Resumen de An Exploration of Sense of Place as a Possible Explanatory Concept in Nature-Based Traveler Conflict

Gregory Hawkins, Kenneth F. Backman

• Much like the indigenous people of an area, vacationers may possess a founded presence in an area and can experience sensitivity, even resentment, toward “strangers" they perceive as demanding much from, while apparently caring little for, their meaningful “place." This study examines place attachment among long-term nature-based vacationers at the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River Corridor and their perceptions of a relatively new group of sightseers. The horseback rider vacationers exhibited strong indications of place attachment, identifying with the setting as a context in which their “way of life" or “family roots" are manifest, and perceived possible future conflict between themselves and commercial Whitewater rafting sightseers who they regard as less committed to the setting.