Place Playing a Part: Environmental Consciousness in Adventure Tourism

This presentation explores the points of intersection and relationship between adventure tourism and environmentalism. Adventure tourism relies upon and capitalizes on nature; however, often the associated activities and the means to access nature have negative environmental consequences. Based on the idea that experiences in nature can be a catalyst to protecting it, the research considers how we might participate in outdoor activities and adventure tourism in a way that fosters the creation of an environmentally conscious society. Evidence suggests a strong sense of place can enable place-protective behaviour. Therefore, this project asks if a sense of place can be developed amongst tourists to promote pro-environmental behaviour. Six individuals who participated in outdoor activities while travelling were interviewed to understand if these experiences created a sense of place and contributed to their environmental identity. Using an interpretive hermeneutic approach, a framework is created that tour operators can incorporate into their practices to help foster sustainable and pro-environmental behaviour from guests. Conclusions are drawn from an interdisciplinary approach that is derived from a holistic background which seeks information from both a tourism management and environmental perspective