Abstract
Along with the tourism segment resumption in a post-pandemic scenario, it will be possible to observe tourist preference for less crowded destinations that value sustainable premises, focusing on natural and cultural aspects and on the promotion of health and wellness. Parks become central in this context due to their vocation for ecotourism and the potential benefits related to their visitation. In this sense, this work seeks to recognize the “state of the art” of research aiming to understand and measure health and wellness benefits of urban and non-urban park visitation, so to evince existing focuses, gaps and advances in investigation. The research involved a literature review study on databases such as Scopus, and Periódicos Capes. Altogether, 55 works were identified as seeking to understand specifically the contributions of urban and non-urban parks visitation to health and wellness. The results have indicated a strong connection between parks and health and wellness, especially regarding physical aspects, prevention of illnesses, restoration through contact with nature, and moments of sociability. While the dimensions concerning spiritual, cultural, economic, and intellectual/labor wellness are out of the scope of most studies regarding the motivation for visiting and perceived benefits.
Keywords
Urban parks; Natural parks; Visitation; Tourism; Health; Wellness