Tourism and national parks - a long but uneasy relationship

This is the introductory chapter of this edited book in which the editors set out the relationship that exists between national parks and tourism. The chapter describes the evolution of the concept of national parks, the development of a range of protected spaces in which national parks are viewed as one being one, and the conflicting mandate that national parks have faced throughout history of being places of protection or places to be enjoyed for leisure, recreation and tourism. The chapter sets out the model around which the different sections of the book are based, along with the contributions of the authors of each chapter.