Expanding Forests’ Benefits: Forest-based Recreation and Tourism
A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2011) | Viewed by 68267
Special Issue Editors
Interests: ecotourism; outdoor recreation; nature-based tourism; collaborative planning
Interests: monitoring the use of nature areas (especially forest areas) for recreation; assessment of the general populations’ preferences for different environments for recreational purposes; importance of wildlife for outdoor experiences; values and ethical questions in relation to wildlife management
Interests: nature-based tourism demand; landscape research; participatory land-use and natural resource planning and economic analysis of landscape and recreation values
Interests: forest recreation and landscape planning; leisure studies; tourism theory; spatial analyses of forest recreation; satoyama woodland management for non-timber use
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
People, all over the world, look to their forests to provide a wealth of economic and non-economic benefits. In many cases, policy makers and forest managers have a difficult time directly addressing the many intangible, but highly valued benefits derived from recreation and tourism activities. For example, forests provide people with opportunities to view and experience aesthetic and restorative environments, relieve mental stress, and become physically fit. Moreover forest- based tourism is a growing land-use activity and an important economic sector that involves a variety of different types of entrepreneurs, many of which are relatively small, located in rural regions, and might only work part-time in tourism combined with agriculture, forestry or other rural means of livelihood. Many of these businesses are challenged by seasonality in tourism demand and the use of natural areas for tourism and recreation purposes might conflict with other natural resource uses. Even with the complex and valuable role recreation and tourism plays in forest management, it is somewhat rare to find the benefits of forest-based recreation and tourism specifically addressed in forest strategies or management plans. Over the last half century, social science researchers have made great strides to better understand how to provide opportunities to attain the wealth of personal, social, economic, and environmental benefits available through the use of forests for recreation and tourism. In this special issue, we will provide examples of research from around the world that highlights the state-of-the art information related to recreation and tourism forest policies, strategies, and management. From the identification of recreation indicators to the development of social theories, like place attachment, this special issue will provide a contemporary illustration of recreation and tourism’s role in expanding and improving forest management.
Taylor V. Stein
Frank Søndergaard Jensen
Nobuhiko Tanaka
Liisa Tyrväinen
Guest Editors
Keywords
- sustainable nature-based tourism
- ecotourism
- community development
- economics
- forest recreation
- recreation policy
- recreation benefits
- recreation ecology
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.