Variability of User-Based Evaluative Standards for Backcountry Encounters

Backcountry visitors are often surveyed regarding their personal evaluative standards (or norms) for acceptable levels of encounters with other groups. In this study, backpackers at Grand Canyon National Park were asked about the acceptability of encounters at several times: at home prior to their trip, once each day during their trip, and at-home after their trip. Thus it was possible to assess spatial and temporal variability within individuals, as well as variation among individuals, in both the ability to provide a personal evaluative standard about number of encounters and the standard provided. Results suggest that backcountry visitors differentiate between zones in the Grand Canyon backcountry managed to provide diverse settings, including visitor density. However, there was substantial variation in the standards provided both among individuals and over time within individuals.     

Alone with others: The paradox of privacy in wilderness

Attitudinal studies of wilderness visitors have indicated that people seek opportunities to limit interaction with other visitors so as to achieve privacy and solitude. This conventional interpretation of wilderness recreation was evaluated by comparing measures of visitor attitudes and social behavior in the backcountry of Yosemite National Park. Results show no association between visitor attitudes toward crowding and observed social interaction or behavior to avoid such social interaction. These findings suggest that subjective responses of visitors measured by questionnaires and interviews are often of debatable validity. Greater validity can be achieved by avoiding reliance on common‐sense interpretations in theory formulation and by employing multiple measurement techniques.     

Visitation at capacity-constrained tourism destinations: Exploring revenue management at a national park

This study explores issues related to the introduction of revenue management principles in the mechanism of allocating permits to visitors. Specifically, the study looks at ways in which backcountry hikers in Grand Canyon National Park, a World Heritage Site listed among America’s most visited tourism attractions, value a particular allocation mechanism for a permit application. From a stratified random sampling scheme with a 76% response rate, over 1400 overnight backcountry hikers reported the potential for considerable increased revenues. At the same time the findings indicate that certain demographics and user groups will not participate in the modifications, and thus, may be less likely to get a permit when they apply for one. Any policy implementation from such an analysis needs to consider the implications of privileging those who are both willing and able to pay more for access, and effectively excluding others from the same opportunity.     

Non-compliance in national parks: An extension of the theory of planned behaviour model with pro-environmental values

Non-compliance at national parks is a major problem around the world. This study focused on visitors' intentions to venture off-trail at the Blue Mountains National Park, Australia (BMNP). An extension of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) with the new ecological paradigm of pro-environmental values (NEP) was developed and tested to understand visitors’ off-trail intentions. We surveyed 325 BMNP visitors through convenience sampling. Subjective norm was the strongest predictor followed by attitudes. The role of perceived behavioural control was not significant. The proposed extended TPB model had a marginal relationship between pro-environmental values and intentions using regression analysis. The overall study results suggested that the role of pro-environmental values is more suitable for predicting general environmental worldviews as compared to the TPB being more suitable for predicting specific behavioural intentions.     

Exploring Visitor Acceptability for Hardening Trails to Sustain Visitation and Minimise Impacts

Protected natural area managers are challenged to provide high quality recreation opportunities and ensure the protection of resources from impacts associated with visitation. Development of visitor use facilities and application of site hardening practices are commonly applied tools for achieving these competing management objectives. This study applies stated choice analysis to examine visitor opinions on acceptability when they are asked to make tradeoffs among competing social, resource and management attributes in backcountry and frontcountry settings of Acadia National Park. This study demonstrates that asking visitors about recreation setting attributes uni-dimensionally, a common approach, can yield less informative responses. Analyses that considered direct tradeoffs revealed more divergent opinions on acceptability for setting attributes than a unidimensional approach. Findings revealed that visitors to an accessible and popular attraction feature supported trail development options to protect resource conditions with unrestricted visitor access. In contrast, visitors to a remote undeveloped island expressed stronger support for no or limited trail development and access restrictions to protect resource conditions.     

Assessing the asymmetric impact of interpretation environment service quality on museum visitor experience and post-visit behavioral intentions: a case study of the National Palace Museum

This paper examines the asymmetric positive–negative relationship between interpretation environment service quality, museum visitor experience, and post-visit behavioral intentions. The researchers collected 406 valid questionnaires from visitors to the main exhibit building in the National Palace Museum. Results suggest that the asymmetric effect differs depending on the attribute being examined. When visitors reported their perceptions of personal and sociocultural interpretation environment services, negative perceptions had a larger impact on museum visitor experience than positive perceptions. Moreover, results suggest that museum visitor experience functions as a mediator between perceptions of interpretation environment service quality and post-visit behavioral intentions.     

An Empirical Study of Behavioral Intentions in the Food Festival: The Case of Macau

The behavioral intentions of visitors play an important role in predicting future profits in the food festival. The purpose of this study is to identify the dimensions of festival quality and examine the interrelationships between behavioral intentions and the other constructs related to behavioral intentions as perceived by visitors to the food festival using structural equation modeling (SEM). The dimensions of festival quality are built and a multi-dimensional and hierarchical model is used as a framework to synthesize the effects of festival quality and visitor satisfaction on behavioral intentions of visitors to the Macau Food Festival (MFF). The findings of this study are based on SEM analysis of a convenience sample of 428 respondents. The findings reveal that there are four primary dimensions and 11 sub-dimensions of festival quality in the MFF.     

The moderating effect of place attachment on the relationship between festival quality and behavioral intentions

The main purpose of the study is to examine an impact of festival quality on behavioral intentions and investigate the role of place attachment (PA) as a moderator between festival quality and behavioral intentions. Data were collected from the visitors of the 2013 Seoul Lantern Festival in South Korea. Results show that festival quality has a significant direct impact on behavioral intentions to revisit, spread word of mouth (WOM), and engage in pro-environmental behavior. The study also reveals that PA moderates the effect of festival quality on behavioral intentions, suggesting the differential impact of festival quality based on the level of PA. The study suggests that festival organizers may want to focus on program and esthetics to promote visitors’ return and positive WOM. Festival organizers may also want to customize quality management strategies based on visitors’ level of PA.     

Place attachment as a mediator of the relationship between nature-based recreation benefits and future visit intentions

This study examined the theoretical relationships between consumers’ perceived benefits, place attachment and future visit intentions (FVI) at nature-based recreation and tourism areas, utilizing importance and performance concepts. The desired benefits and perceived attained benefits of consumers were treated as an antecedent to place attachment and FVI in structural models. Results of two separate structural models tests using responses from 934 visitors at the Ocala National Forest in Florida, USA, confirmed that place attachment fully mediates the relationship between benefits desired and FVI, while place attachment partially mediates the relationship between benefits attained and FVI. The former verifies the significant role of place attachment, and the latter validates the importance of place attachment as well as recreation benefit attainment in predicting visitors’ FVI. These findings suggest that both benefits desired and benefits attained are important predictors of place attachment and behavioral intentions. Accordingly, tourism and recreation planners and managers need to provide visitors with recreation opportunities, which maximize visitors’ ability to attain recreation benefits, such as nature exploration, physical fitness and escape. These managerial initiatives would result in increasing visitors’ emotional attachments and intentions to revisit.     

The Role of Physical Environment in Leisure Service Consumption: Evidence From a Ski Resort Setting

Despite the importance of physical environment in hedonic service consumption, little is known about the extent to which physical environment influences ski resort visitors’ cognition, emotion, and behaviors. This study investigated the relationships among physical environmental stimuli (i.e., layout accessibility, aesthetics, cleanliness, and other visitors), perceived quality of physical environment, excitement, and behavioral intentions in ski resort. This study also attempted to test the moderating role of enduring involvement in the formation of behavioral intentions. Results showed that cleanliness and other visitors significantly and positively influenced visitors’ perceived quality of physical environment and excitement. The results suggest that physical environment is of great importance for the ski resort business. Perceived quality was indeed a significant predictor of excitement, which, in turn, positively influenced behavioral intentions. Finally, the study found that the effect of excitement on behavioral intentions was significant across high and low enduring involvement groups.     

Relationships between place attachment,place satisfaction and pro-environmental behaviour in an Australian national park

Place attachment is a multidimensional construct comprising place dependence, place affect, place identity, and place social bonding. Yet, studies investigating the relationships between place attachment, place satisfaction, and pro-environmental behaviour have not investigated its pluralistic nature. Using data from 452 visitors to the Dandenong Ranges National Park, Australia, this study investigates these four dimensions of place attachment and their relationships with place satisfaction and pro-environmental behavioural intentions. Findings suggest that the four place attachment constructs are significantly associated with place satisfaction. Results suggest that it is necessary to consider pro-environmental behavioural intentions as a two-factor structure construct, comprising low and high effort pro-environmental behaviour. Place satisfaction is associated with low effort pro-environmental behavioural intentions. Place affect is significantly associated with both types of environmental behavioural intentions. Place identity is not associated with either type of environmental behavioural intentions. A significant association is also noted between low effort and high effort pro-environmental behavioural intentions. Practical applications of the study include marketing aimed at encouraging repeat visitation, with sophisticated message development and delivery building emotional attachment, a sense of belonging, and enhanced personal meaning. Heritage interpretation could use affect and emotion to enhance visitor satisfaction and experience, coupled with an outcomes-focused communication plan.     

TOURISTS' EVALUATIONS OF DESTINATION IMAGE,SATISFACTION, AND FUTURE BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS—THE CASE OF MAURITIUS

Empirical studies have analyzed the relationship between destination image and other evaluative constructs such as perceived value and service quality. However, the role and influence of destination image on future behavioral intentions have been of lesser interest. Consequently, this article examines the relationship between destination image, satisfaction, and future behavioral intentions of visitors to the island of Mauritius. A theoretical model is tested on a sample of 705 international visitors using structural equations modeling. The results show that destination image has a direct and an indirect influence over future behavior. Satisfaction and overall image play a mediating role between destination image and future behavior. As a result, important theoretical and practical implications for destination image research and marketing are offered.     

Solitude Versus Access: A Study of Tradeoffs in Outdoor Recreation Using Indifference Curve Analysis

Tradeoffs are an inherent part of many of the decisions faced by outdoor recreation visitors and managers. For example, decisions concerning the social carrying capacity of popular attraction sites involve potential tradeoffs between limiting visitor use to ensure a high quality experience and allowing high levels of visitor use to ensure that large numbers of visitors retain access to park and outdoor recreation resources. This study uses indifference curve analysis to evaluate the tradeoffs that visitors prefer to make between solitude and access at Delicate Arch, Arches National Park. Study findings facilitate more informed judgments by Arches National Park managers regarding appropriate recreation opportunities at Delicate Arch. Specifically, this research quantifies the tradeoff preferences of visitors to Delicate Arch and provides a theoretically and empirically informed basis for establishing a social carrying capacity for this site.     

Key factors maximizing art museum visitors’ satisfaction,commitment, and post-purchase intentions

As there is a lack of empirical research examining art museum visitors’ post-purchase behaviors, this study tested the theoretical associations among image congruence, quality, affective experiences, satisfaction, and commitment to build a sturdy model of behavioral intentions. The concept of involvement was also included as a moderator. A field survey at art museums was conducted. The level of construct validity and reliability for all variables were satisfactory. Results of the structural model revealed that the proposed theoretical framework sufficiently accounted for the variance in intentions. Satisfaction was of greatest importance in generating intentions. Commitment and satisfaction acted as important mediators. Among nine hypothesized direct linkages, eight hypotheses were supported. Findings from the invariance model assessment supported the moderating influence of involvement on the relationships among quality, satisfaction, commitment, and intentions. The strength of such relationships among these variables was greater when museum visitors’ involvement level was high.     

Factors affecting international event visitors’ behavioral intentions: the moderating role of attachment avoidance

ABSTRACT

This study developed and tested a theoretical framework of event quality, motivation, value, and destination image in order to investigate visitors’ behavioral intentions to revisit an international event, along with the moderating role of attachment avoidance. Results revealed that the relationships among event quality, motivation, value, image, and behavioral intentions were highly significant. Attachment avoidance was additionally found to moderate the relationships between quality and value, motivation and value, value and destination image, and value and behavioral intentions. Findings further provide specific implications for both theoretical insight and marketing practice in the context of annual and international events.     

Ecotourism in Bako National Park,Borneo: Visitors’ Perspectives on Environmental Impacts and their Management

Ecotourism potentially provides a sustainable approach to development in Malaysia. However, to realise this potential the adverse effects of visitor activity and associated infrastructure on the natural environment and the tourism experience must be identified to guide management actions and thus to sustain the resources on which ecotourism ultimately depends. This study, conducted in Bako National Park on the island of Borneo, reports one of the first efforts to identify the impacts of ecotourism in Malaysia from the perspective of visitors. Environmental conditions of greatest influence on visitors’ experiences included litter and biophysical conditions such as soil erosion and vegetation damage. These conditions were of greater concern to visitors than social conditions, such as the number of people. These results suggest that management efforts can be directed towards indicators of greatest concern such as litter, soil erosion and vegetation damage. The broad support given by those surveyed for a range of management actions provides managers with a choice of strategies to sustain ecotourism in Bako National Park. This study, with its sociopolitical approach, contributes to a greater understanding of the implications of the ecotourist experience for ecotourism management in Malaysia.     

Reciprocity between soccer events and visited destination in a border context

ABSTRACT

The study proposes a conceptual model based on hypothesized relationships among team fanship, satisfaction with the event, and host city as antecedents of behavioral intentions in the United States–Mexico border context. The analysis used data from 290 visitors who attended three soccer games of the Xoloitzcuintles team of Tijuana. The results revealed (1) the emotions felt at the visited destination had significant influences on fanship, satisfaction with event venue, and intentional behavior; (2) fanship and event satisfaction do not seem to influence the visitors’ intentions to return and recommend the visited place; (3) gender and duration of the stay showed a significant moderating function.     

Tourist satisfaction in relation to attractions and implications for conservation in the protected areas of the Northern Circuit,Tanzania

This study assessed tourist satisfaction and its links with tourist attractions and infrastructure at the following six protected areas on the Northern Tourist Circuit of Tanzania: Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Serengeti National Park, Arusha National Park, and Mt. Kilimanjaro National Park. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 185 tourists visiting the protected areas. Satisfaction ratings for the Northern Circuit were high, with 86% of tourists willing to be repeat visitors. Tourists were attracted primarily to wildlife viewing. Although most tourists were not influenced to visit the region by indigenous culture or physical features, 81% of tourists noted that non-wildlife attractions enhanced their tourist experience. A range of ways to develop more sustainable forms of tourism emerged from the work, including lengthening stays, guide/driver capacity building, and partnership working with tour operators to improve marketing, increase satisfaction rates, and diversify the product.     

An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Interpretation within Dartmoor National Park in Reaching the Goals of Sustainable Tourism Development

In the face of growing pressure placed on the natural environment from increased tourism, this study considers the role of interpretation in achieving sustainable tourism development in natural areas used for tourism. Knowledge gain, attitude change and behaviour modification were used as key indicators in the assessment of the interpretive effectiveness of the High Moorland Visitor Centre in Dartmoor National Park, UK. Through comparing responses to questionnaires from pre- and post-visit samples, this study found that interpretation added to visitor's knowledge of the site. This increase in knowledge encouraged visitors to see how they could change their behaviour to be more respectful of the natural environment. This indicates that there is indeed scope for interpretation, to help modify the behaviour of tourists through increased knowledge and awareness. Attitude change did occur as a result of interpretation in the centre, but only to a limited extent. Participant observation carried out at the centre revealed that interactive material played a vital part in the effectiveness of interpretive messages. Overall results from this study suggest that interpretation, if carefully designed, is capable of contributing to the goals of sustainable tourism development by achieving knowledge restructuring and resulting behavioural intentions of visitors.     

Beyond Better Wine: The Impact of Experiential and Monetary Value on Wine Tourists’ Loyalty Intentions

Research on the experiential aspects of wine tourism has been advocated but the evolution of this approach in this field is still in its infancy. This exploratory study proposes a behavioral model to simultaneously examine the role of hedonic and utilitarian shopping value as well as monetary value perceptions in predicting cellar door visitors’ overall satisfaction and loyalty intentions. The application of partial least squares path modeling indicates that cellar door visitors are oriented toward the experiential aspects of the visit itself as much as to pragmatic considerations in purchasing wine. The insights are, therefore, directed toward the creation of a total cellar door experience. These findings contribute to the understanding of a cellar door visitors’ decision-making process, providing managers and researchers with insights into how to effectively accommodate cellar door visitors’ needs.