Outdoor Recreation, Nature-Based Tourism, and Sustainability

Abstract

This Special Issue addresses the intersections of outdoor recreation, nature-based tourism, and sustainability. Outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism provide essential benefits to individuals, communities, and society and thereby contribute to sustainability. Equitable provision of opportunities, cultural variations in desired experiences, barriers to outdoor recreation, and diverse perceptions of both nature and recreation add to the complexity in outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism service delivery. Outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism occur within a socioecological system with feedback loops to changing social, economic, technological, and ecological conditions. On a global scale, climate change and other disturbance factors are impacting ecosystems and opportunities, increasing the importance of adaptation strategies for longer-term planning. Population growth and regional shifts in demographics and distribution (e.g., urbanization), as well as socioeconomic trends, affect who engages in outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism, opportunities sought, nature access, and governance of outdoor services. Overall the complexity of sustainable outdoor recreation and tourism may suggest a need for different approaches to service delivery, culture change among service providers and managers of natural spaces, and novel approaches to inclusive governance and shared stewardship. Given the clear importance of outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism to society, we invite you to consider this initial introduction to our assembled collection, which is meant to advance our understanding of the intersections of outdoor recreation, nature-based tourism, and sustainability.

Restoration of Visitors through Nature-Based Tourism: A Systematic Review, Conceptual Framework, and Future Research Directions

“… Existing frameworks have largely overlooked the inherently multidimensional, interactive, and multisensorial complexity of the relationship between visitors and nature-based tourism. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, traditional theories have focused too strongly on the visual form of nature-based tourism by, for example, focusing on what natural destinations look like in terms of color and shape [ 75 ]. …”

“…Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, traditional theories have focused too strongly on the visual form of nature-based tourism by, for example, focusing on what natural destinations look like in terms of color and shape [ 75 ].…”

Sustainability Comes to Life. Nature-Based Adventure Tourism in Norway

“…Experiences of sustainability in tourism are, arguably, important for several reasons of which the most pertinent to this study is that tourism experiences can have educational effects which can contribute to wider public understandings and motivations toward sustainability (Ballantyne et al, 2010;Force et al, 2018;Winter et al, 2020). Understanding "what is it that's going on" (Goffman, 1974, p. 8) regarding sustainability in nature-based adventure tourism allows researchers, policymakers, tourism operators, guides and tourists to respond in ways that further their respective ambitions of sustainability at national, industry, professional, and personal levels, respectively.…”

La producción científica de turismo basado en la naturaleza: análisis bibliométrico de las bases de datos de Clarivate Analytics

“…El turista gana en conocimiento en diferentes ramas del saber y puede llegar a transformar su conducta, intenciones y compromiso (Ardoin et al, 2015). Del turismo de naturaleza se derivan todas las modalidades de turismo que tienen vínculos con el medio natural, y las actividades desplegadas son una herramienta de diversificación social, étnica, cultural y económica que benefician a la salud física y mental; aunque degradan el medio en la medida que se incrementa el número de visitantes y su frecuencia, a pesar de impulsar la conservación de los recursos de la naturaleza y educar a los visitantes en los valores medioambientales y culturales del destino turístico; donde los parques naturales y nacionales y las reservas protegidas y ecológicas adquieren gran relevancia para el desarrollo de las actividades de ocio (Winter et al, 2020;Martínez Quintana, 2017).…”