The ecological implications of visitor transportation in parks and protected areas: Examples from research in US National Parks

The demand for recreation and nature-based tourism experiences in parks and protected areas continues to grow in many locations worldwide and in response, many parks are employing transit services designed to improve visitor access. Transit services (e.g., public bus service) are a component of the overall park transportation system and are very desirable in park settings as they yield many advantages over personal auto access including reduced congestion in parking areas, a reduced carbon footprint, and an enhanced visitor experience. However, a growing body of research also suggests that the delivery of visitors via transit to destinations within a park or protected area may have unique ecological disturbance implications resulting from increased visitor use, density, and altered spatial and temporal use patterns. In this paper, we examine the relevant literature and present examples from recent research that illustrates the potential range of ecologic impacts from visitor deliveries via park transportation systems. We conclude while transit systems remain very desirable in park settings, depending on a range of situational factors, conventional, demand-driven planning and management approaches may result in unintended impacts to ecological conditions. Overall, this discussion provides a framework for improved management of the potential ecological impacts of protected area transportation systems.     

Tourism Management Issues in India’s National Parks: An Analysis of the Rajiv Gandhi (Nagarahole) National Park

This paper analyses contemporary tourism management issues in India’s national parks. It begins by setting India’s national parks in the context of national parks globally, before examining the historical development of national parks in India itself. Based upon the author’s extensive qualitative research, the paper then discusses in general terms the tourism conflicts that have recently emerged in India’s national parks. It goes on to examine in detail the tourism management issues as they apply to a specific case study, namely the Rajiv Gandhi (Nagarahole) National Park located in the state of Karnataka. It is concluded that the voices of indigenous communities needs to be recognised in the management of the park and in terms of tourism development efforts.     

Governance and environmental implications of motorised events: insights from Australia and avenues for further inquiry

A four-tiered approach to understanding motorised recreation in natural and protected areas is introduced, using examples of motor events from Australia to demonstrate each conceptual level. The aim is to increase understanding of motorsport and motorised recreation phenomena that impact natural and, in particular, protected areas and other users of the natural environment. An illustrative study approach shows the interrelatedness of multi-level motorised recreation and its governance, from local community motor clubs and amateur motor racing competition through to international hallmark motor racing events and how their sociocultural significance influences protected area management. The illustrative examples show user groups engaged in governance and policy issues of motorised recreation in natural and protected areas. These groups include both motor clubs involved with environmental management of natural and protected areas, as well as professional and community groups opposed to motorised recreation in protected areas. An agenda for further research is identified, including policy and governance of motorsport, large-scale events and protected area management and impacts of motorised recreation and events on the environment and the community including those who access the natural environment for more contemplative and quiet leisure pursuits.     

Beyond the rhetoric of visitor management in transboundary protected areas: the case of Peneda–Geres

Although the objectives for transboundary protected areas are often clear, in practice the development and management of these areas, particularly for tourism, are complex. Often explained, in part, by cultural and political differences evident among border partners, this complexity adds to the challenge of managing these often pristine natural areas for tourism. Through a case‐study of Peneda–Geres National Park, Northern Portugal, which forms part of the Transfrontier Park of Geres–Xures, and which encompasses the Natural Park of Baixa–Limia Serra do Xures of Galicia, Spain, this paper sets out to explore the effectiveness of transboundary partnerships for purposes of visitor management in transboundary protected areas. The paper introduces 12 core guidelines, developed by the authors, for transboundary visitor management and highlights the range of constraints and limitations that impede effective visitor management. Thereafter, the paper compares and contrasts the 12 core guidelines with the visitor management ‘actions’ and ‘decisions’, and their underlying rationale, taken by the transboundary protected area authorities of the Transfrontier Park of Geres–Xures. The paper concludes with an assessment of the success to date of the Portuguese authorities in their attempts to meet the core guidelines. Subsequently, a preliminary assessment as to the implementation of further guidelines for the future is conducted. A Portuguese perspective is emphasised throughout this paper, owing to recent developments in Portuguese National Policy aimed towards the promotion of nature‐based tourism, efforts in the establishment and embetterment of a network of Protected Areas and the political and economic importance of cross‐border activities for northern Portugal and Galicia, Spain. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Visitor Management in Protected Areas: From ‘Hard’ to ‘Soft’ Approaches?

Historically, visitor management in protected areas has been concerned largely with visitor impacts and emphasis has been placed on managing negative impacts. This has involved controlling visitor numbers, attempting to modify visitor behaviour and also modifying the resource. These approaches can be divided into ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ categories (Ling Kuo, 2002). ‘Hard’ visitor management approaches involve physical management, regulatory management and economic management. ‘Soft’ approaches make use of education and interpretation. While the approach of managing impacts has its merits, and has met with some success, it has tended to assume that the visitor is ‘guilty until proven innocent’ (Mason, 2002). Such an approach has also tended to ignore the role of visitor experience in relation to visitor management. This paper critically evaluates a number of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ approaches to visitor management, focusing specifically on interpretation and codes of conduct in protected natural areas in New Zealand, Australia and Antarctica. It argues that the traditional approach of managing visitor impacts should be supported by a far greater emphasis on managing visitor experience. It proposes that placing emphasis on managing visitor experience should allow a more holistic perspective to be employed, in which the visitor can be put within a context that includes both the destination community and the environment visited. Such an approach, it is argued, should not only lead to better informed and behaved visitors, but a reduction in negative visitor impacts.     

Defining and monitoring the quality of shared-use transportation facilities in parks and recreation areas

Transportation networks in parks and recreation areas provide travelers recreation opportunities and often support multiple transportation modes (e.g., hiking, walking, biking). In recreation areas, the quality of transportation service may be monitored and evaluated differently than in traditional transportation contexts. However, few studies have examined approaches for defining and monitoring the quality of transportation service and recreation experiences. This study applies traffic monitoring models to monitor (1) the quality of transportation service through the Levels of Service (LOS) framework and (2) travelers’ recreation experiences through the indicators and standards framework simultaneously on the Burlington Bike Path (BBP), a typical shared-use transportation recreation facility in Vermont. Results identify the temporal pattern of visitors use and the mode splits between cyclists and pedestrians. Moreover, study results show that the majority of travelers use the BBP for recreation or mixed purpose of recreation and commute. Study results build quantitative relationships between LOS and indicators and standards of quality that will help inform management of transportation in the context of recreation. The indicators and standards framework can help define the thresholds of acceptable levels of transportation service through the LOS framework. The relationships between LOS and the indicators and standards framework help build a robust and fully parameterized transportation planning and management framework for parks and recreation areas. Study results suggest quantitative guidelines that can be used to evaluate and monitor the quality of transportation performance for shared-use paths in parks and recreation areas.     

A systems-based approach to address unintended consequences of demand-driven transportation planning in national parks and public lands

In most cases, transportation planning in national parks and public lands might most appropriately be termed “demand-driven.” In this approach, rigorous analyses of park visitation, traffic, and parking data are used as a basis for transportation planning to accommodate current and projected future visitor demand, within financial constraints. Performance measures used to assess the quality of transportation systems in national parks are generally related to “moving people” efficiently. This approach is based on well-established principles for transportation planning in urban and rural communities. However, a demand-driven approach to transportation planning may not be suitable in national parks and public lands because it may enable levels of visitation that cause visitor crowding, resource impacts, and other unintended consequences. This paper introduces a more sustainable, systems-based transportation planning approach developed in the Rocky Mountain National Park (ROMO) to help the park operate its shuttle bus system efficiently and conveniently, and according to thresholds for visitor crowding and resource impacts at sites serviced by the shuttle system. The transportation planning approach developed in this study for ROMO is more suitable and sustainable for national parks and public lands than a demand-driven approach, and is readily adaptable to other locations. Correspondingly, the approach is now being applied in several other national parks and public lands recreation areas.     

The invention of shopping tourism. The discursive repositioning of landscape in an Italian retail-led case

Under the label of ‘shopping tour’, tour operators currently offer package tours which aim to highlight for the visitor the commercial appeal of a particular location. A variety of destinations are suitable for tours with such a label. In this context, certain ‘shopping tourism’ destinations simply consist of areas where the concentration of corporation-led retail venues is high. The Novese Area, in the northwest of Italy, has been transforming into such a destination since the opening of the Serravalle Designer Outlet, an outlet ‘village’ which opened in 2000. This paper reports on original research aimed at enquiring about shifts in the representation of the landscape of this area as it is shown in the discourses of local political and business actors. It is argued that this case study portrays a rather unique case of late western urban regeneration practice through which a formal industrial area is turned into a consumption site suitable for tourism. Here, the repositioning process not only influences local planning policies, but feeds – and is fed by – a simultaneous process of consumption normalization.     

Fuzzy importance-performance analysis of visitor satisfaction for theme park: the case of Fantawild Adventure in Taiwan,China

This study presents a quantitative analysis of visitor satisfaction and its relationship with tourism attributes in the Fantawild Adventure Theme Park in Taiwan, China. The study applies a fuzzy method and importance-performance analysis (IPA) to determine the range of impact of various attributes on visitor satisfaction. The weight and logical value of satisfaction were determined by using triangular fuzzy variables. Analysis of 389 visitor surveys identified a complex relationship between satisfaction and the following attributes: recreation experience, park service and management, park environment, guidance information, amusement consumption, and park facilities. Recreation experience is the most significant factor in visitor satisfaction, whereas the attribute of park facilities is the least significant. The fuzzy IPA method is a very useful diagnostic tool for theme park managers, who can use it to identify current problems regarding visitor experiences and then assign priorities to improvement measures for such experiences.     

Visitor satisfaction with a key wildlife tourism destination within the context of a damaged landscape

Wildlife tourism is a growing industry globally and visitor satisfaction is vital to ensure its long-term sustainability. The Lower Kinabatangan River is a premier wildlife tourism destination that is affected by surrounding land uses and needs careful management to ensure it continues to provide positive wildlife tourism experiences. As little is known about the motivations and satisfaction of tourists with this experience, a visitor survey was conducted along the Lower Kinabatangan River with 346 surveys completed. The attribute ‘Interest in viewing wildlife’ had the highest mean level of importance and satisfaction (mean?=?4.54 and 4.1, respectively, on a 5-point scale). Respondents were very satisfied with their wildlife tour experience (85%) and would recommend the experience to their friends (87%). However, almost half of respondents (47%) felt more needed to be done to protect the Kinabatangan River and wildlife. Although respondents were satisfied overall with their experience, they also expressed concerns over the number of boats and the protection of the River. Comments focused on the presence of rubbish in the River, intrusion of oil palm and the loss of forest. Many issues are beyond the management realms of tour operators but will impact on the future of the industry.     

Market segmentation for a leverage revitalization of China’s inbound tourism: the case of US leisure tourists

China’s inbound tourism currently faces a tough choice between a niche strategy and a wide-range tourist attraction. The derivative concept of ‘leverageable market’ provides a reasonable method to solve the problem. This study, thus, attempts to conduct market segmentation for identifying a core crowd in the leisure tourism market of US near-venturers that leverages revitalization. A mixed segmentation method was adopted that combined ‘a posterior approach’ with ‘a priori approach’ in an overall multi-stage framework. ‘Venturesomeness’ in Plog’s psychographic model was the first principle segmentation variable used, which is intrinsically pertinent to the connotation of a leverageable market. ‘Activity participation’ was added to further partition the near-venturers identified, yielding refined management strategies. The data first indicated an obvious shift of China’s psychographic destination position from ‘near-venturer’ to ‘mid-centric’. Cluster analysis further identified four activity-based near-venturer segments: outdoor stimulus experiencers, recreation and amusement seekers, culture searchers, and extensive interest holders. Significant socio-demographic and trip-related features were found among the clusters. The corresponding managerial and theoretical implications, limitations, and agendas for further related research were finally discussed.     

Partnerships in ecotourism: Australian political frameworks

Conservation interests hope to use tourism as a tool in conservation, whereas tourism interests want to use conservation as a tool in tourism development. Both promote partnerships, but with different political aims. In federated nations such as Australia, this involves industry associations and government agencies in different jurisdictions as well as different portfolios. There are several recent national‐scale initiatives in Australia. The Tourism in Australia's Protected Areas Forum, TAPAF, is an informal information exchange group between state protected area management agencies which also includes state government tourism representatives. TAPAF has promoted a Code of Practice for commercial tour operators in protected areas. Ecotourism Australia is an industry association which has promoted a Cairns Charter on Partnerships for Ecotourism. The National Tourism and Heritage Taskforce is the highest‐level consultative body, representing both industry and government, tourism and environment, federal and state levels. NTHT has produced a national strategy called Going Places, currently under implementation. The federal tourism portfolio has produced a somewhat conflicting document of its own, called Pursuing Common Goals. And the peak tourism industry association, formerly the Tourism Task Force and currently known as TTF Australia, is soon due to launch a report called Making National Parks a National Tourism Priority. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tourism distribution channels in Wellington,New Zealand

This paper outlines a multiple method approach used in Wellington as a way of researching issues of distribution channels for tourism in urban areas. The study combines information obtained from interviews with providers and intermediaries, visitor surveys and the analysis of catalogues to present a systematic examination of distribution channels for a range of accommodation and attractions. The results highlight the complexity of distribution channels in Wellington, with variations occurring by market segment and by type of accommodation and attractions. Chain hotels have the most complex channels. Smaller properties and attractions tend to pursue simpler ‘at destination’ distribution strategies. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An assessment of ‘international best practice’ in visitor attraction management: does Scotland really lag behind?

This paper compares and contrasts selected management practices among visitor attractions in Scotland, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The catalyst for the study was the growing perception that management practices among visitor attractions in Scotland are becoming increasingly outdated and that the sector needs to learn from ‘international best practice’ in this respect. A postal questionnaire was sent to all paid‐admission visitor attractions in the four countries. In total, 1022 visitor attractions replied, representing an overall response rate of 41%. Chi‐square analysis was then used to test various hypotheses relating to the uptake of these management practices. A key conclusion is that although management practices do vary significantly among the four countries, Scotland does not necessarily lag behind. Indeed, Scottish visitor attractions seem to lead the way in many respects. Meanwhile, the study finds no strong evidence to suggest that visitor attractions in the other three countries have indeed identified and are following a common ‘international best practice’. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social media as a destination marketing tool: its use by national tourism organisations

India's protected areas (PAs), especially those designated tiger reserves, are popular tourist destinations, experiencing considerable and growing visitor numbers, but the principles of ecotourism are not well implemented. This paper analyses tourism practice in a sample of popular tiger reserves in India according to four principles of responsible ecotourism: minimisation of environmental impacts, generation of funds for conservation, benefits to local communities, and education of visitors. Evidence demonstrates that few criteria of ecotourism are met in most PAs: tourism imposes significant detrimental impacts, little of the generated revenue is captured, local communities get mostly menial jobs, and visitor education is virtually non-existent with tourism geared mainly towards thrill-seeking. The Indian Forest Service, which manages the PAs, is on the whole unprepared and ill-equipped to plan and implement proper ecotourism practices and faces constant pressure from other actors to increase tourism revenue. Periyar National Park stands out as an exception where innovative approaches involving local communities have brought about a significant positive change. Policy recommendations are offered based on limited, low-impact activities with high participation of local communities which is essential to build local support for conservation that has been historically lacking.     

Impact of European Union funding on tourism in the Grampian Region

The European Union (EU) has no specific tourism policy. Even though there are divergent views on its involvement in regional development, there is a consensus on the fact that the EU is involved by its principle role of ‘Subsidiarity’. There is also continued participation of the EU in activities related to tourism development in the community. Undoubtedly, the EU is having an impact on regional development of members states. Research carried out shows the contribution of the EU in regional development and tourism. The EU funding has tended to focus on peripheral areas and where traditional industries are declining. Tourism related projects (such as visitor attractions) have benefited from such funding programmes, on the assumption that these projects will create employment and increase visitor numbers, as well as promote the economies of these regions. Consequently, this paper considers the contributions of EU funding of tourism attractions in the Aberdeen and Grampian region of Scotland and issues affecting the effectiveness of the attractions themselves. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Moving on from Joint Management Policy Regimes in Australian National Parks

Joint management regimes in Australia are seeing an increasing focus on cross-cultural approaches to management of national parks. This has brought under scrutiny the eurocentric approaches to park management that exclude the rights and perspectives of indigenous Australians. The history of our parks appears to have been built on policy that is not only exclusionary but stems from a hegemonic approach to management. With an increasing focus on natural resource and cultural tourism (often referred to as ecotourism) within Australia, it is time to address the issues that are fundamental to the provision of policy for this area of park management. Pressure from tourism can have significant impacts upon the natural and cultural resources of national parks, and thus on the local aboriginal community itself. Policies formulated within the framework of ecotourism principles, supported with social science research in the community studies area, are ideally suited to application within the joint management framework. These policies facilitate a cross-cultural flow of information and thus promote a development of the cross-cultural understanding that is vital to the resolution and progress of joint management. It would seem that policy directions founded on the principles of ecotourism and the facilitation of community ownership and control of tourism and the associated resource are being overlooked or treated in politically expedient ways as a means of appeasing legal requirements at both a management and political level.     

Rural tourism in Spain

The paper describes the rapid recent growth in rural tourism facilities in Spain and attempts to account for the regional variations that exist. The range of activities involved in rural tourism is described and a significant trend towards the development of ‘active’ leisure pursuits in rural areas is identified. This clearly implies a major change in the use of the countryside, albeit in specific locations, but therefore calls into question the assertion of some scholars that rural restructuring is not a feature of contemporary Spain. In assessing the wider impact of rural tourism policies as part of overall rural development, however, it is clear that the main beneficiaries are not necessarily local residents. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Giving voice to heritage tourists: indicators of quality for a sustainable heritage experience at Petra,Jordan

ABSTRACT

The tourist experience should be placed at the heart of management and planning process to achieve the goal of sustainable heritage tourism. The concept of indicators and standards of quality, which emerged in the field of natural resources and outdoor recreation management as a conceptual framework for understanding visitors’ experiences, has been widely applied in nature-based parks rather than cultural heritage sites. This study applies the concept of indicators to heritage experience at Petra Archaeological Park in Jordan. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 29 tourists to understand the tourist experience at the park, and to formulate indicators of the tourism experience. Results suggest that cultural and natural scenic value, crowding, attractions accessibility, vendor persistence, and odor of animals waste are potential indicators for the tourism experience at the park. Related management implications and recommendations are also discussed.     

From ideological space to recreational tourism: the Israeli forest

ABSTRACT

The forest as a leisure, recreation, and tourist space is growing in significance as part of nature-based tourism. It contributes to social and economic development, particularly in light of the global trend for more recreation and tourism in developed and developing countries. The main aim of this paper is to describe and analyze the evolution of forest development policy and its implications for the function of the forest as a recreation and leisure space, using an Israeli case study. The methodology is based on historic-geographic research to analyze forest tourism over time and into the present. The study finds that the spatial processes that took place over nearly a century in Israel transformed its forests from expressions of an ideology to spaces dedicated to leisure, recreation, and tourism.