Japanese tourists’ relatedness and connectednesswith nature

Abstract

Nature-based tourism continues to gain importance globally. Research on sustainability claims that disconnection between nature and humanity may contribute to the environmental problems that we face in the 21 st century. It is, thus, quintessential to better understand the underlying variables for sustainable behaviour in a tourism context. Research suggests scales on nature relatedness (NRS) and connectedness to nature (CNS) to better understand people's attitudes towards nature. The current paper tests the applicability of these scales in a Japanese tourism setting. The scales seem, to a certain degree, appropriate in a Japanese tourism context, however they may need further refinement. In contrast to the conventionally recognized differences, which focus on the physical aspects of the human-nature relationship (relatedness) and affective community with nature (connectedness), relatedness and connectedness appear to have different dimensions used in the East Asian context. However, the paper shows that further tests in both Eastern and Western cultures should be done, with a particular focus on the dimension `active in nature´ and how this should be understood and treated. According to the strong tendency of developing and selling outdoor activities among nature based destinations combined with the strong increase of East Asian tourists, i.e., in Norway, further researching and testing of these aspects on the East Asian cultural values is recommended and directions are provided.