Protected areas

Photo: Lapland Material Bank

Have you visited a national park lately? Do you operate in protected areas?

Protected areas such as national parks and hiking areas are important in nature-based tourism. The articles below present the main principles and the significance of the protected areas in nature-based tourism in general in and Pasvik Zapovednik.

The purpose of the protected areas is to guarantee biodiversity and to preserve nature. At the same time, they are important destinations for recreation and tourism. The video below explains the purpose, visitor monitoring, services and the principles of responsible tourism and cooperation.

Combining the protection/preservation and recreation/tourism is not unquestionable. Sustainable tourism in protected areas requires resources from nature and visitor management and policies, public-private collaboration and the local networks and focus on visitor experiences. The video below explains the economic, environmental and social impacts of the national parks.

Task: Ponder how you can promote sustainable nature-based tourism in protected areas.

Sources and further reading:

Angeria, M., 2022. Responsible Nature-based Tourism in Protected Areas. In M. Angeria, M. Hirvaskari & O. Kähkönen (Eds) Phenomena of Arctic Nature. Principles and Practices of Nature-based Tourism., 13-16. Rovaniemi: Lapland University of Applied Sciences. https://issuu.com/lapinamk/docs/b_2_2022_angeria_et_al/14.

Kollstrøm, R. 2022. Visitor Management and Wooden Architecture. In M. Angeria, M. Hirvaskari & O. Kähkönen (Eds) Phenomena of Arctic Nature. Principles and Practices of Nature-based Tourism., 19-22. Rovaniemi: Lapland University of Applied Sciences. https://issuu.com/lapinamk/docs/b_2_2022_angeria_et_al/20.

Metsähallitus. 2022. Kestävä matkailu suojelualueilla. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/4b2693331bc44cd6b776c04b3032ea1f.