The primary aim of this study was to quantify the economic significance of forest related tourism expenditures in England, Scotland, Wales and at the Great Britain (GB) level.

This was based on the premise that a proportion of all tourism expenditure in GB is incurred by tourists undertaking forest-related recreational activities. Here the specific focus was on day visits to forests. However, the presence of trees and woodlands can also attract tourists to the countryside more generally. The second specific aim of the study was to quantify the economic significance of forests in relation to tourism in the countryside. A third aim was to measure the attitudes of tourists towards the environment and forests, and to investigate links between these attitudes and tourist visitor behaviours. Undertaking a visit to a forest or the countryside, and spending money to do so, are specific examples of individual behaviour. Understanding the factors that motivate these behaviours can provide useful information for those organisations engaged in managing forest-related tourism.