The Relationship Between Visitor-Based Standards of Quality and Existing Conditions in Parks and Outdoor Recreation

Abstract

Parks and related areas are increasingly adopting management-by-objectives/indicator-based frameworks to protect resources and the quality of visitor experiences. Indicator-based frameworks rely on development of indicators and standards of quality, and research has been developed to measure visitor-based standards of quality. In this research approach, visitors to parks and related areas judge the acceptability of a range of recreation-related impacts to natural/cultural resources and the quality of the visitor experience. The purpose of this paper is to explore the strength and variability of the relationship between visitor-based standards of quality and existing conditions in parks and related areas. Data were derived from studies conducted in 11 U.S. national park system units between 1995 and 2002. Results indicated that visitor-based standards of quality are generally unrelated to existing conditions. Implications of these findings are explored for research on visitor-based standards of quality and related issues, and for the management of parks and outdoor recreation.     

Crowding standards at Petra Archaeological Park: a comparative study of McKercher's five types of heritage tourists

To achieve sustainability in heritage tourism, tourists should be placed at the heart of the management and planning processes. Indicators and standards-based frameworks were developed in the field of outdoor recreation management to manage and measure crowding and other problematic issues in parks and related areas. Using normative theory and visual research methods, this article aims to examine crowding standards of tourists at Petra Archaeological Park, and compare these standards between the types of heritage tourists suggested by a model developed by Bob McKercher. Results showed that tourists’ acceptability levels go down with an increasing number of tourists, and tourists who are highly motivated to visit heritage sites (i.e. purposeful and sightseeing heritage tourists) had the most restrictive acceptable number of tourists at the park. The normative standards formulated in this article provided a guidance to manage crowding at Petra.     

Research to Estimate and Manage Carrying Capacity of a Tourist Attraction: A Study of Alcatraz Island

Carrying capacity has been a long-standing issue in management of parks, outdoor recreation and tourism. Contemporary carrying capacity frameworks rely on formulation of indicators and standards of quality to define and manage carrying capacity. This paper describes a programme of research to support estimation and management of carrying capacity of Alcatraz Island, an historic site within Golden Gate National Recreation Area, California, USA, and a heavily visited tourist attraction. Research included: (1) a survey of visitors to Alcatraz Island to identify indicators and standards of quality for the visitor experience; and (2) development of a computer simulation model of visitor use to estimate maximum daily use levels without violating standards of quality. Study findings are used to estimate a range of carrying capacities for the prison cellhouse and for the island as a whole.     

Developing a better understanding of the complexities of visitor loyalty to Karijini National Park,Western Australia

Visitor loyalty is essential for the future of parks; however our knowledge of it is poor and confounded by conceptualisation and measurement issues with loyalty often considered a single construct. Furthermore, previous research has focussed on loyalty to a single destination rather than loyalty to a park system. This paper analyses the loyalty intentions of visitors to Karijini National Park, Western Australia. Relationships between loyalty measures to this park and to parks generally are explored. Rather than a single construct, loyalty was evidenced by three dimensions within an increasing hierarchy of effort – a) visiting another park, b) referring and recommending, and c) advocating, paying, volunteering, and visiting again. Visitors who wanted access to friendly, helpful rangers were more likely to undertake loyalty behaviours requiring greater effort. Further refining loyalty's multiple dimensions is an important focus for future research complemented by recent efforts to match loyalty measures with actual visiting behaviour.     

国家公园科学保护与生态旅游高质量发展——理论思考与创新实践

国家公园科学保护与生态旅游高质量发展是国家公园体制建设面临的重大实践需求和重要科学议题。在阐释国家公园高质量发展特征的基础上,围绕国家公园的生态保护、生态旅游、特许经营、保护模式、解说系统、生态产业、社区参与、管理体制等理论与实践问题进行思考与跨学科对话。分析认为：（1）科研支撑是国家公园科学保护与生态旅游高质量发展的基石;（2）生态旅游是国家公园生态产品价值实现的重要方式,其必要条件是要素支撑体系、特许经营制度和关键政策突破;（3）特许权和特许经营制度是保护机制,从旅游特许经营走向社区特许经营、生物科技特许经营、基础设施特许经营、区域联合特许经营等是未来发展的必然趋势;（4）社区参与是国家公园高质量发展的基础保障,渠道拓展、能力提升、共建共享是提升社区参与质量的重要方式;（5）文化服务是国家公园多元功能的重要组成部分,构建科学的解说系统、建设实体平台和虚拟平台,有利于促进文化服务的供给及其社会文化价值的实现。     

湿地公园游客感知价值研究

游客感知价值作为旅游目的地竞争优势的新来源,已经得到旅游学者的广泛重视。随着湿地公园作为旅游目的地吸引力的不断增强,湿地公园之间的竞争也将日趋激烈,湿地公园游客感知价值成为湿地公园竞争力管理的标准。文章以西溪和溱湖两大湿地公园为案例地,检验湿地公园游客感知价值量表,探讨湿地公园游客感知价值的结构特征。通过探索性和验证性因子分析,研究得到包括23个题项6个维度的游客感知价值量表,6个维度分别是：环境价值、特色价值、服务价值、管理价值、知识教育价值和成本价值。其中,特色价值、管理价值、知识教育价值是湿地公园感知价值的独特维度。溱湖游客对特色价值和知识教育价值的感知显著高于西溪游客。文章最后讨论了研究的理论贡献和管理意义。     

Customer Expectations of Casual Dining Restaurants: The Case of Liberty Tap Room

The current research examines the importance of restaurant attributes as rated by customers dining in a casual-style restaurant located in a medium-sized city in the Southeast United States. Previous research and the models used to measure customer perceptions of restaurant attributes were reviewed. The assessment instrument chosen for the current study was adapted from DinEX, developed by Antun, Frash, Costen, and Runyan (2010). A total of 92 customers completed the survey over a 10-day period in late August and early September of 2011. Results showed that customers rate food and service attributes as most important when dining out. Attributes related to atmosphere received moderate importance ratings. In using a confirmatory factor analysis, six latent variables emerged: social connectedness, service quality, atmosphere, food quality, healthfulness, and food value. The only statistically significant differences between the factors related to the demographic variables were that females rated the healthfulness of the food options as more important than males, and dinner customers rated the food value as more important than the lunch customers. Implications for restaurant operators and suggestions for further research are discussed.     

Domestic tourism expenditures: The non-linear effects of length of stay and travel party size

The independent variables length of stay and travel party size are recurrent determinants of expenditures in micro level tourism studies. In most of this research it has been tacitly assumed that these variables have linear effects on tourism spending. This study, situated in a Norwegian setting, questions this approach by explicitly scrutinizing the possible non-linearities in the relationships between tourism expenditures on the one hand and length of stay and travel party size on the other. The empirical results suggest a positive but diminishing relationship between length of stay and tourism expenditures and a convex (i.e. U) relationship between travel party size and tourism expenditures. The study also considers how a number of other key independent variables affect tourism expenditures. Finally, some managerial and scholarly implications are discussed.     

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.     

加拿大国家公园游憩空间治理研究

从利用的角度开展游憩空间管控是国家公园实现可持续发展的重要措施。本文基于加拿大国家公园实地考察和期刊文献资料梳理,分析了加拿大实施游憩空间管控的体系架构和重点内容,探讨国家公园游憩空间治理主线和适应策略。研究发现：（1）加拿大国家公园游憩空间管控体系可以划分为区域、公园、场地3个尺度,反映了国家公园在促进国土空间保护领域的系统性思维;（2）国家公园游憩治理机制在不同层面进行了多重响应,包括宏观平衡机制、分类优选机制、用途管制机制和游憩利用机制,并在不同尺度空间上匹配相适应的政策管控措施;（3）从政策层面需要维持自然保护和游憩空间利用的平衡关系,在独特性方面体现出有别于绝对保护和完全开发的中性思维。中国国家公园游憩空间治理可汲取利用加拿大的上述发展经验,在多个层面设置前期评估和弹性措施进行改良优化,注重动态调控,避免游憩发展体制僵化。     

俄罗斯国家公园建设与管理体系及其对中国的启示

本文回顾了俄罗斯国家公园的发展历史,在重点分析俄罗斯国家公园的管理体系和经验的基础上,探讨其对中国国家公园建设与管理的启示意义。研究发现：（1）俄罗斯国家公园的建设与发展和俄罗斯自然保护区的发展历史密切关联,俄罗斯国家公园的建设与管理大致分为5个阶段;（2）俄罗斯国家公园经过近40年的发展,在法律体系、管理战略、空间管制和社区发展等方面积累了较为丰富的实践经验;（3）建议中国借鉴俄罗斯国家公园管理经验,尽快制定《国家公园法》,实施国家公园管理战略,严格空间管控,完善社区协同发展机制等。     

Information Technology and Service Standards in MICE Tourism

Abstract

The meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions (MICE) sector of tourism is growing rapidly worldwide and particularly in the Asia Pacific region. One of the important challenges posed by rapid growth of this sector is to maintain service standards in a context of intense competition for this form of tourism. In particular, the development of skills in information technology is regarded as essential to the provision of quality service to tourists. After providing a brief outline of the MICE sector and its major stakeholders, the paper proceeds to highlight the importance of information technology in tourism generally and MICE tourism specifically. It then addresses issues of concern and identifies areas for further research to help the nation's MICE sector achieve competitive advantage.     

Social Norms in Outdoor Recreation: Searching for the Behavior-Condition Link

Social norms for encounters and setting conditions have been an important area of outdoor recreation research for the past 30 years. An important research assumption, based on Jackson's Return Potential Model, has been that norms for a given behavior and norms for conditions resulting from that behavior are linked. Empirical verification of a link is needed to validate this assumption. This research combines measures of behavioral obligations and sanctions with measures of normative preferences for resulting conditions using a visual approach to study the behavior-condition link for littering and litter in urban parks. The argument is that a behavioral obligation against littering should be directly linked to no tolerance for a littered environment. The results suggest that littering and litter represent two dimensions of the normative situation. Littering was found to be a clear example of a highly crystallized and intense behavioral norm while littered conditions were clearly defined by a highly crystallized and intense condition norm. The findings generally support a link between behavioral obligations not to litter and condition preferences to see no litter.     

Gangs of Chicago: Perceptions of Crime and its Effect on the Recreation Behavior of Latino Residents in Urban Communities

Perception of safety is an important factor affecting the leisure behavior of Latinos residing in urban neighborhoods. Yet research on how fear of crime and fear of gangs in particular affect leisure of ethnic and racial minorities is underdeveloped. The objectives of this study are to examine how gangs operate in recreation spaces in Latino neighborhoods, how gangs affect the use of outdoor recreation environments and how Latinos respond to these issues. The study is based on focus groups conducted with Latino residents in Chicago. Findings indicate gang members are almost constantly present in parks, which serve as spaces for drug use and distribution. Moreover, gangs operate in other areas of the neighborhood making it unsafe to access parks. Participants employ strategies to address the gang problem including avoidance, protective and collective behaviors.     

旅游业标准体系的思考与重构

旅游标准体系是行业规范化管理的蓝图和技术支撑,也是旅游企业开展标准化工作的基础。研究既符合标准体系基础理论要求,又与旅游业自身特点及其发展规律相吻合的标准体系,对于全面提升我国旅游产品质量和服务水平,改善旅游企业的管理水平,提高旅游企业的国际竞争力具有重要意义。《全国旅游标准化发展规划（200---2015）》重新修订了国家旅游标准体系,然而该体系的系统性和科学性有待进一步改善。在梳理相关学术文献、标准体系理论以及国家标准的基础上,文章对武汉市旅游相关企业进行了实地调研,发现当前体系存在标准体系层次划分不合理、体系表存在缺失与重复以及标准体系分类不够专业等问题。为了构建更具系统性和可操作性的标准体系,提高行业的标准化管理水平,文章结合旅游业的服务特性和业务要素重构了旅游业标准体系,该体系分为两个层次三个子体系：第一层是基础标准体系,第二层包括服务保障标准体系和服务与服务提供标准体系。基础标准体系是下层标准体系的准则和指南,保障标准体系是服务与服务提供标准体系的直接支撑,服务与服务提供标准体系促进保障标准体系完善,并与保障标准体系共同反馈于基础标准体系。三者以系统的方式发挥效用,并能够不断自我修正和完善。在此基础上,给出了企业层面标准体系的应用指南,指出企业标准体系应当以整个企业的经营管理为目标,涉及企业管理的各个过程,因此其既包括国际、国家、行业和地方标准,还包括企业根据自身情况制定的适用于本组织的规范性文件,把行业标准体系和企业标准体系统一起来,提高标准体系的适用性。     

中国自然保护地体系建设——红线管控、旅游发展与文化表征

建立以国家公园为主体的自然保护地体系,是贯彻习近平生态文明思想的重大举措,是党的十九大提出的重大改革任务。有效协调自然保护地保护与开发的功能定位是实现“生态保护、绿色发展、改善民生”三效合一目标的难点与重点。本文围绕如何有效发挥自然保护地生态系统服务功能这一问题框架,系统分析中国自然保护地在生态保护红线划定、旅游发展与文化要素表征3个方面存在的问题与障碍因素,通过政策梳理、学理辨析、国内外对比等研究方法提出以上三方面问题的破题策略。本文认为要建设与国际接轨、具有中国特色的自然保护地体系,需要运用“可接受的改变极限”思想开展红线划定与管控,因地制策、因时制宜、持续监测;需要加大游憩机会谱的研究及应用实践,实现生态保护与旅游发展相得益彰;需要重视自然保护地内文化景观的提炼识别及其表征、传播,重视国家公园文化认同意义表达。     

Research priorities in park tourism

Park tourism is a large and important activity on which a substantial body of research work has been published. This paper reviews that work in the light of the issues now faced by parks and park tourism, and argues that there are significant research gaps that urgently need additional work. The paper outlines 10 such areas, including: visitor use monitoring; park tourism economic impact monitoring; park finance; professional competencies for tourism management; building public support; visitor satisfaction; licenses, permits, leases, and concessions for tourism; pricing policies; management capacity; and park tourism governance. The paper suggests that work in these areas is so important that the long term political and social relevance, effective management and sustainable future of many parks and protected areas depend on the results. It points to the park creation phase being over after about 150 years of growth, and the need to move more effectively into the long-term management phase. A number of key questions arise. The numerous parks must fulfill their conservation mandate and they must be financially secure. They almost certainly must forge links to tourism, yet not be dominated by tourism's demands, creating, therefore, a new and sustainable research-based relationship.     

Exploring the Motivations,Experiences and Meanings of Camping in National Parks

Camping in natural areas such as national parks is an important social activity and provides a way of reconnecting with nature to achieve personal, social, and health benefits. Experience and meanings are not well understood regarding camping in natural areas, and recent research is limited. The aim of this qualitative study was to examine the motivations, experiences, and higher-order meanings of camping in two national parks in Western Australia, with a particular focus on the last of these. Important associated motivations included the “push” factor of addressing feelings of disconnection from nature, others, and self; and the “pull” factor of experiencing nature. Re-creation, reconnection and reaffirmation were key higher-order meanings. A deeper understanding of the camping experience highlights the importance of the people-natural environment relationship and shows how camping can benefit individuals and society.     

Budget traveler accommodation satisfaction: The case of Yogwans during the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan

The preference attributes of budget-conscious travelers have been researched in detail, since the budget segment is important to the hotel industry. Special events, where budget-conscious travelers are major patrons and a huge volume of rooms is needed for a specific period, require accommodation alternatives. Yogwans, Korean-style hotels, have historically been utilized as such an accommodation alternative during special events in Korea. This study of the 2002 World Cup found that budget-conscious travelers were generally not highly satisfied with yogwans. Using a factor analysis technique, this study also identified five factors that were considered important for choosing to stay at yogwans. Finally, multiple regression analysis was then applied to examine the relative importance of each of these factors in influencing the overall satisfaction level of yogwan use. In order of importance, room quality, external quality, value, staff service quality, and accessibility were significant factors in determining the overall satisfaction level of yogwans. This study recommends that accommodation alternatives for budget-conscious travelers should match the needs of specific customers during special events by considering the unique attributes of the event and classifying attributes into fixed and variable categories.