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Jul
2
2009
People are still flocking to national parks. Just not in the U.S.
A new study attempts to resolve two seemingly contradictory and widely reported trends on people’s engagement with nature.
Nature-based tourism is said to be a booming sector within the travel and recreation industry, a trend that’s also a boon for arguments to conserve natural lands. But, to much fanfare, recent studies have also concluded that people are in fact more isolated from nature than ever before, largely based on evidence that the number of visitors to U.S. and Japanese national parks is declining.
The authors, writing in PLoS Biology, conducted a broader survey of 280 protected areas in 20 countries. They confirm that visitation is indeed dropping in the U.S. and Japan, but is growing in 15 of 20 nations. Such results indicate that despite worrying local downturns, tourists elsewhere are still flocking towards natural attractions and generating income for conservation.
Interestingly, the highest rates of visitor increases were generally in the nations with the lowest per capita income whereas the decreases were in richer nations, such as the U.S. and Japan. The authors cannot explain the reason for this trend, but they suppose that corresponding overall drops in international tourism to these countries could have a role. – Jessica Leber
Source: Balmford, A. et al. 2009. A Global Perspective on Trends in Nature-Based Tourism. PLoS Biology DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1000144
Image © elkor, iStockphoto.com
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Jun
28
2009
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Jun
24
2009
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Jun
20
2009
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Jun
17
2009
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Jun
15
2009
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Jun
10
2009
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Jun
9
2009
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Jun
8
2009
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Jun
5
2009
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