The importance of nature for tourists: evidence from multiple perspectives using social media data

Nature-based tourism is a rapidly growing subsector of the global tourism industry, but understanding how important ‘nature’ is for tourists may be challenging with traditional data sources. This study examines the role of nature for tourists using social media data. The place-based, content-based and user-based analyses demonstrate the overall importance of nature for tourists, while revealing differing patterns across the islands and among tourists from different regions. The study underscores the importance of nature in tourism and demonstrates the potential of social media data for informing tourism and conservation planning.