What is Nature Based Tourism?

What is it?

Nature based tourism is often described as responsible travel to areas of high environmental value, which conserves the environment and improves the welfare of local people.

It is tourism based on the natural attractions of an area.  Examples include bird-watching, wildlife photography, walking, stargazing, camping, shooting, fishing and visiting forests.

A virtuous circle?

Nature-based tourism provides incentives for local businesses, communities and landowners to conserve the wildlife habitats upon which the industry depends; it promotes conservation by placing an increased value on larger, sub-regional and regional, scale areas with a high environmental value, not just those areas that have some form of statutory designation.

As nature based tourism becomes more important to the local economy, businesses and communities have additional incentives to conserve their remaining natural areas for wildlife and wildlife enthusiasts.

Towards a sustainable future

Nature based tourism efforts in Dumfries and Galloway are working to bring together all those with an interest in using the natural resource to promote the region as a great place to live, visit and work and do business.

We hope to increase the focus on wildlife and habitat conservation by providing information and assistance to private landowners, communities, businesses, and local community leaders wishing to make nature-based tourism an integral part of their business and community.  We believe that by empowering people at the local level we can build an economically important and sustainable industry that will add significantly to the efforts to conserve the wildlife and its habitat throughout the region.