Tourism, Recreation and Trail Impacts - Tourism and Trails: Cultural, Ecological and Management Issues - page 152

trails promote health directly, such as the Trails for Health Program in the
US (Reid, 1983; Dolesh, 2004a), and indirectly via additional outdoor recre-
ation opportunities (Moore & Driver, 2005). Besides their exercise functions,
rural and suburban trails can also provide opportunities for participants to
breathe cleaner air than they might otherwise do in urban situations (Gibson,
1999). Relatedly, in bypassing city traffic congestion, trails provide safe
transportation corridors to work or school, which intensifies the added value
of health and safety within a community (Gibson, 1999; Gangewere, 1992;
Iles & Wiele, 1993).
As noted in Chapter 2, one of the main purposes of cultural corridors is
to help build community identity, solidarity and sense of place. This occurs
in many forms and is one of the most salient social benefits of trail-based
recreation and tourism. Trails can help preserve and celebrate a community's
cultural heritage. Beeton (1999b) noted that for some trail users, seeing horses
on Australian trails can be very nostalgic, because the horse and rider are
so much a part of the traditional national psyche of Australia's Outback.
Rail-trails help preserve the local history, particularly that of the railroad and
industrial past, and the fact that they pass historic buildings (e.g. railway
stations, stadiums, factories and monuments) helps congeal local heritage
identities (Gangewere, 1992). The conservation elements of paths and trails
help visitors appreciate the place they are visiting, but they also help the
nearby residents value their own patrimony. They provide educational
opportunities and thereby help people appreciate local cultural and natural
environments and contribute to their preservation. Pride in local heritage
helps unite people for the cause of protection and builds solidarity among
people who share a common past (Gonzáles & Medina, 2003; Timothy &
Boyd, 2003; Timothy, 2011a). Gangewere (1992: 32) notes that rail-trails have
the potential to help people 'put down local roots in their surrounding land-
scapes and draw spiritual nourishment from it, helping us to grow into more
careful and responsible stewards of the land'. By protecting and emphasizing
local heritage, trails, Gangewere argues, can help deepen a sense of place
among destination residents.
Access is another important social benefit of trails. Not only do trails
provide access to gardens and parks, they also afford a right of way to the
broader countryside (Hornby & Sheate, 2001). Without paths and trails,
the use of archaeological sites, urban parks, national monuments and his-
toric city centers would be nearly impossible. Access is also important for
host communities in tourist destinations, not just visitors. Cohen (1982)
noted how the development of wilderness trekking paths in Thailand was
crucial to opening remote tribal villages to the outside world. While
increased access to the tribes has resulted in some negative social repercus-
sions (Dearden & Harron, 1994), it has also created jobs and has had other
positive moderating social effects for the ethnic minorities of Thailand
(Ishii, 2012).