¿Viable sí, pero Protegido para las Generaciones Futuras? Un Estudio sobre el Amplio Mercado del Turismo Basado en las Florestas

This article focuses on forest tourism and rainforests in particular, and explores their potential to contribute to the global tourism industry. The specific objectives of the study were to develop a profile, including motivations, of tourists visiting the Wet Tropics rainforest of Australia and to identify previous patterns of forest visitation in both Aus tralia and other global destinations. A survey of 1,408 visitors conducted at a number of Wet Tropics rainforest sites in the tropical north region of Australia found that over 37% of the sample had previously visited forests while on holidays indicating t hat forest-based tourism is a major component to the nature-based market. Countries and forested sites in South -East Asia were the most popular as holiday attractions with over 13% of respondents having visited these sites. This was followed by countries o f the South Pacific, North America, South America, Central America, Africa, South Asia and China, the Caribbean and Europe. While overall this is a promising result, forest -based tourism faces a number of pressures including urban settlement, extractive in dustries and in the near future climate change.