Pub Date : 2025-08-25DOI: 10.1016/j.jort.2025.100940
Mina Kim , Lori Pennington-Gray , Tammi L. Richardson
Water recreationists have a unique connection to water quality, given their direct interaction with aquatic environments during leisure pursuits. Growing concerns about water quality have prompted a body of research focused on understanding how environmental conditions and risk perceptions influence environmental attitudes and conservation behaviors. Yet, the question remains—do water-based recreationists act beyond activity-specific conservation behaviors? To address this gap, this study examines whether water-based recreationists in South Carolina support stricter water management policies and participate in political consumerism behaviors (boycotting and buycotting). We collected data through survey questionnaires and employed multiple and logistic regressions for data analysis. The results showed that risk perceptions are a key driver of all three conservation behaviors. Furthermore, age appeared to be positively related to their support for water management policies, while negatively associated with boycotting and buycotting behaviors. Our findings contribute to identifying the drivers of these underexplored conservation behaviors.
{"title":"What drives public support and political consumerism behaviors among water-based recreationists? The case of South Carolina","authors":"Mina Kim , Lori Pennington-Gray , Tammi L. Richardson","doi":"10.1016/j.jort.2025.100940","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jort.2025.100940","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Water recreationists have a unique connection to water quality, given their direct interaction with aquatic environments during leisure pursuits. Growing concerns about water quality have prompted a body of research focused on understanding how environmental conditions and risk perceptions influence environmental attitudes and conservation behaviors. Yet, the question remains—do water-based recreationists act beyond activity-specific conservation behaviors? To address this gap, this study examines whether water-based recreationists in South Carolina support stricter water management policies and participate in political consumerism behaviors (boycotting and buycotting). We collected data through survey questionnaires and employed multiple and logistic regressions for data analysis. The results showed that risk perceptions are a key driver of all three conservation behaviors. Furthermore, age appeared to be positively related to their support for water management policies, while negatively associated with boycotting and buycotting behaviors. Our findings contribute to identifying the drivers of these underexplored conservation behaviors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46931,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism-Research Planning and Management","volume":"51 ","pages":"Article 100940"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144895174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-06DOI: 10.1016/j.jort.2025.100936
Noah D. Cohen , M. Dylan Spencer
One of the best examples of balancing conservation with recreation-based tourism is the United States National Park System. With millions of visits per year in many parks, incidents of disorder are inevitable. Despite the limited amount of past literature examining more formal crime within national parks, to date, no studies have examined incidents of disorder or how these might affect recreation in these public spaces. This study examines over 74,000 incidents of disorder from 2000 to 2023 across four national parks using citation data from the Central Violations Bureau. These incidents were categorized and analyzed descriptively and longitudinally using autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models. The study finds that disorder is infrequent relative to visitation, with traffic-related citations comprising approximately 66 % of all incidents. In contrast, only about 5 % of citations were directly related to conservation or natural resources. These findings provide an empirical foundation for informing low-cost, prevention-oriented park management strategies.
Management implications
-
Long-term monitoring and categorization of disorder incidents in national parks can help managers anticipate trends and adapt strategies to reduce routine infractions.
-
Analysis of longitudinal trends using ARIMA models can help identify temporal and spatial hotspots for disorder, enabling park managers to allocate resources more effectively to these areas.
-
Educating park visitors about the consequences of disorder and their role in preserving natural environments can foster a culture of stewardship, enhancing both conservation and recreation experiences.
-
The study's insights can guide preparedness plans for future crises (e.g., surges in visitation, environmental stressors), ensuring park management remains resilient and effective in balancing recreation and conservation.
{"title":"Recreation and disarray: Analysis of disorder in U.S. national parks","authors":"Noah D. Cohen , M. Dylan Spencer","doi":"10.1016/j.jort.2025.100936","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jort.2025.100936","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>One of the best examples of balancing conservation with recreation-based tourism is the United States National Park System. With millions of visits per year in many parks, incidents of disorder are inevitable. Despite the limited amount of past literature examining more formal crime within national parks, to date, no studies have examined incidents of disorder or how these might affect recreation in these public spaces. This study examines over 74,000 incidents of disorder from 2000 to 2023 across four national parks using citation data from the <em>Central Violations Bureau</em>. These incidents were categorized and analyzed descriptively and longitudinally using autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models. The study finds that disorder is infrequent relative to visitation, with traffic-related citations comprising approximately 66 % of all incidents. In contrast, only about 5 % of citations were directly related to conservation or natural resources. These findings provide an empirical foundation for informing low-cost, prevention-oriented park management strategies.</div></div><div><h3>Management implications</h3><div><ul><li><span>-</span><span><div>Long-term monitoring and categorization of disorder incidents in national parks can help managers anticipate trends and adapt strategies to reduce routine infractions.</div></span></li><li><span>-</span><span><div>Analysis of longitudinal trends using ARIMA models can help identify temporal and spatial hotspots for disorder, enabling park managers to allocate resources more effectively to these areas.</div></span></li><li><span>-</span><span><div>Educating park visitors about the consequences of disorder and their role in preserving natural environments can foster a culture of stewardship, enhancing both conservation and recreation experiences.</div></span></li><li><span>-</span><span><div>The study's insights can guide preparedness plans for future crises (e.g., surges in visitation, environmental stressors), ensuring park management remains resilient and effective in balancing recreation and conservation.</div></span></li></ul></div></div>","PeriodicalId":46931,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism-Research Planning and Management","volume":"51 ","pages":"Article 100936"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144780140","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-05DOI: 10.1016/j.jort.2025.100930
Sofie Kjendlie Selvaag , Marianne Evju
Littering in natural areas disrupts ecosystems and diminishes visitor experiences, posing a persistent challenge. This study explored how communication through signage could effectively reduce littering behavior. We tested two signage interventions at six campsites near Røvoltjønnan Lake in Femundsmarka National Park, Norway, using insights from visitor interviews and observations structured by the COM-B and the elaboration-likelihood models. Field experiments conducted in summer 2023 measured effectiveness through waste mapping, visitor surveys, and trail counters. Daily litter at the campsites ranged from 0 to 16 pieces, with an average of 13 pieces during the control period. Treatment period 1 (Sign 1), reduced this to 7 pieces, and treatment period 2 (Sign 2) to 4 pieces. Overall, there was a 59 % reduction in litter at campsites when the signs were implemented compared to the control period. While Sign 2, with larger font size and image, appeared more effective in reducing littering, the difference between the signs was not statistically significant, likely due to limited sample size. Most visitors already exhibited responsible behavior by taking their waste home and expressing a strong belief in the importance of not littering, suggesting that explanations and justifications included in Sign 1 were unnecessary. The signs likely served as reminders, increasing attentiveness and encouraging visitors to take all their waste with them, with some picking up litter left by others. These findings highlight the importance of targeted communication in fostering stewardship and providing actionable insights for park managers to reduce environmental impacts and promote sustainable visitor behavior.
{"title":"Assessing the effectiveness of signs to change littering behavior in a Norwegian national park","authors":"Sofie Kjendlie Selvaag , Marianne Evju","doi":"10.1016/j.jort.2025.100930","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jort.2025.100930","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Littering in natural areas disrupts ecosystems and diminishes visitor experiences, posing a persistent challenge. This study explored how communication through signage could effectively reduce littering behavior. We tested two signage interventions at six campsites near Røvoltjønnan Lake in Femundsmarka National Park, Norway, using insights from visitor interviews and observations structured by the COM-B and the elaboration-likelihood models. Field experiments conducted in summer 2023 measured effectiveness through waste mapping, visitor surveys, and trail counters. Daily litter at the campsites ranged from 0 to 16 pieces, with an average of 13 pieces during the control period. Treatment period 1 (Sign 1), reduced this to 7 pieces, and treatment period 2 (Sign 2) to 4 pieces. Overall, there was a 59 % reduction in litter at campsites when the signs were implemented compared to the control period. While Sign 2, with larger font size and image, appeared more effective in reducing littering, the difference between the signs was not statistically significant, likely due to limited sample size. Most visitors already exhibited responsible behavior by taking their waste home and expressing a strong belief in the importance of not littering, suggesting that explanations and justifications included in Sign 1 were unnecessary. The signs likely served as reminders, increasing attentiveness and encouraging visitors to take all their waste with them, with some picking up litter left by others. These findings highlight the importance of targeted communication in fostering stewardship and providing actionable insights for park managers to reduce environmental impacts and promote sustainable visitor behavior.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46931,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism-Research Planning and Management","volume":"51 ","pages":"Article 100930"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144770937","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-31DOI: 10.1016/j.jort.2025.100922
Figen Sevinc Basol , Murat Yorulmaz , Medet Yolal
Water areas (WA) can potentially promote well-being (WB), but there exists a paucity of research on the positive effects and role of water-based recreational experiences (WBRE). In an attempt to fill the gap in the literature, this study proposes a model to determine how WBRE can affect WB. Thus, this study investigates the role of therapeutic landscapes (TL) and emotional experiences (EE) in the relationship between WBRE, WB, and environmental behaviors (EB). Data are obtained from a total of 491 participants who previously had WBRE through the questionnaire method. This study finds that the variables had significant and positive relationships with each other. More specifically, it reveals a moderating role of TL in the relationship between WBRE and EE; a mediating role of EE in the relationship between WBRE and WB. The model analysis yields that EE have no effect on EB, and also that EE are not a mediating variable in the relationship between WBRE and EB.
{"title":"Role of therapeutic landscapes and emotional experiences in the relationship between water-based recreational experiences, well-being, and environmental behaviors","authors":"Figen Sevinc Basol , Murat Yorulmaz , Medet Yolal","doi":"10.1016/j.jort.2025.100922","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jort.2025.100922","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Water areas (WA) can potentially promote well-being (WB), but there exists a paucity of research on the positive effects and role of water-based recreational experiences (WBRE). In an attempt to fill the gap in the literature, this study proposes a model to determine how WBRE can affect WB. Thus, this study investigates the role of therapeutic landscapes (TL) and emotional experiences (EE) in the relationship between WBRE, WB, and environmental behaviors (EB). Data are obtained from a total of 491 participants who previously had WBRE through the questionnaire method. This study finds that the variables had significant and positive relationships with each other. More specifically, it reveals a moderating role of TL in the relationship between WBRE and EE; a mediating role of EE in the relationship between WBRE and WB. The model analysis yields that EE have no effect on EB, and also that EE are not a mediating variable in the relationship between WBRE and EB.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46931,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism-Research Planning and Management","volume":"51 ","pages":"Article 100922"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144738866","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-29DOI: 10.1016/j.jort.2025.100933
Xia Wei , Sreetheran Maruthaveeran , Mohd Fairuz Shahidan , Tao Sha
<div><div>Brownfield spatial landscape regeneration is an important direction to cope with urban land use conflicts, and it is an important outdoor tourism carrier that displays the historical characteristics of the city. However, the existing brownfield regeneration space generally suffers from the double dilemma of quality fault and feature dissolution, which leads to the risk of spatial vitality decay and secondary abandonment. This research innovatively constructs a comprehensive evaluation system for the regeneration quality of brownfield landscapes. By integrating fuzzy mathematics and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP), it breaks through the limitations of traditional single-dimension assessment and, for the first time, incorporates several interdisciplinary indicators, such as spatial resilience, cultural legibility, and industry coupling, into the assessment framework. Taking Xi'an Banpo International Art Park as the empirical object, the research finds that its comprehensive index of regeneration quality is 79.19 (Acceptable), especially in the dimensions of business form (0.84), online and offline information dissemination (0.99, 0.91), and regional cultural self-confidence (1.45), revealing a significant shortcoming. This study calls for the construction of a "culture-technology-governance" triadic theoretical framework and proposes a "spatial gene restoration-industrial entropy regulation-digital brand symbiosis" optimization strategy, which forms a "visitor-community-manager" triadic synergy mechanism and makes up for the inadequacy of the existing brownfield regeneration theory in dynamic adaptation research. This assessment system not only provides a relocatable decision-making tool for urban regeneration but also reveals the non-linear evolution law of industrial heritage tourism space regeneration, which is of theoretical construction value for the establishment of brownfield regeneration assessment standards with Chinese characteristics and provides new ideas for the transformation of industrial heritage in global countries.</div></div><div><h3>Management implications</h3><div><ul><li><span></span><span><div>1.Through the adaptive and innovative FAHP, we constructed a comprehensive evaluation system for the spatial quality of brownfield tourism, quantitatively analyzed multiple driving factors such as physical environment, cultural readability, and industry coupling, and provided new ideas and decision-making tools for urban planning managers.</div></span></li><li><span></span><span><div>2.Xi'an Banpo International Art Park's advantages include physical, functional, and cultural factors, while its disadvantageous factors focus on emotional and informational factors; managers need to adopt the strategy of "making good use of strengths and compensating for weaknesses": strengthening the extraction of cultural IP symbols and implanting intelligent navigation systems to activate the vitality of the space.</div></span></li><li><s
{"title":"To develop or to be abandoned again? Tourism spatial quality assessment of brownfield landscape regeneration: A case study of Xi'an Banpo International Art Park, China","authors":"Xia Wei , Sreetheran Maruthaveeran , Mohd Fairuz Shahidan , Tao Sha","doi":"10.1016/j.jort.2025.100933","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jort.2025.100933","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Brownfield spatial landscape regeneration is an important direction to cope with urban land use conflicts, and it is an important outdoor tourism carrier that displays the historical characteristics of the city. However, the existing brownfield regeneration space generally suffers from the double dilemma of quality fault and feature dissolution, which leads to the risk of spatial vitality decay and secondary abandonment. This research innovatively constructs a comprehensive evaluation system for the regeneration quality of brownfield landscapes. By integrating fuzzy mathematics and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP), it breaks through the limitations of traditional single-dimension assessment and, for the first time, incorporates several interdisciplinary indicators, such as spatial resilience, cultural legibility, and industry coupling, into the assessment framework. Taking Xi'an Banpo International Art Park as the empirical object, the research finds that its comprehensive index of regeneration quality is 79.19 (Acceptable), especially in the dimensions of business form (0.84), online and offline information dissemination (0.99, 0.91), and regional cultural self-confidence (1.45), revealing a significant shortcoming. This study calls for the construction of a \"culture-technology-governance\" triadic theoretical framework and proposes a \"spatial gene restoration-industrial entropy regulation-digital brand symbiosis\" optimization strategy, which forms a \"visitor-community-manager\" triadic synergy mechanism and makes up for the inadequacy of the existing brownfield regeneration theory in dynamic adaptation research. This assessment system not only provides a relocatable decision-making tool for urban regeneration but also reveals the non-linear evolution law of industrial heritage tourism space regeneration, which is of theoretical construction value for the establishment of brownfield regeneration assessment standards with Chinese characteristics and provides new ideas for the transformation of industrial heritage in global countries.</div></div><div><h3>Management implications</h3><div><ul><li><span></span><span><div>1.Through the adaptive and innovative FAHP, we constructed a comprehensive evaluation system for the spatial quality of brownfield tourism, quantitatively analyzed multiple driving factors such as physical environment, cultural readability, and industry coupling, and provided new ideas and decision-making tools for urban planning managers.</div></span></li><li><span></span><span><div>2.Xi'an Banpo International Art Park's advantages include physical, functional, and cultural factors, while its disadvantageous factors focus on emotional and informational factors; managers need to adopt the strategy of \"making good use of strengths and compensating for weaknesses\": strengthening the extraction of cultural IP symbols and implanting intelligent navigation systems to activate the vitality of the space.</div></span></li><li><s","PeriodicalId":46931,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism-Research Planning and Management","volume":"51 ","pages":"Article 100933"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144721224","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-28DOI: 10.1016/j.jort.2025.100935
Rahim Maleknia , Aureliu-Florin Hălălişan , Bogdan Popa , Mohammad Reza Pakravan-Charvadeh
Ecotourism holds significant potential to reduce local communities' dependence on forest resources for their livelihoods while directly contributing to forest conservation by purchase of locally produced goods, particularly in protected forest areas. Understanding the factors that shape tourists' intentions to buy these products, as well as their actual purchasing behaviors, is crucial for promoting sustainable consumption patterns. This study addresses a critical research gap by extending the theory of planned behavior to incorporate two additional variables: the perceived impact of purchasing on conservation and environmental knowledge. Data were collected from 445 ecotourists through a structured questionnaire and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The inclusion of these additional variables enhanced the model's explanatory power for intention, increasing from 0.48 to 0.65, and improved its predictive accuracy for behavior from 0.43 to 0.50. Hypothesis testing confirmed that tourists' attitudes, perceived social norms, perceived behavioral control, environmental knowledge, and the perceived conservation impact of purchasing all had significant positive effects on their behavioral intentions, which, in turn, positively influenced purchasing behavior. However, the findings also revealed a gap between intention and actual behavior, as not all expressed intentions to buy local products translated into action. These insights offer valuable implications for both management and policy. Strengthening tourists' environmental knowledge, fostering positive attitudes, ensuring the availability of local products, and enhancing confidence in their conservation impact can effectively encourage both purchasing intentions and actual behaviors, ultimately supporting sustainable ecotourism practices.
{"title":"Consumption for conservation: determinants of purchasing local products by ecotourists to conserving protected forests","authors":"Rahim Maleknia , Aureliu-Florin Hălălişan , Bogdan Popa , Mohammad Reza Pakravan-Charvadeh","doi":"10.1016/j.jort.2025.100935","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jort.2025.100935","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ecotourism holds significant potential to reduce local communities' dependence on forest resources for their livelihoods while directly contributing to forest conservation by purchase of locally produced goods, particularly in protected forest areas. Understanding the factors that shape tourists' intentions to buy these products, as well as their actual purchasing behaviors, is crucial for promoting sustainable consumption patterns. This study addresses a critical research gap by extending the theory of planned behavior to incorporate two additional variables: the perceived impact of purchasing on conservation and environmental knowledge. Data were collected from 445 ecotourists through a structured questionnaire and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The inclusion of these additional variables enhanced the model's explanatory power for intention, increasing from 0.48 to 0.65, and improved its predictive accuracy for behavior from 0.43 to 0.50. Hypothesis testing confirmed that tourists' attitudes, perceived social norms, perceived behavioral control, environmental knowledge, and the perceived conservation impact of purchasing all had significant positive effects on their behavioral intentions, which, in turn, positively influenced purchasing behavior. However, the findings also revealed a gap between intention and actual behavior, as not all expressed intentions to buy local products translated into action. These insights offer valuable implications for both management and policy. Strengthening tourists' environmental knowledge, fostering positive attitudes, ensuring the availability of local products, and enhancing confidence in their conservation impact can effectively encourage both purchasing intentions and actual behaviors, ultimately supporting sustainable ecotourism practices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46931,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism-Research Planning and Management","volume":"51 ","pages":"Article 100935"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144714291","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-28DOI: 10.1016/j.jort.2025.100926
Minh Duong Duc , Linh Ta Duy , Thao Nguyen Thi Thanh , Thanh Le Minh
Purpose
This study investigates how responsible hiking tourism practices in Thiềng Liềng foster balanced human–nature relationships and ecological sustainability, addressing Anthropocene challenges such as climate change and ecological degradation. It explores how locally-led adaptive governance can effectively mediate tourist impacts and contribute to community and ecological resilience.
Study design/methodology/approach
A qualitative case study design was adopted, utilising semi-structured interviews conducted between 2022 and 2025. The analysis was guided by three complementary frameworks—Social-Ecological Systems (SES) theory, Critical Place Inquiry (CPI), and the Experiencing Place lens—which together enabled a nuanced examination of the relational dynamics among tourists, community members, local governance actors, and the surrounding environment.
Findings
The study identifies robust responsible tourism practices—educational guided hikes, ecologically strategic trail infrastructure, and community-driven visitor guidelines—that significantly reduced ecological disruptions and enhanced visitor environmental awareness. This study finds that responsible hiking in Thiềng Liềng has become a vital component of community-based tourism, fostering ecological preservation and transformative experiences through practices like forest bathing and storytelling that promote deep ecological awareness and non-dualistic human–nature relationships. Emphasizing the integration of deep ecology and bottom-up, indigenous knowledge, the study advocates for nature-based tourism approaches rooted in ethical engagement, cultural authenticity, and experiential place-making.
Originality/value
This research contributes to sustainable tourism by empirically demonstrating how responsible hiking, community-based governance, and ecological resilience can be effectively integrated within the Anthropocene context. Theoretical contributions are made through the application of Social-Ecological Systems (SES) theory, Critical Place Inquiry (CPI), and the Experiencing Place lens, all of which underscore the value of locally adaptive, culturally grounded tourism strategies that balance ecological and community well-being.
{"title":"Human–nature relations in the Anthropocene: Responsible hiking and ecological balance in Thiềng Liềng","authors":"Minh Duong Duc , Linh Ta Duy , Thao Nguyen Thi Thanh , Thanh Le Minh","doi":"10.1016/j.jort.2025.100926","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jort.2025.100926","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Purpose</h3><div>This study investigates how responsible hiking tourism practices in Thiềng Liềng foster balanced human–nature relationships and ecological sustainability, addressing Anthropocene challenges such as climate change and ecological degradation. It explores how locally-led adaptive governance can effectively mediate tourist impacts and contribute to community and ecological resilience.</div></div><div><h3>Study design/methodology/approach</h3><div>A qualitative case study design was adopted, utilising semi-structured interviews conducted between 2022 and 2025. The analysis was guided by three complementary frameworks—Social-Ecological Systems (SES) theory, Critical Place Inquiry (CPI), and the Experiencing Place lens—which together enabled a nuanced examination of the relational dynamics among tourists, community members, local governance actors, and the surrounding environment.</div></div><div><h3>Findings</h3><div>The study identifies robust responsible tourism practices—educational guided hikes, ecologically strategic trail infrastructure, and community-driven visitor guidelines—that significantly reduced ecological disruptions and enhanced visitor environmental awareness. This study finds that responsible hiking in Thiềng Liềng has become a vital component of community-based tourism, fostering ecological preservation and transformative experiences through practices like forest bathing and storytelling that promote deep ecological awareness and non-dualistic human–nature relationships. Emphasizing the integration of deep ecology and bottom-up, indigenous knowledge, the study advocates for nature-based tourism approaches rooted in ethical engagement, cultural authenticity, and experiential place-making.</div></div><div><h3>Originality/value</h3><div>This research contributes to sustainable tourism by empirically demonstrating how responsible hiking, community-based governance, and ecological resilience can be effectively integrated within the Anthropocene context. Theoretical contributions are made through the application of Social-Ecological Systems (SES) theory, Critical Place Inquiry (CPI), and the Experiencing Place lens, all of which underscore the value of locally adaptive, culturally grounded tourism strategies that balance ecological and community well-being.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46931,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism-Research Planning and Management","volume":"51 ","pages":"Article 100926"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144721223","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-21DOI: 10.1016/j.jort.2025.100932
Jingwei Zhao, Panpan Wang, Xintao Li
Urban green spaces fulfill a variety of essential functions, with ecological quality and recreational activity being two crucial aspects. However, the literature on these two aspects has largely remained separate, with most studies exploring the determining factors of just one aspect. As a result, achieving the dual purposes of encouraging recreation participation and conserving the environment has proven to be a challenge. Ecological quality was measured by integrating the reference condition approach with the index method in 14 urban green spaces. Recreation participation was determined by counting the number of visitors engaging in recreational activities, and recreational activity diversity was calculated using the Shannon–Wiener index. Subsequently, this study calculated the coexistence of ecological quality and recreation participation, as well as the coexistence of ecological quality and recreational activity diversity. No significant relationship was observed between ecological quality and recreation participation or recreational activity diversity. More buildings and less paved areas were identified as factors that promoted the coexistence of ecological quality and recreation participation, as well as the coexistence of ecological quality and recreational activity diversity. Additionally, the coverage of woody plants positively predicted the coexistence of ecological quality and recreation participation. Visual naturalness was identified as a positive predictor, while the coverage of lawns acted as a negative predictor of the coexistence of ecological quality and recreational activity diversity. These findings provide valuable insight into the multifunctional design and management of urban green spaces.
{"title":"Investigating the coexistence of ecological quality and recreational activity in urban green spaces during the summer","authors":"Jingwei Zhao, Panpan Wang, Xintao Li","doi":"10.1016/j.jort.2025.100932","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jort.2025.100932","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Urban green spaces fulfill a variety of essential functions, with ecological quality and recreational activity being two crucial aspects. However, the literature on these two aspects has largely remained separate, with most studies exploring the determining factors of just one aspect. As a result, achieving the dual purposes of encouraging recreation participation and conserving the environment has proven to be a challenge. Ecological quality was measured by integrating the reference condition approach with the index method in 14 urban green spaces. Recreation participation was determined by counting the number of visitors engaging in recreational activities, and recreational activity diversity was calculated using the Shannon–Wiener index. Subsequently, this study calculated the coexistence of ecological quality and recreation participation, as well as the coexistence of ecological quality and recreational activity diversity. No significant relationship was observed between ecological quality and recreation participation or recreational activity diversity. More buildings and less paved areas were identified as factors that promoted the coexistence of ecological quality and recreation participation, as well as the coexistence of ecological quality and recreational activity diversity. Additionally, the coverage of woody plants positively predicted the coexistence of ecological quality and recreation participation. Visual naturalness was identified as a positive predictor, while the coverage of lawns acted as a negative predictor of the coexistence of ecological quality and recreational activity diversity. These findings provide valuable insight into the multifunctional design and management of urban green spaces.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46931,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism-Research Planning and Management","volume":"51 ","pages":"Article 100932"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144670920","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-18DOI: 10.1016/j.jort.2025.100927
Peng Yang, Juho Pesonen
This study explores hiking experiences of Finns within a nation-specific online community. Understanding hiking experiences is crucial for outdoor recreation and tourism management. Academic research on the topic has so far predominantly focused on English-language content and often overlooked the contextual factor of online communities. This study aims to increase our understanding of the hiking experience by comparing two groups of Finnish reviewers: those who wrote their reviews in Finnish and those who wrote in English.
The online hiking community of our research comprises 272 individual reviewers on Tripadvisor. Among them, 155 posted reviews only in Finnish, 110 posted only in English, and 6 contributed to both languages. At the end, a total of 329 hiking-related reviews were collected, including 144 in English and 185 in Finnish. The two language groups are compared regarding contribution level, types of hikers, image sharing, travel month, satisfaction ratings, and hiking region. In addition, qualitative content analysis examined the reviews in terms of focus, tone, and audience.
Findings show shared trends such as peak hiking in July, high satisfaction levels, and frequent use of photos. However, differences emerged in engagement patterns, types of hikers, and preferred regions. English reviews often used expressive and tourist-oriented language and address broader audiences. Finnish reviews focused on practical trail details and used a nostalgic tone. Their reviews appeared more oriented toward experienced local hikers.
The study contributes to understanding hiking experiences by showing that the language of reviews matters significantly. It supports the development of multilingual communication strategies and complements socio-economic analyses. For park management, the results suggest practical strategies.
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Pub Date : 2025-07-17DOI: 10.1016/j.jort.2025.100925
Kolsoum Heidari, François Gravelle
While nature-based recreation is widely recognized for its well-being benefits, its role in fostering long-term environmental stewardship remains underexplored. This study bridges this gap by applying the Serious Leisure Perspective a framework that describes sustained, skill-intensive, and identity-building leisure participation, to examine how sustained engagement in outdoor activities cultivates ecological responsibility among recreationists in Gatineau Park, Canada. Using SmartPLS structural modeling, we analyzed survey data from 248 outdoor recreationists, assessing relationships between serious leisure (measured via the Serious Leisure Inventory and Measure) and environmental concern (using the New Ecological Paradigm Scale).
Serious leisure significantly predicted environmental concern (R2 = 0.563), with younger, educated participants showing heightened awareness. Subdimensions of environmental concern—anti-anthropocentrism (β = 0.329), balance of nature (β = 0.771), and ecological crisis (β = 0.766)—were strongly influenced by serious leisure engagement. Findings advance outdoor recreation research by demonstrating how serious leisure fosters place attachment and stewardship. We propose actionable strategies for park managers to design programs (e.g., skill-based workshops, citizen science) that leverage leisure engagement for sustainability outcomes. This study also can be used by park managers, environmental educators, and recreation planners looking for evidence-based strategies to encourage sustainable behaviors through leisure engagement.
{"title":"Does intensity of nature-based recreation drive environmental stewardship?","authors":"Kolsoum Heidari, François Gravelle","doi":"10.1016/j.jort.2025.100925","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jort.2025.100925","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>While nature-based recreation is widely recognized for its well-being benefits, its role in fostering long-term environmental stewardship remains underexplored. This study bridges this gap by applying the Serious Leisure Perspective a framework that describes sustained, skill-intensive, and identity-building leisure participation, to examine how sustained engagement in outdoor activities cultivates ecological responsibility among recreationists in Gatineau Park, Canada. Using SmartPLS structural modeling, we analyzed survey data from 248 outdoor recreationists, assessing relationships between serious leisure (measured via the Serious Leisure Inventory and Measure) and environmental concern (using the New Ecological Paradigm Scale).</div><div>Serious leisure significantly predicted environmental concern (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.563), with younger, educated participants showing heightened awareness. Subdimensions of environmental concern—anti-anthropocentrism (β = 0.329), balance of nature (β = 0.771), and ecological crisis (β = 0.766)—were strongly influenced by serious leisure engagement. Findings advance outdoor recreation research by demonstrating how serious leisure fosters place attachment and stewardship. We propose actionable strategies for park managers to design programs (e.g., skill-based workshops, citizen science) that leverage leisure engagement for sustainability outcomes. This study also can be used by park managers, environmental educators, and recreation planners looking for evidence-based strategies to encourage sustainable behaviors through leisure engagement.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46931,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism-Research Planning and Management","volume":"51 ","pages":"Article 100925"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144655737","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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