C. Michael Hall is Professor of Tourism at the University of Otago, New Zealand and Honorary Professor, University of Stirling, Scotland. He is also co-editor of Current Issues in Tourism and has written widely on tourism, environmental history and contemporary mobility issues.Stephen Boyd, previously at the University of Otago, New Zealand,  is now Professor of Tourism in the School of Hotel, Leisure and Tourism, at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. His research interests include heritage, communities, partnership, planning and management. His most recent co-authored book is Heritage Tourism.

The book makes a major contribution to developing understanding of the potential scope for tourism development in social and economic growth. This is a very good book that deserves to be widely used in tertiary level tourism courses.

• 1. Introduction: Nature-based Tourism and Regional Development in Peripheral Areas – C. Michael Hall and Stephen Boyd Section One: Nature-based Tourism in Alpine, Forest and Sub-Polar Environments 2. Ecotourism and the Resource Hinterland in Northern Ontario - Margaret Johnston and Robert Payne3. Wilderness Discourses and the Development of Nature-Based Tourism in Northern Finland - Jarkko Saarinen4. Mountain Scenic Flights: A Low Risk, Low Impact Ecotourism Experience Within South Island, New Zealand - Nicholas J Westwood and Stephen W Boyd5. Regional Contrasts in Ecotourism in Rainforests - Warwick Frost6. Destination Image: Victorian Mountain Parks and Resorts in the Summer - Roslyn Russell and Philippa Thomas7. Winter Tourism in Protected Pleasure Peripheries: Time-Space Use Among Cross-Country Skiers in Abisko (Sweden) and Vercor (France) - Ludovic Dupuis and Dieter K. Müller 8. The Importance of Health as a Factor in Achieving Sustainability in a High Altitude Destination of a Less Developed Country - Ghazali Musa9. Second Home Tourism in the Swedish Mountain Range - Dieter K. Müller Section Two: Island, Coastal and Marine Environments 10. Pest or Precious Tourism Commodity? The Economic Value of White-Tailed Deer Hunting on Stewart Island / Rakiura - Brent Lovelock and Kevin Robinson 11. The Economic Benefits of an Ecotourism Project in a Regional Economy - Filipo Tokalau12. Growth of Beach Fale Tourism in Samoa: The High Value of Low-Cost Tourism - Regina Scheyvens13: Doing it Right the First Time? Ecotourism on the Wild Coast of South Africa - Dorothy Queiros and G.D.H. Wilson14: Penguins as Sights - Penguins as Site: The Problematics of Contestation - Eric J. Shelton and Hildegard Lubcke 15. Dolphins, Whales and Ecotourism in New Zealand: What are the Impacts and How Should the Industry be Managed? - Mark Orams 16. The State of the Scenic Cruise Industry in Doubtful Sound in Relation to a Key Natural Resource: Bottlenose Dolphins - David Lusseau Section Three: Nature-based Tourism in Peripheral Areas: A Tool for Regional Development? 17. Ecotourism/Egotourism and Development - Brian Wheeler18. Nature-based Tourism in Peripheral Areas: Making Peripheral Destinations Competitive - Stephen Boyd and C. Michael Hall