Tour operators’ insight into the Russian nature-based experience market
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54055/ejtr.v3i1.44Keywords:
nature-based experiences, cultural differences, tour operators, nature, promotion, RussiaAbstract
The understanding of nature and nature-based tourism products might differ according to tourists’ nationality. Existing knowledge is often based on Western tourists view and relation to nature-based tourism. Eastern European tourists, however, might not share the same understanding. The Eastern European tourist market is increasing and destinations compete to attain their share, while it is evident that further knowledge is needed to apprehend what this market expects from nature-based experiences. Tour operators play a crucial role in imparting knowledge of destinations and tourism products to potential consumers. This article attends to the issue through interviews of six tour operators in Russia, to inform on how Russian tourists relate to nature-based experiences. The article also addresses intermediaries’ influence upon tourists meaning formation through their communication of nature-based tourism experiences. The content analysis reveals four main content areas that relate to the overall objective of the study: 1) Russians’ relation to nature, 2) what Russian tourists emphasize as important for nature-based tourism products, 3) the meaning of nature-based experiences to Russians, 4) promoting nature-based experiences to Russians. The analysis demonstrates there is discrepancy in the conception of what nature-based experiences are; hence an understanding of national differences is encouraged.
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Copyright (c) 2010 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.