted 6,000 types of endangered plants, recorded oral history pertinent to medicine, and created many jobs in the process. With one million tourists visiting Sinai's protectorates every year, an activity that brings $24 million in income, Saint Catherine saw 446 tourists including foreign, Egyptian, and Arab visitors, according to CAPMAS, 2016.The MOE grasps the need for a comprehensive strategy on green tourism. One aspect of its strategy is to focus on sustainable development for the local community. This involves the creation of a legal and institutional framework, engaging the regional community in the activities of natural protectorates, turning protectorates into self-financing projects, and using revenue from protectorates to enhance infrastructure and train members of the local community. Ecotourism in Sinai includes a wide range of activities, from diving to safari trips, bird watching, medicinal herb development, fishing, building reservoirs, and regulated use of

Responsible marketing for tourism destinations: Saint Catherine Protectorate, South Sinai, Egypt