Impacts of woodland planting on nature-based recreational tourism in upland England: a case study

Upland landscapes provide important ecosystem services (ES) to society. One cultural ES– nature-based recreational tourism (NBR) – is a growing industry in upland regions that provides an important revenue to areas where other industries are often in decline. NBR tourism is a service that relies partly on the aesthetic appearance of the landscape and changes in land management, such as increasing woodland cover, changes the appearance of the landscape and may therefore have a positive or negative impact on the economic value generated by NBR tourism. We tested this query, by carrying out a survey of NBR tourists, using photo visualisation of different woodland scenarios, in a pastoral upland landscape in a UK National Park. This was conducted to estimate the economic value of NBR tourism under different woodland scenarios and participant’s preferences. The findings presented in this paper suggest that NBR tourism generates a substantial income to the area and that the economic value would not decrease, if woodland cover were to increase up to 75%. The findings also make an important observation on how there is a difference between peoples’ preference for woodland levels and the probability of return visits.