The Drivers of Nature-based Tourism Across Africa and Great Britain.

Abstract

Nature-based tourism (NBT) develops when tourists visit sites (generally protected areas; PAs) to experience natural features or participate in nature-related activities such as wildlife-watching. NBT can generate revenue for conservation, local communities, and national economic development, contributing to the protection of nature’s strongholds. Despite this, the drivers of NBT are poorly understood.
Using the number of tourism resources in which a species was mentioned as an indicator of their popularity for NBT, traits associated with the popularity of species were identified in this study and their use in predicting visitor numbers to African National Parks (NPs) and British PAs was explored. Infrared camera traps were also piloted as visitor recorders across 27 British sites, and provided visitor count data on a cost-effective basis, especially for PAs with lower visitor numbers.
The popularity of African birds was driven by range size and body mass, whereas the popularity of British birds was driven by trophic level and plumage patterning. The popularity of both African and British mammals was driven by range size and sociality, but body mass was the strongest driver in African mammals. Visitor numbers to African NPs and British PAs were driven by habitat diversity, accessibility, and wildlife popularity, but the level of human development also influenced tourism across African countries.
Species currently overlooked, and sites currently underutilised by tourists relative to their traits were identified and could benefit from marketing. Promotion, product, price, and place marketing techniques can be used to control visitor flow, generating an equilibrium between visitor pressure and expectations, economic revenue, and sustainable conservation management.
Additional factors, such as aesthetic landscape appeal, which could influence species and site popularity were identified and could be investigated in future study. Consultation of additional tourism resources and access to additional visitor number records, potentially through the use of infrared camera traps, could also enhance our understanding of which species and site features drive NBT.