Nature-based Tourism and Wellbeing: Impacts and Future Outlook

Federico Niccolini · James R. Barborak · Iride Azara · Eleni Michopoulou · Alessio Cavicchi

Apr 2024 · CABI

About this ebook

All around the world, as growing numbers of tourists and recreational visitors flock to protected and other natural areas stimulated by a renewed search for physical, mental, and even spiritual health and wellbeing, different practices and behaviours emerge. This book brings together experiences and perspectives from many countries around the world. On the demand side, the experiences are united by the desire of tourists to find a real and regenerating connection in nature. On the supply side, designing and managing tourist systems that preserve natural capital in good condition requires great professionalism to dynamically maintain a fragile and delicate balance between tourists, local communities, and nature. By understanding the attitudes and emerging norms of behaviour within the context of nature-based tourism, we can begin to sketch a roadmap to enable more holistic, enjoyable, healthy and responsible visitor experiences; facilitate ecosystem conservation; contribute to the mental and physical wellbeing of tourists and outdoor recreationists; and build sustainable economies and resilient destinations and livelihoods. This book is of great relevance for academic researchers, advanced tourism and conservation students, and practitioners working in nature-based tourism and conservation, especially those with a focus on natural destinations, as well as those interested in consumer behaviour, business and management, recreation, and sustainable tourism development.

About the author

Dr. Federico Niccolini is Associate Professor of Organizational Science at University of Pisa (Italy). He was formerly a member of the faculty at University of Macerata. Dr. Niccolini's research interests are focused on protected areas management and organization, organizational dynamics related to sustainable development and tourism, organizational vision and culture. He has authored more than 20 scientific publications on organization and management of protected areas and sustainable tourism. He has been visiting scholar or professor at US Universities (Stanford, Albany, Paul Smith College of the Adirondacks). He coordinated several national and international (including EU funded) projects and working groups regarding protected areas management and organization and socio-economical sustainable development. He also worked for numerous protected areas organizations, such as the US National Park Service; Abruzzo National Park; Migliarino - San Rossore - Massaciuccoli - Regional Park; Tavolara Punta Coda Cavallo Marine Protected Area and Asinara National Park. Since 1999, he is a member of the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). He participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program of the US Department of State - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Since 2007 he is affiliated to the Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources at the Colorado State University.

James R. (Jim) Barborak, M. Sc., is a specialist in protected area planning and management; conservation finance, policy and governance; conservation and tourism capacity building; and ecotourism. He has worked for US, Honduran and Costa Rican government agencies; as a consultant to UN organizations; for leading international NGOs including WWF, IUCN, Conservation International, and the Wildlife Conservation Society; and for U.S. and Costa Rican universities. He has worked in over 25 countries, in the USA, Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia. Throughout his career, he has worked on efforts to plan and develop increased opportunities for public enjoyment of protected areas, through tourism, recreation, and environmental education. He has also been actively involved in efforts to increase the stream of benefits to local communities living in and around protected areas, through employment creation and improved livelihoods in protected areas, the buffer zones that ring them, the corridors that connect them, and associated tourism destinations. He is an active member of the Tourism and Protected Area Specialist Group of the World Commission on Protected Areas and an academic adviser of the Center for Responsible Tourism.

Dr. Azara is a Senior Lecturer in Tourism at the University of Derby and the Masters Scheme Leader for the Postgraduate taught courses in Tourism Management; International Hospitality Management; Events Management and International Spa Management. She teaches on subjects related to the management of Tourism, Hospitality, Events and Spa experiences and practices. She holds a PhD on the working of cultural heritage tourism in islands' environments from the University of Derby. Her research is on host and guest relationships; cultural change and tourism performance within socially and spatially regulated spaces of encounter. She is particularly interested in changing dynamics of cultural practices such as heritage, festivals and cultural tourism within sensitive environments. Additionally and in conjunction with the move of the Faculty to the Spa Town of Buxton, she has been teaching and researching in the areas of Spa Tourism, Wellness and Wellbeing. She has published in a variety of books and journals including Tourism Planning and Development. She is a reviewer for The European Council on Hotel, Restaurant & Institutional Education (EuroCHRIE) and a reviewer for the International Management Research Academy (IMRA). She is also a reviewer for the Journal of Tourism Futures. She has led the development of the International Spa and Wellness Journal (forthcoming)

Dr. Elina (Eleni) Michopoulou is a Senior Lecturer in Business Management at University of Derby, Buxton. She teaches on subjects relating to the management and marketing of Tourism, Hospitality, Events and Spa industries. She holds a PhD in Accessible Tourism Information Systems from University of Surrey, UK. Her research interests include technological applications and information systems in tourism, online consumer behaviour and technology acceptance. She is particularly interested in the field of accessible and wellness tourism, which she has actively been researching for over ten years. Her research has been published in a variety of outlets including books and high impact journals such as Annals of Tourism Research, Current Issues in Tourism, and Information and Management. She regularly acts as a reviewer for a number of academic journals including Tourism Management, Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management and International Journal of Tourism Research, and sits on the editorial board of International Journal of Business and Management. Dr. Michopoulou has also acted as a Guest Editor for a Special Issue on Accessible Tourism for the Journal of Tourism Futures. Previously she was involved in the European Commission funded Project OSSATE (One-Stop-Shop for Accessible Tourism in Europe), that aimed to implement a prototype multi-platform, multi-lingual information service, providing national and regional content on accessible tourist venues, sites and accommodation in Europe.

Prof. Alessio Cavicchi is Professor of Agribusiness, Rural Development and Branding in the Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Italy. He received his PhD in Economics of Food and Environmental Resources from the University of Naples "Parthenope". Previously he got a Master of Science (MSc) in Food Economics and Marketing from the University of Reading (UK). His main fields of interest and research are consumer choice, economics of food quality and safety, innovation, and sustainable tourism.