Cultural Values Influence On The Nature - Based Tourism Development

Tourism is one of the most important economic sectors in the last decades. It has been growing for a long period, during which a number of new types of destinations has been attracted by its efervescensy and by the positive effects of tourism on the development of various countries and regions. Societies and economies around the world have been increasingly eager to adopt sustainable principles and practices, and tourism, in this context, as a dinamic economic sector, has benefited from the discovery of new resources which could lay the foundation for further growth. Thus, nature-based tourism is now of greater interest, especially since it is a significant component of sustainable development, through its contribution to the innovative and responsible use of existing natural resources. The present study highlights the role of cultural values of different countries which are currently developing their ecotourism sector, from the perspective of the World Value Survey model, showing that societies where tolerance, receptiveness, autonomy, involvement in decision-making processes, civic responsibility and even religious faith are the foundation for the prevailing set of values, the necessary conditions for the development of this type of tourism are to be found as well.