Suchergebnisse

Following the growth of nature-based tourism, national parks have become important tourist attractions and tools for regional development. This article examines how the role of tourism changed in national park planning in Finland in the 2000s by analyzing official planning documents of parks. The planning documents and the policies guiding them are seen to reflect the governance aspects of parks. The study indicates that the role and management value of tourism have clearly increased in Finnish national park planning. In the planning documents, tourism is increasingly justified not only with recreational and educational arguments but also by the aspects of regional development. The aim has been to combine the ecological goals of nature conservation and the socioeconomic goals of nature-based tourism by implementing the principles of sustainable development. This discursive policy shift reflects the rise of neoliberalist politics in which nature conservation has become more instrumental and market oriented than before.

Following the growth of nature-based tourism, national parks and other protected areas have become important tourist attractions and tools for regional development. Meanwhile, research on the impact of nature on human health and well-being is increasing and taken into account in park management. This study examines health and well-being benefits perceived by visitors to Finland's protected areas. It is based on survey data from five national parks and one strict nature reserve in 2013–2015: an on-site visitor survey (N = 3152) and an Internet-based health and well-being survey (N = 1054). The study indicates that visitors' perceived benefits to their well-being were highly positive. Visits to protected areas promoted psychological, physical, and social benefits. In particular, park visits were found to provide strong and multi-faceted, long-lasting, embodied and sensory well-being experiences as well as escape from everyday life and work. Overnight visitors reported more well-being benefits than day visitors, and different types of park had different well-being benefits. The study suggests that the potential benefits of protected areas for public health are significant, emphasizing the need to integrate health and well-being arguments into the neoliberalist politics assessing the economic benefits of protected areas and their role in regional development. ; Peer reviewed