Tourism and National Parks: International Perspectives on Development, Histories and Change (Contemporary Geographies of Leisure, Tourism and Mobility)

In 1872 Yellowstone was established as a National Park. The name caught the public’s imagination and by the close of the century, other National Parks had been declared, not only in the USA, but also in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Yet as it has spread, the concept has evolved and diversified. In the absence of any international controlling body, individual countries have been free to adapt the concept for their own physical, social and economic environments. Some have established national parks to protect scenery, others to protect ecosystems or wildlife. Tourism has also been a fundamental component of the national parks concept from the beginning and predates ecological justifications for national park establishment though it has been closely related to landscape conservation rationales at the outset. Approaches to tourism and visitor management have varied. Some have stripped their parks of signs of human settlement, while increasingly others are blending natural and cultural heritage, and reflecting national identities. This edited volume explores in detail, the origins and multiple meanings of National Parks and their relationship to tourism in a variety of national contexts. It consists of a series of introductory overview chapters followed by case study chapters from around the world including insights from the US, Canada, Australia, UK, Spain, France, Sweden, Indonesia, China and Southern Africa. Taking a global comparative approach, this book examines how and why national parks have spread and evolved, how they have been fashioned and used, and the integral role of tourism within national parks. The volume’s focus on the long standing connection between tourism and national parks; and the changing concept of national parks over time and space give the book a distinct niche in the national parks and tourism literature. The volume is expected to contribute not only to tourism and national park studies at the upper level undergraduate and graduate levels but also to courses in international and comparative environmental history, conservation studies, and outdoor recreation management. Front Cover 1 Tourism and National Parks 6 Copyright Page 7 Contents 8 List of figures and tables 11 List of contributors 14 Acknowledgements 16 Abbreviations 17 Part I: Introduction 18 1. Introduction: the making of the national parks concept: C. Michael Hall and Warwick Frost 19 2. Reinterpreting the creation myth: Yellowstone National Park: Warwick Frost and C. Michael Hall 32 3. American invention tointernational concept: the spread and evolution of national parks: Warwick Frost and C. Michael Hall 46 4. National parks and the ‘worthless lands hypothesis’ revisited: C. Michael Hall and Warwick Frost 61 5. National parks, national identity and tourism: Warwick Frost and C. Michael Hall 79 Part II: New World perspectives 94 6. Framing the view: how American national parks came to be: Stephen R. Mark 95 7. John Muir and William Gladstone Steel: activists and the establishment of Yosemite and Crater Lake National Parks: Stephen R. Mark and C. Michael Hall 102 8. Tourism and the Canadian national park system: Protection, use and balance: Stephen W. Boyd and Richard W. Butler 116 9. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park: natural wonder and World Heritage area: Leanne White and Brian King 128 10. ‘Welcome to Aboriginal Land’: the Ulur ̄u-Kata Tjut ̄a National Park: Tamara Young 142 Part III: Old World perspectives 155 11. The national park concept in Spain: Patriotism, education, romanticism and tourism: Jose Somoza Medina 156 12. The English Lake District – national park or playground?: Richard Sharpley 168 13. The Peak District National Park UK: Contemporary complexities and challenges: David Crouch, Duncan Marson, Geoff Shirt, Richard Tresidder and Peter Wiltshier 180 14. A ticket to national parks?: Tourism, railways and the establishment of national parks in Sweden: Sandra Wall Reinius 197 15. ‘Protect, preserve, present’: the role of tourism in Swedish national parks: Peter Fredman and Klas Sandell 210 Part IV: Developing world: beyond the eurocentric 221 16. National parks in Indonesia: an alien construct: Janet Cochrane 222 17. National parks in transition: Wuyishan Scenic Park in China: Xu Honggang and Zhang Chaozhi 236 18. ‘Full of rubberneck waggons and tourists’: The development of tourism in South Africa’s national parks and protected areas Jane Carruthers 249 Part V: Beyond nature 268 19. National parks as cultural landscapes: indigenous peoples, conservation and tourism Heather Zeppel 269 20. National Mall and Memorial Parks: past, present and future: Margaret Daniels, Laurlyn Harmon, Min Park and Russell Brayley 292 Part VI: Conclusion 308 21. The future of the national park concept: C. Michael Hall and Warwick Frost 309 Bibliography 319 Index 360 Edited By Warwick Frost And C. Michael Hall. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [311]-351) And Index.