One reason for people to travel is to experience natural environments and connect with nature. However, all too often, tourism activity degrades the very place that visitors come to appreciate. Moreover, many destinations are threatened by ecological crises such as climate change and biodiversity loss. Clearly, there is not only a need but an opportunity for tourism to contribute to the restoration of healthy ecoystems. The notion of 'visitors giving back', as part of the regenerative tourism paradigm is gaining traction (Becken & Kaur, 2021). This paper brings together two pieces of research conducted in the context of nature-based tourism in New Zealand. First, an online search was designed to identify restoration and conservation projects that involve either tourism businesses or visitors. A total of 63 initiatives were identified, and these could be categorised into four different approaches. These were 1) active involvement in conservation activities; 2) partnership development for restoration; 3) creation of eco-sanctuaries; and 4) financial contribution by visitors. The fourth category was the most common one. The second piece of work involved interviews with users of the Queen Charlotte Track in the north of New Zealand's South Island. In addition to questions around visitor experience and nature connectedness, research participants shared their thoughts on ways they could 'give back' to the destination. Visitors identified seven paths, including those that involved personal action (e.g. picking up rubbish, planting a tree, contributing to predator control), financial contributions (e.g. track user fees, donations) and wider activities through community support or citizen science. Insights from both projects highlight the desire by visitors to be involved, but the lack of projects that offer opportunities beyond donations. The paper concludes by proposing avenues for projects that deliver visitor aspirations and conservation outcomes.
Mots clés : conservation|giving back|nature tourism|regenerative|New Zealand
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