ABSTRACT
Tourism is dependent upon the willingness of people to travel to places away from their home environment and the destinations people choose to visit are not an outcome of chance. Mass recreational tourism similarly relies on the stability and qualities of nature, not least a stable climate that provides predictable seasonal weather and healthy ecosystems. In the latter part of the nineteenth century, the development of purpose-built attractions aided the evolution of seaside resorts as mass tourism destinations. Like agriculture, tourism is an economic activity highly reliant on climatic and environmental stability. For example, in the Antarctic, now an established site for wilderness and ecotourism, traces of the insecticide DDT have been found in penguins. The relevance of attempting to understand relationship with nature has been heightened in recent decades as the condition of the natural environment and concerns over its well-being have become prominent global issues.
