Nature tourism

Nature tourism constitutes a significant proportion of the tourism industry, although the exact size depends upon which forms are included. Thus, there are no exact figures regarding its economic value. In the simplest sense, nature tourism encompasses any form that features nature as its primary setting or attraction. Its activities represent a broad spectrum of passive to active behaviors and nonconsumptive to consumptive uses of nature. Examples include passive enjoyment of scenery, landscapes, geology, and flora and fauna; outdoor recreation and adventure; consumptive uses such as hunting and fishing; and voluntary contributions to conservation or research (Coghlan 2006).

This broad conceptualization suggests that nature can be essential, an enhancement, or incidental to tourism (Valentine 1992). Nature-based tourism may also overlap with adventure, wildlife, and ecotourism and cultural or eco-cultural, special interest, or alternative tourism (Buckley 2000; Coghlan 2006). It...