Abstract
One of the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis has been the development of proximity tourism in outdoor spaces being less conducive to the spread of the virus. From a study preceding this pandemic, this article seeks to better understand the experiences lived by domestic tourists from when they visited two typical protected natural parks as specific experiential contexts (extraordinary versus ordinary) providing different experiences. Each experiential context enables the distinction of actual visitors’ experiences inside each park—education, esthetics, entertainment, escapism, physical activity—differentiated, on one hand by the visitors’ participation axis and, on the other hand, by the absorption-immersion axis influencing the visitors’ arousal and memory. A structural equation model tested the data collected (n = 1000) in both experiential contexts and shows their moderator effect. The results underline the link between the experiential context and the actual experiences and highlight the interest of a new global framework including the visitors’ participation and a bodily axis relative to the specific context. This research could help managers of protected natural parks adjust their domestic tourists’ experience offer during pandemic crises by implementing specific sustainable and sanitary strategies.
Highlights
For the past 30 years, protected natural parks have become a profitable market due to their potential for attracting visitors from around the world
The current study presents a conceptual model (Figure 1), which links the different kinds of experiential park context with the specific visitors’ park experiences
With the deletion of the esthetics dimension, the experience scales for the park sample achieved structurally reliable measurement properties
Summary
For the past 30 years, protected natural parks have become a profitable market due to their potential for attracting visitors from around the world. The analyses of protected natural parks have been mostly focusing either on the development of their attractiveness in terms of attendance by residents and/or foreign or domestic tourists, or on the preservation of their resources in a sustainable development perspective. Visitors’ enthusiasm for active leisure activities raises the problem of regulating the flow of people and managing both the tourist activities and the protected areas in natural parks. To a certain extent, protected natural parks are thematized as “natural” and “certified” by a label, whether national (State), continental (e.g., Europe), or international (e.g., UNESCO). Governments and/or private agencies manage, promote, and sustain them, by establishing pricing policies, accessibility of areas, tourist traffic, etc
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
