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REVIEW article

Front. Sustain. Tour.
Sec. Disaster/Crisis Management and Resilience in Tourism
Volume 4 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frsut.2025.1529233

Outdoor recreation, nature-based tourism and food: Experiences and adaptations in the hospitality industry during the COVID-19 pandemic -a review

Provisionally accepted
Anna Calvén Anna Calvén 1Thomas H. Beery Thomas H. Beery 2*Hannah Kristofers Hannah Kristofers 3Marcus JC Johansson Marcus JC Johansson 1Mats Carlbäck Mats Carlbäck 4Karin Wendin Karin Wendin 1,5
  • 1 Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Food and Meal Science, Kristianstad University, Kristianstad, Sweden
  • 2 Faculty of Natural Sciences, Sustainable Multifunctional Landscapes, Kristianstad University, Kristianstad, Sweden
  • 3 Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Food and Meal Sciences, Kristianstad University, Kristianstad, Sweden
  • 4 School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts & Meal Science, Örebro University, Örebro, Örebro, Sweden
  • 5 Department of Food Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, participation in outdoor recreation increased in several countries, with nature taking on an expanded role as a social space for meetings and activities with food. This development may have created opportunities for nature-based hospitality providers to navigate the pandemic crisis. This review examines how food and eating were part of outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism during COVID-19, focusing on hospitality providers in rural Sweden. A literature search was performed for research articles, newspapers, and magazine articles. The results show creativity in adapting to new outdoor and nature tourism situations. The main findings that emerged focused on local and national guests, preventing the spread of infection, food as part of the experience in nature, experience packages, comfort, local food, food trucks and takeaway food, and other hospitality industry changes. Trends observed before COVID-19 but accelerating during the pandemic were also highlighted. Further research is needed to improve our understanding of food as part of outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism and how this knowledge can support sustainable thinking in the hospitality sector while contributing to resilient rural development.

    Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, friluftsliv nature-based outdoor recreation, resilience, Rural tourism, Sweden

    Received: 16 Nov 2024; Accepted: 21 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Calvén, Beery, Kristofers, Johansson, Carlbäck and Wendin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Thomas H. Beery, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Sustainable Multifunctional Landscapes, Kristianstad University, Kristianstad, Sweden

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.