Sense of Place In Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism: An Evaluation and Assessment of Research Findings

Understanding sense of place and related concepts often presents challenges for both managers and researchers. Inconsistent application of terms, questions regarding their origin, and a lack of awareness of research findings contribute to the ambiguity of these concepts. This integrative review of research provides relevant, current information on the role of sense of place in natural-resource based recreation and tourism. Special focus is given to the foundations of place attachment, how place attachment may differ among user types, and the relation of place attachment to other psychological phenomena such as attitudes. The role of theory in place attachment also is addressed, and gaps in theoretical and empirical work are identified. This review provides specific recommendations for managers and others wanting to better understand the dynamics of sense of place.