The Boundaries of Nature Tourism

This paper illustrates the malleable boundaries that define nature. Personal construct theory is employed to examine the apparent contradiction of the human/nature binary posed by landscapes generated by domesticated agriculture and physical and biological processes. Specifically, the paper reports on how tourists to the Kimberley region of Australia discriminate between their perception of human artifacts as attractions (including Lake Argyle, the Argyle Dam, and irrigated agriculture) and the region’s gorges, rivers, billabongs, flora and fauna. Repertory grid analysis suggests that the Argyle Dam is perceived in a similar fashion to physical, geological, and biological attractions. However, the irrigated agriculture is perceived quite differently, as domesticated. Policy implications for the region’s nature based tourism are explored.