‘An intimate rendezvous with nature’?

Abstract

This article examines the interactions between tourists and nature at three nature-based tourist attractions in the East Malaysian state of Sabah, on the island of Borneo. It pays particular attention to the ways in which the tourist body is implicated in these experiences and it argues that the body plays a crucial role in these experiences, sometimes ‘getting in the way’ of enjoyment of nature. The article also discusses the various boundaries which can be identified at tourist sites which serve to delimit tourist from wild nature, and it discusses the ways in which these boundaries shape the tourist experience.