Tourism and natural resource management: a general overview of research and issues.

Abstract

In recent years, growing awareness among tourism researchers of the relations between tourism and natural resource management has resulted in a substantial body of academic literature examining tourism issues under a relatively new set of tourism concepts. Seemingly new forms of tourism, such as nature-based tourism, ecotourism, and sustainable tourism, now are advocated as an environmentally safe basis for economic development in many rural locations worldwide. The USDA Forest Service has become interested in these new forms of tourism because of decreasing timber harvests and increasing recreation on national forest lands, and the resulting impacts of these changes on local economies. New forms of tourism are closely related to outdoor recreation, which has been a management objective of National Forests since their inception. This paper discusses the concepts of nature-based tourism, ecotourism, and sustainable tourism; provides a general overview of research and issues; and suggests potential areas for future research. The intent is to provide a general overview of existing literature to serve as a primer for researchers and policymakers initiating more thorough investigations of tourism and natural resource management.