Experiencing nature in animal-based tourism

Abstract

This study concerns animal-based outdoor tourist activities. It adopts an experiential approach and uses the concept of friluftsliv (outdoor life) to thematise the specific experiencescape and develop a conceptual model. This model aims to contribute to a better understanding of animal-based outdoor experiences. The research question is: How do animal encounters influence the way nature is experienced? Data are collected through consultation of online promotional and tourist generated texts about three outdoor activities in Norway. The findings indicate that the presence of animals contributes to profiling nature reinforcing one or more dimensions of friluftsliv. Influential elements are: 1) the perception of the animals, presumably dependent on pre-visit factors, 2) the possible human-animals interactions and 3) the presence of a guide. These findings highlight the potentials of designing outdoor animal-based experiences based on engaging narrative frames through a deep understanding of the target segment and coherent promotional and staging activities.