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The natural environment and its protection have, in the recent decades, generated increasing interest, which has led to cultural tourism development based on nature to become a growing sector. Tourism, according to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), is defined as activities carried out by persons during their travels and stays in places other than their habitual environment, for a consecutive period of time of less than one year, for leisure purposes, for business or other reasons.
Cultural tourism based on nature includes the heritage, the landscape, the population, the quality of the resources and their conservation and other very diverse activities; it is quality tourism, individualized and specialized, with the purpose of producing experiences.
Its main objectives are to rest and have fun, to practice sports and to learn about the natural environment.
The landscape, the geology, the fauna, the vegetation, the water resources and the points of scientific interest are the elements that form the natural environment. The figures of protection are one of the resources that exert most attraction for nature tourism (biosphere reserves, Natura 2000 Network, natural parks, etc.), while active tourism and adventure sports are ways of enjoying the natural environment.
There are numerous facilities for the interpretation of the landscape and the environment, both indoor (museums, centres of interpretation, visitors’ centres, nature workshops, etc.) and outdoor (theme parks, interpreted paths, observation points, interpretative panels, etc.). These are resources to be utilized when planning a visit, for which it will be necessary to take into account the diverse techniques required for the interpretation of the natural environment.
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5. Nature | Objectives |
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