Nature-based experiences' influence on tourists' self-awareness of environmental impact: A case study of Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania

Abstract

The remaining protected ecosystems in the world are under great pressure from human exploitation. At the same time, nature-based tourism is the fastest growing segment of the tourism industry. In this way, nature-based tourism has the potential to play an important role in connecting people and nature, a connection that can be important for the future of these areas. Nature-based tourism however, also has the potential to increase human pressure on these areas in an unsustainable way. Because of the difference between these potential scenarios, it becomes important to understand the relationship between tourists and nature. This study contextualizes this relationship by framing it within a management context of protected areas. The objective is to investigate whether tourism experiences affects tourist’s perception of their own environmental impact related to nature-based tourism in protected areas. This will also be used in a discussion of its potential implications for the future management of these protected areas. A quantitative approach was chosen for the study, and a tourist survey, using questionnaires, was used to collect the data. This was done in two of the protected areas in Tanzania, Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area. These are both world class icons for nature-based tourism and conservation, and attracts tourists from all over the world. The study identified five dimensions of the tourism experience that are affecting the way tourists are perceiving their experience. These experiences were also argued to influence the tourists understanding of their own environmental impact on the protected areas. Differences in a tourist’s environmental beliefs (measured as level of ecocentrism), were found to be especially important for creating differences between the tourists’ perception of their experience. The implications of the results are discussed in the context of management of protected areas and has a focus on the relationship between tourism and conservation.