Green X 2 – Into the Rewilded: The Value of Nature in Lifestyle and Outdoor Experience as a potential in Business Development and Partnerships

The project is based on and integrates theory and practices developed in the Green X Research Project (Aug. 2022-December 2023, https://www.eaviden.dk/project/greenx/) with Denmark’s current ‘Coastal and Nature Tourism’ initiatives, with VisitDenmark’s national branding strategy (2020), and campaign (Aug. 2023), as well as with the tourism sector’s strategic and practical approaches. The aim of the project is to:

• Contribute to value creation in outdoor experiences and to the sustainable foundation of product and experience development concerning the current needs and trends that the tourism and experience sector is addressing at destination and company levels (both SME tourism actors and retail actors).

Through interviews and data collection, the project explores how nature is valued in ‘use of nature,’ ‘activities in nature,’ ‘behavior in nature,’ and ‘nature itself’, e.g.  we examine nature-orientated accommodation options, product development, and codes of conduct.

and

• Test the scalability of the experience design principles developed in the Green X research project, which focuses on sustainable development, such as the concept of planetary stewardship, at both destination and event levels

The purpose is to juxtapose these principles against the experiential potential of the value of nature to explore how a green experience economy can contribute to enhancing sustainable development in product and experience design (both in a practical and strategic direction).

The theoretical approach consists of: Experience economy and experience and event design, recent theories within sustainable transition (based on 3P values), and within Outdoor Studies with a particular focus on sustainable event management (footprint, impact, legacy).

With a focus on value creation for the consumer experience and in business partnerships, the ‘role of nature,’ ‘perceived nature value,’ and ‘the representation of nature’ in different cultural contexts are clarified.

First, the project aims to clarify the qualities and potential benefits from collaborating on outdoor/lifestyle-based products:

This is based on the hypothesis that the project’s inclusion of ethics, nature value, education, and capital provides an expanded perspective on the outdoor-based tourism and experience sector. This, in turn, enables the derivation of sustainable principles for designed outdoor experiences that realize their sustainable potential and potentially enhance the experiential value.

Second, the project introduces the green experience economy into outdoor tourism, where scalability is tested and further developed.

Informed by these insights the project’s business purpose is:

With a focus on ‘systemic sustainability challenges’ and ‘outdoor and tourism trends’ the project aims to equip industry stakeholders to create and design sustainably balanced outdoor experiences and events in practice. The goal of the project’s product and experience design proposals is to be applicable in commercial- and experience formats targeting a broader, current, and product-based lifestyle segment.

This is done empirically through qualitative interviews with involved stakeholders and experts within the related industries. This is contextualized through a literature review of what could be termed as ‘the potentials of the value of nature’, incorporating key concepts such as ‘nature education’ (Ahlburg and Beck 2021, Gerner Nielsen and Ortmann 2022), ‘nature value’ (Agger, Arler, and Fink 2002, Mill 1996), and ‘nature capital’ (Ahlburg and Beck 2021, Danish Society for Nature Conservation 2023). Additionally, professional fields within the outdoor-based tourism and experience sector are explored to test and further develop principles from the green experience economy (Green X, op. cit.).

Expected outputs:

• Academic output: Autumn 2024

Conference-paper presentation

• Business orientated output: Spring 2025

Online Research Report

• Education-orientated output Spring 2025

Theoretical literature review (Business Academy Aarhus- working paper series).