About Nature Tourism

Nature Tourism is about getting outdoors and enjoying landscapes, wildlife, culture and heritage and adventures both in the UK and Worldwide. Nature is here for us to enjoy, for the benefit of all as long as we care for it and share responsibility in the ever demanding balance to conserve it. The UK and The World have many natural and amazing areas to discover, in urban,marine and rural locations. At RS we believe the Model below outlines what this type of tourism encompasses, and do remember that some of the elements listed may or may not apply to your situation, due to the geography and landscape of any particular region:

“When one tugs at a single thing in nature,he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” John Muir.

These elements may be taken in their entirety or partially depending on the product and location and we classify all these elements under the banner of Nature Tourism (NT).

It is important to note that NT involves both the leisure and corporate markets and it encompasses longer holidays, short breaks and day visits, and these make up the tourism experience. It is also important to understand that the ‘mix’ required for NT involves the outdoors, activities (harsh or soft) and the natural or built environment but importantly should provide the following experiences; which may be one element or a combination of the following:

• Life Experience
• Close To Nature
• Cultural and Heritage Encounters
• Remote – With Nature Experiences
• Social & Educational Programmes
• Learning – Self Improvement
• Relaxation, Freedom & Self Discovery

For the Corporate Market the USP's will be around both the built heritage and natural resources and these combined with the nature tourism experiences shown above will build towards an outstanding venue for corporate events or conferences - out of the office and into the great outdoors.

The market demographics for leisure are very wide and varied but the highest growth is from the ABC1 groups who are more affluent and perhaps more ‘health and life aware’. It is important to note that Youth Groups may come from any demographic depending on the nature of their involvement.

The biggest growth is and will come from four sectors: young single professional adults (particularly females), affluent active families, youth and school groups and the over 50’s. These Nature seekers are people who want or need a life experience, to get off the beach, away from the City or out of the car and into the ‘active’ outdoors or to discover new horizons and cultures, NT provides this.

Parents are now more than ever demanding their children have cleaner and fresher lifestyles (often many families limit time on the PC and TV) and to this end want their children to be involved and understand nature, new cultures and the environment as well as being active families. The youth market will also be encouraged to participate with their families (holidays, breaks and day trips) or without them (through schools and youth groups). Consequently, this will also lead to a growth in the future from the teenage and early 20’s markets as they have been ‘brought up’ with this experience. For the over 50’s they are very active and living longer and turning to adventures and cultural experiences for their holidays/days out as they are also retiring earlier. These sectors also want to learn new lifestyle experiences, such as World or Regional Nature and Cultures, New Destinations and Heritage Tours and Experiences bringing them closer to the people of the countries and the environment they visit.

Within these sectors it is worth noting that Women are one of the fastest growing ‘new experience seekers’ and their demographics are very wide, including all ages, family to single and levels of involvement. Once again the type of holiday/days out is varied from trekking to heritage tours but also including kayaking, snow shoeing, nature watching, food and culture and of course the mix that blends these activities and experiences with relaxation.

The type of accommodation to Visitors is important, and we show this as 'Eco-Accommodation', with the fastest growing market looking for more ‘Civilised Cultural and Adventure Experiences’ in quality accommodation. This accommodation includes comfortable lodges or cabins (inc. refuges and bunk houses), good quality camping (both car and wild camping) and in the serviced sector hotels must be environmentally aware and be 'part' of the Nature experience. However, whatever the accommodation, it must be eco friendly and bring the Visitor close to the culture and/or nature of the region with the emphasis of consideration for that culture or nature.

The NT Market want to discover, new destinations, new experiences and new adventures encompassing a ‘different’ type of holiday combining culture, heritage and adventure both in the UK and Worldwide.

There are a variety of factors which is making this sector one of the fastest growing in the UK and these factors include:

• An ageing population that is active
• Concerns about health and the move towards a more healthy lifestyle
• A fun way to relax and unwind mentally
• A move to get closer to Nature and the environment

Reports, surveys and trends in adventure tourism reveal that 36-40% of tourists from an affluent background want some form of active holiday or cultural experience plus around a further 36% of tourists would participate in such activity or adventures if they knew about them or how to participate in them.

Cultural City Breaks have for a long time been a major travel sector but many of the primary destinations are being sidelined by Visitors who are looking for new experiences in new destinations and this is where Tour Operators will be well placed by offering such travel product. Finally, as an example of how to target the consumers we show below the sources of most significance to this market sector:

• Web Search Engines
• Web Links & Banners
• Social Networking
• Tourism Web Links
• Magazines and Guidebooks
• Recommendation
• Travel Industry Related (i.e. Tour Operators)