Nature Tourism

In recent decades, the fast rise of emerging economies, like the BRICS nations, has propelled the growth of tourism worldwide. Meanwhile, a plethora of nature destinations has been developed to meet the diverse needs of the new wave of demand from emerging economies and to entice existing tourists from advanced and rich economies. Nature Tourism augments the current literature on the benefits and pitfalls in recent developments of nature tourism, tracing the history in development, highlighting the ecological impacts and showcasing the current practices in nature tourism, along with discussions on specific tourist markets from holistic viewpoints embracing lessons learned from various destination nations and continents across the globe. A host of topics with global significance will be explored such as the effect of climate change on nature tourism, technological innovation in managing nature tourism, visitor management in nature tourism and market positioning in a highly competitive environment. These are reviewed in a wide range of countries from USA/Canada, South America, Scandinavian countries, the Swiss Alps, Middle-East countries, Africa, China and Australia/New Zealand. This book will offer significant insight into nature-based tourism and its future development. It will be of interest to upper-level students, researchers and academics in tourism, environmental studies, development and sustainability.

In recent decades, the fast rise of emerging economies, like the BRICS nations, has propelled the growth of tourism worldwide. Meanwhile, a plethora of nature destinations has been developed to meet the diverse needs of the new wave of demand from emerging economies and to entice existing tourists from advanced and rich economies. Nature Tourism augments the current literature on the benefits and pitfalls in recent developments of nature tourism, tracing the history in development, highlighting the ecological impacts and showcasing the current practices in nature tourism, along with discussions on specific tourist markets from holistic viewpoints embracing lessons learned from various destination nations and continents across the globe. A host of topics with global significance will be explored such as the effect of climate change on nature tourism, technological innovation in managing nature tourism, visitor management in nature tourism and market positioning in a highly competitive environment. These are reviewed in a wide range of countries from USA/Canada, South America, Scandinavian countries, the Swiss Alps, Middle-East countries, Africa, China and Australia/New Zealand. This book will offer significant insight into nature-based tourism and its future development. It will be of interest to upper-level students, researchers and academics in tourism, environmental studies, development and sustainability.

This publication considers environmental, social and economic issues concerning the development of nature tourism. Using KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa as a case study, it highlights the benefits and trade-offs in promoting and managing sustainable nature tourism development, and examines how to promote the objectives of economic growth, poverty reduction and conservation. Three key issues are explored: the need to move beyond development of a wildlife industry to the creation of a true nature tourism economy that supports biodiversity; the role of the private sector in achieving equitable development and job creation while generating conservation finance; and alternative pricing and other market mechanisms to encourage the growth and economic viability of nature tourism.

This book focuses on the experiences of tourists visiting nature-based destinations, exploring current knowledge and providing insights into conceptual issues through the use of empirical evidence from five continents. Presented as three topics, the contents discuss tourism and naturebased experiences by looking at the role and relevance of nature and the uniqueness of such experiences. The book identifies visitor management challenges and provides explanations for the solutions reached. The final section takes a more overarching destination management perspective that transcends the tourism product or business level and focuses on destination and generic issues like indicators or marketing implications. The book also includes research-based case studies which contribute to an overall understanding of the core issues involved in managing visitor experiences in nature-based tourism.

Nature-based tourism (NBT) is a sector where entrepreneurial success is highly knowledge driven. This insightful book offers a comprehensive evaluation of NBT in a Nordic context, highlighting how long-established Nordic traditions of outdoor recreation practices can reveal lessons for the field more broadly. Chapters explore Nordic and international perspectives, local communities, market dynamics, firms, creativity, innovations and value-added experience products.

Malaysia features some of the most spectacular national parks in the world. The parks - most are hotspots of biodiversity - have become a major attraction for foreign and increasingly domestic tourists. Nature tourism is at the same time a source of revenues and a threat to the environmental integrity of conservation areas. This study - based on the theory of structuration and using a triangulation of methods - analyses (eco)tourism in Malaysian national parks from different angles by asking different groups of tourists and experts about their opinions, experiences and needs. In order to learn more about the often neglected group of domestic tourists a large survey was conducted in Kuala Lumpur. The needs of foreign individual and group travellers were analysed with a questionnaire in Gunung Mulu National Park. And experts of conservation and tourism (i.e. scientists, park managers, tour operators, exponents of NGOs) were asked to assess the state and potential of ecotourism in Malaysian national parks. Results show that the increasing heterogeneity and number of visitors and their different needs can put a strain on the environmental integrity of conservation areas. This study makes recommendations to mitigate such strains and to further sustainable tourism.

'This book tackles the two edge sword of non consumptive wildlife tourism: on net does it add to or detract from species conservation? The book does so with a treasure trove of original survey research on the supply and demand for wildlife tourism on both public and private lands from Antarctica to rainforests to marine wildlife. The economic analysis is one of the first to apply new behavioral economics to analyzing tourists' choices.' John Loomis, Colorado State University, US 'Does nature-based tourism help or hinder biodiversity conservation? The answer provided by this authoritative volume is that it depends on context and type of tourism and is no easy panacea. Indeed it can result in an under supply of nature conservation from an economic point of view. This book provides an excellent synthesis, supported by case studies, of the tourism conservation trade off problem, it will appeal to both academic and practitioner audiences.' R. Kerry Turner, CBE, University of East Anglia, UK 'This book encapsulates a lifetime's scholarly work between the authors. It sets out the platform upon which nature-based tourism may be discussed and debated, which it then enriches by a series of case examples, mostly drawn from personal experience. In doing so it performs a valuable service to all interested in this field by capturing those detailed insights into nature-based tourism that are often only acquired by experience.' Stephen Wanhill, Editor, Tourism Economics 'In today's world, even nature seems to have to pay its own way. Nature-based Tourism and Conservation provides detailed real-life examples of how this is working in various parts of the world, from rainforests to Antarctica, and how the tradeoffs can best be measured. Clem Tisdell and Clevo Wilson provide a unique economic perspective to the various issues involved, providing practical illustrations of how others can incorporate the various ways of considering costs and benefits when deciding how to define the role nature-based tourism when planning conservation measures. This book will be useful to a wide range of audiences, from national protected area agencies to private land-owners who are establishing their own nature-based tourism enterprises.' Jeffrey McNeely, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Switzerland Nature-based Tourism and Conservation unearths new or neglected principles relevant to tourism and recreational economics, environmental valuation and economic theory. Its three parts have chapters on nature-based tourism and its relationships to conservation including case studies dealing with the consequences of World Heritage listing of natural sites, Antarctic, subtropical and tropical national park-based tourism and an NGO's conservation efforts modelled on ecotourism. The final part focuses on tourism utilizing particular wildlife, including sea turtles, whales, penguins, royal albatross, glow-worms and tree kangaroos.

Agritourism has emerged as a viable financial option for many farms and ranches. Since the publication of the first edition of Agritourism and Nature Tourism, the landscape has changed as counties and local governments incorporate agritourism into their local plans. This new edition builds on the concepts of the first, and adds updated information on regulations, risk management, and new marketing trends.