The tourist, the forest and Instagram

Many of us view the forest as a place for recreation and recuperation; an area of peace and quiet. “Forest bathing” (i.e. taking in the forest atmosphere) has become a popular trend; people gathering new strength from immersing themselves in nature. The experience of spending time in the natural world is a stark contrast to the stressful, urban modern life and spending online. Time spent in the forest is good for our well-being. 

Science shows that people coming from hectic urban environments have specific demands regarding natural experiences. Their view of nature is to see it as a quiet “anti-city”. For that reason, the forest is often their tourist destination of choice.

The doctoral student Eugenio Conti has studied postings on the social networking sharing-service Instagram to gain more knowledge about experience values connected with forest-based tourism. Instagram allows for the combination of text and images, thereby enabling the user to convey deeper reflection. It is also very easy to get in contact with other users, establishing dialogue quickly and effortlessly. Through this kind of dialogue, the various values of the forest are passed along and discussed—on a deeper level—by both tourists and locals. New perspectives and changes in attitude that are beneficial to the continued development of the forest, and also a more environment-friendly adaption, might be an effect of this dialogue.

This effect, though the transmission via Instagram, has the potential to reach very many people very quickly. The image of the various cultural values of the forest could effortlessly be conveyed to several others. The protection of our forests is, ultimately, the protection of our own well-being.