Protected Areas and Nature-Based Tourism: A 30-Year Bibliometric Review

Abstract

Nature-based tourism constitutes a major segment of world tourism. Protected areas are considered a popular theme in the literature, which is characterised by a great heterogeneity in concepts, contents, and purposes. This study analyses many of the indicators of interest related to the research on the themes of protected areas and nature-based tourism. Consequently, we aim to offer a global and updated vision of the research produced regarding these themes over the last 30 years. With bibliometric tools (Bibliometrix and VOSviewer), 1033 scientific articles were analysed. The results indicate that the research in this area exponentially increased in the last decade. Using a co-occurrence network of keywords, five major themes in this study were identified: (1) ecotourism; (2) nature conservation, biodiversity, and sustainability; (3) national parks, recreation, and climate change; (4) sustainable management and development; and (5) with a lesser degree of representation, themes related to China and ecosystem services. A timespan analysis on this network enabled the identification of six trends in the research over the last years: (i) sustainable tourism; (ii) climate change; (iii) geotourism and rural tourism; (iv) ecosystem services and cultural ecosystem services; (v); visitor studies; and (vi) wildlife tourism. Nature-based tourism plays a significant and crucial role in sustainable development. Analysing research in protected areas and nature-based tourism provides insights into key themes and emerging trends, serving as a valuable resource for knowledge advancement.

Life by the Lake: Lubana Region and Its People in History and Present

“…In the Lubana wetland area, tourism is a crucial economic sector that is purposefully not being developed, partly because there was no nature protection plan. Local municipalities and residents (who are the main actors in promoting tourism in the region) often lack resources to create new tourist attractions in the area before considering nature conservation restrictions (Van den Broek et al 2023;Silva, Silva & Vieira 2023;Zsuzsa, Kupi, & Happ 2023;Breib 2023). The dam system could be a valuable tourism asset, as it is one of Europe's largest lake damming systems.…”

Sociocultural valuation of ecosystem services in protected areas: A study applied to Southeast Spain

“…Tourism represents an activity of great importance for rural environments as a driver of economic development (Streimikiene et al, 2021). In fact, nature-based tourism represents approximately 20% of the global tourism market (Silva et al, 2023). In this sense, sustainable tourism should be one of the bases of local development in the area.…”

Mangrove tourism management strategies and policies towards sustainable mangrove tourism: a comparison study between Mexico and Indonesia

“…For example, in the regulatory function as a protector of coastal areas, supporting functions as a provider of spawning habitat for fishery commodities, to cultural functions as a provider of recreational rides (Kuenzer, et al, 2011). Mangrove tourism is a form of nature-based tourism, namely tourism that has nature as its main attraction or as a context for activities whose main attraction is still natural or not much modified (Silva, Silva & Vieira, 2023). Therefore, the preservation of mangroves is important for the existence of tourism itself.…”

“…There is an increasing trend in the popularity of mangrove tourism, which is expected to coincide with the increasing trend towards nature-based tourism for nature protection. This relates to its potential to support the sustainable improvement of people's livelihoods while conserving mangrove ecosystems and their environmental services by maintaining the sustainability and functionality of mangrove ecosystems (Spalding & Parrott, 2019;Silva, Silva & Vieira, 2023;Susilo, Koestoer & Takarina, 2023).…”