Restoration of Visitors through Nature-Based Tourism: A Systematic Review, Conceptual Framework, and Future Research Directions

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 18; no. 5; p. 2299
• Main Authors: Qiu, Mengyuan, Sha, Ji, Scott, Noel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI 26.02.2021
• Subjects: COVID-19; Forecasting; Humans; Nature; Pandemics; Review; Tourism; sustainable development; well-being; natural environments; nature-based tourism; systematic review; restoration
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18052299

Visiting natural environments could restore health and contribute to human sustainability. However, the understanding of potential linkages between restoration of visitors and nature-based tourism remains incomplete, resulting in a lack of orientation for researchers and managers. This study aimed to explore how visitors achieve restoration through nature by analyzing published literature on tourism. Using a systematic review method, this study examined destination types, participant traits, theoretical foundations, and potential restorative outcomes presented in 34 identified articles. A new framework that synthesizes relevant research and conceptualizes the restorative mechanisms of nature-based tourism from a human-nature interaction perspective was developed. Owing to the limitations in the theories, methods, cases, and the COVID-19 pandemic, interdisciplinary methods and multisensory theories are needed in the future to shed further light on the restoration of visitors through nature-based tourism. The findings provide a theoretical perspective on the consideration of nature-based tourism as a public-wellness product worldwide, and the study provides recommendations for future research in a COVID-19 or post-COVID-19 society.