{{Short description|Short tourist trip in a small boat}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}} [[File:Nile Tour Boat R02.jpg|thumb|Boat tour on the River Nile near Luxor in Egypt]] [[File:Lowell boat tour.jpg|thumb|Lowell National Historical Park boat tour in the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, United States]] [[File:Boat tour, Loch Ness. - geograph.org.uk - 36287.jpg|thumb|Boat tour on Loch Ness in Scotland]] A '''boat tour''' is a short trip in a relatively small boat taken for touristic reasons, typically starting and ending in the same place, and normally of a duration less than a day. This contrasts with river cruising, yacht cruising, and ocean cruising, in larger boats or cruise ships, for any number of days, with accommodation in cabins.
For boat tours, usually a sightseeing boat is used, but sometimes adapted amphibious vehicles or purpose-built amphibious buses. Boat tours are often on rivers and lakes, but can be on canals as well.<ref>{{cite journal| journal=Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing | volume=37 | year=2020 | number=1 | title=Determinants of canal boat tour participant behaviours: an explanatory mixed-method approach | first1=Javaneh | last1=Mehran | first2=Hossein G.T. | last2=Olya | first3=Heesup | last3=Han | first4=Grzegorz | last4=Kapuscinski | pages=112–127 | doi=10.1080/10548408.2020.1720890 | s2cid=213511176 | url=https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/156321/3/Canal%20Boat%20Tourism.pdf }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| journal=Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services | volume=53 | date=March 2020 | title=Canal boat tourism: Application of complexity theory | first1=Javaneh | last1=Mehran | first2=Hossein G.T. | last2=Olya | article-number=101954 | doi=10.1016/j.jretconser.2019.101954 | url=https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/151834/3/Complexity%20theory.pdf }}</ref> Sustainability is an increasing issue,<ref>{{cite journal| last1=Reynolds | first1=P.C. | last2=Braithwaite | first2=R.W. | year=1997 | title=Whose yield is it anyway? Compromise options for sustainable boat tour ventures | journal=International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management | volume=9 |number=2 | pages=70–74 | doi=10.1108/09596119710164803 }}</ref> since there can be an impact on the environment.<ref>{{cite journal| journal=Journal for Nature Conservation | volume=40 | date=December 2017 | pages=42–48 | title=Waterbird responses to regular passage of a birdwatching tour boat: Implications for wetland management | first1=Tyler N. | last1=McFaddena | first2=Alejandro G. | last2=Herrerab | first3=Juan G. | last3=Navedoa | doi=10.1016/j.jnc.2017.09.004 }}</ref>
Boat tours also play a significant role in emergency response and military operations, moving beyond their purely leisure and sightseeing function.<ref>{{cite web |title=2024 South Carolina Code of Laws |url=https://law.justia.com/codes/south-carolina/title-50/chapter-21/section-50-21-860/}}</ref>
==Examples== Example boat tours include: *Bateaux Mouches on the River Seine in Paris, France *Chao Phraya Express Boat on the Chao Phraya River in Thailand *Jaws theme park boat tour, Florida, USA *Maid of the Mist at the Niagara Falls, Canada/United States
==See also== *Cruising (maritime) *Ethan Allen boating accident *River cruise *Tour boat
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{commons category-inline|Boat tours}}
Category:Tourist activities Category:Boating
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