Tourism and 'Cultural Rewilding'

Description of the research project

The Tourism and Cultural Rewilding project investigates the conception and implementation of nature interpretation in rewilding European contexts. Drawing on Barraud et al. (2019), the project understands rewilding as a social movement that aims to foster a new culture of nature. Rewilding-related nature interpretation forms a relevant research object through which socio-environmental transformations can be explored, notably pertaining to the relationships humans have with other living beings.

Whilst extant literature points to the close relationship between tourism and rewilding, the role of tourist interpretation in fostering this new culture has not yet been investigated. And yet, a paradox is highlighted in the literature. One the one hand, several authors point out that rewilding tourism is part of a continuing process of capitalism’s colonisation of nature, and its practices are similar to those found elsewhere. On the other hand, others note that rewilding involves an aesthetical transformation of landscapes that makes them less attractive to tourists. In such case, nature interpretation has a key role to play in mediating new aesthetical approaches to those environments or new ways of connecting with them.

Methodology: The project consists of four case studies located in French-speaking (3) and Dutch-speaking (1) Belgium. It adopts a qualitative and inductive approach. Data is collected through in-depth interviews with key stakeholders of nature interpretation and rewilding tourism, participant observation and the content analysis on interpretation media.

Timeframe:

2026-2029

Funding: 

Université libre de Bruxelles's Action blanche funding scheme