The literature has approached the issue of leisure experience in protected areas from different theoretical and methodological angles, establishing, among other questions, the need to explore approaches capable of explaining the sense of place established by visitors to natural protected areas based on their leisure experiences and the influence exerted on this construction by sociodemographic variables and preferences. Taking a quantitatively driven mixed approach, a total of 704 tourists were surveyed in three national parks in Chile, and the findings included the following: (1) the most significant variable when it comes to constructing senses of place lies in the opportunity for visitors to enjoy their desired leisure experiences; (2) the levels of the different dimensions of sense of place vary according to gender, age, ethnic origin and quality of the leisure offer; and (3) confirmation of the emerging and multidimensional nature of leisure experience in contact with nature.
The main objective of this research was to contribute to the understanding of leisure experiences in protected wilderness areas. This was pursued through the interpretation and analysis of three variables; the personal notion of “Nature”, perception of benefits, and senses of place put forward by resident and non-resident visitors to three protected wilderness areas in southern Chile. Through a post hoc qualitative, in-depth interview with 36 subjects, connections between the aforementioned variables were established. Among the results, the strength with which the romantic notion of Nature appears linked with leisure experiences was highlighted. With the latter, leisure experiences in protected wilderness areas were identified as the generators of “benefits” and “sense of place”. Finally, four key dimensions of leisure experiences in protected wilderness areas emerged: transcendence, perception of well-being, connection and environmental awareness.
El artículo indaga en las principales concepciones y motivaciones que manifiestan emprendedores turísticos de la región de La Araucanía en la zona sur de Chile con posterioridad a un proceso de formación y trabajo asociativo desarrollado durante dos años en el territorio. Entre las concepciones destacan los cambios desde una visión tradicional de la actividad turística hacia una más compleja que incorpora elementos como el ocio, satisfacción del visitante, bienestar, el cuidado y protección del medio ambiente, y un mecanismo efectivo para la conservación y promoción de la cultura mapuche. Respecto a las motivaciones destacan la puesta en valor y difusión de la cultura mapuche, la posibilidad de generar ingresos, la conservación natural y cultural, y el arraigo. Las conclusiones destacan la forma de acercar a los emprendedores a una forma de entender el fenómeno del turismo más holística e integrada a dimensiones sociales, personales, culturales, ambientales y económicas.
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