The nature of tourism studies

Arianne C. Reis, Southern Cross University
Eric Shelton, University of Otago

Abstract

Nature-based tourism activities are highly modulated by how Nature has been constructed in modern Western societies. The way we have come to perceive what is “other-than-human” impacts onhow we engage with, and experience, a location, a place, or a tourism space that is based on/aroundthe natural world. This review discusses how this construct has been formulated by different socialscientists and philosophers, and how these constructions impact on nature-based tourism experiences in contemporary societies. In this review article, Reis and Shelton argue that in order toadvance and refine our understandings of nature-based tourism practices, tourism scholars need toacknowledge, or, better, explore, how the different meanings attached to “nature,” or the different“natures” constructed by societies, intervene and sometimes dictate tourism practices and experiences. Likewise, practices and experiences in tourism management/development provide an everchanging context of human–nature relationships that highlight the worldmaking agency of tourism.Here, Reis and Shelton conclude by inviting scholars in Tourism Studies/Tourism Sciences toincorporate notions of embodiment, interagentivity, and indigenous perspectives, among others,into their discussions and analysis of nature-based tourism.