Factors influencing the imposition of a charge on the entrance to the interpretive trails in the large protected areas

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to assess the relation between the character of the interpretive trail and the imposition of a charge on the entrance. This was done using the discrete choice experiment that involves eight attributes, seven of which are with three levels: the overall character of the trail, the way that the route signs are used in the terrain, the ways of providing information, the length of the trail, the way of the routing, the focus of the trail, and the price of the entrance. There is also one with two levels that involves the existence of the places for rest. The fractional factorial design was used (the orthogonal main effects plan) and the Multinomial Logit Model was used in analyzing the data. The 2,830 choices were done by random sampled visitors from eight tourist locations in the Tourist Regions of the Šumava Mts. and South Bohemia during the summer season 2012. The impact of the character of the trail was especially detected in the model. Except for that, the equipment of the trail and its length have had the fundamental impact on the choice of the trail as well. Those longer and worse equipped trails have a significantly lower degree of utility for the respondents. What is quite surprising is that the respondents refused the ecotourism elements of the interpretive trails, such as the possibility of going through the trail on horseback or the accompaniment of an expert who would provide some comments, as it is common to do this at historical attractions within those sightseeing paths.

Propuesta metodológica para valorar la calidad escénica de los paisajes del agua y su potencial como recurso turístico

“…Una revisión bibliográfica de los aspectos que valoran los turistas cuando visitan elementos de interés turístico localizados en un espacio natural señala cuatro cualidades que debe cumplir un espacio natural para ser atractivo para los turistas: accesibilidad (Lew, 1987), equipamiento (Navrátil & Pícha, 2013), grado de protección (Ministerio de Cultura, Empresa y Turismo [MCET], 2008) y relevancia del lugar (Ferrario, 1979). La relevancia de un espacio es importante para que los turistas conozcan su existencia cuando planifican el viaje y genere interés en visitarlo.…”