Tourists’ (mis)understandings of nature: International and domestic visitors’ perceptions of invasive alien plants in New Zealand

Tourism, as one of the world largest economic sectors, moving a substantial body of individuals and materials about the world, is implicated in the spread of invasive plants and is itself impacted by biological invasions which can degrade touristic landscapes and affect destination communities. Tourists constitute not only an immediate biological threat, but through their landscape and biota preferences also constitute a substantial economic and ecological force that has implications for invasive plant management in destinations. Tourists and the tourism industry are therefore significant stakeholders in invasive plant introduction, spread and management. This paper discusses an onsite survey (n=231) of domestic and international visitors in New Zealand, a destination where invasive species are an important ecological and economic issue. Findings show that visitors have a low understanding of the presence and level of threat of invasive plants, and express preferences for some plants that are highly invasive. However, there were substantial variations across the international sample, with visitors from Asian and European ethnicities expressing significantly different attitudes towards a range of invasive plants. Asian visitors were more likely to show preferences for some plants that were seriously invasive, and to be more accepting in general of invasive plants within landscapes, and less supportive of invasive species eradication. These findings suggest that attitudes towards invasive plants and their management may be culturally determined, which poses challenges for managers aiming to generate awareness and support from across diverse tourist cohorts for invasive species control. There are also challenges for gaining support from the tourism industry for invasive plant control programmes where particular ‘charismatic’ or attractive invasive plants may contribute to touristic landscapes and visitor itineraries.