Monitoring options for visitor numbers in national parks and natural areas

Cessford, Gordon; Muhar, Andreas

doi:10.1078/1617-1381-00055

Cited by 159 publications

(119 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Comprehensive knowledge about visitors' motivations is important from the point of view of the management of PAs (Cessford & Muhar 2003;Konu & Kajala 2012). Tourist services dedicated to particular visitor profiles are believed to be more effective than those without a specified target group (Moscardo et al 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visitor profiling for cable car mountain destinations as a basis for protected area management: a case study of the summer season in the Tatra Mountains at Kasprowy Wierch (Poland) and Skalnaté Pleso (Slovakia)

Hibner¹,

Taczanowska²,

Zięba³

et al. 2018

ecomont

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Protected areas play a crucial role in the conservation of vulnerable mountain ecosystems, but at the same time they may serve as tourist destinations and attract large numbers of visitors. Areas located in close proximity to cable cars belong to some of the most challenging sites for mountain protected area management. This study focuses on two cable car areas: Kasprowy Wierch (Tatra National Park, Poland) and Skalnaté Pleso (Tatra National Park, Slovakia). Both sites belong to the most heavilyused leisure destinations in the Tatra Mountains. The study focused on the summer, snow-free tourist peak-season, for which there is an ongoing discussion concerning the development of cable car services. In 2014 and 2015, on-site interviews were conducted in the two study areas (n = 3 304). In order to better understand visitors' needs and goals, visitor profiling using K-means clustering was performed. Four distinct segments based on visitor motivations were identified: nature oriented (32 %), family / friends & well-being oriented (23 %), sports oriented (14 %), and a mixed segment with multiple motivations (31 %). The results show that two tourist segments were not particularly interested in nature experience, although they visited protected areas. A significant relationship between motivational segments and trip characteristics was identified. The visitor segments defined can be used practically in the management of cable car destinations located within protected areas.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visitor profiling for cable car mountain destinations as a basis for protected area management: a case study of the summer season in the Tatra Mountains at Kasprowy Wierch (Poland) and Skalnaté Pleso (Slovakia)

Hibner¹,

Taczanowska²,

Zięba³

et al. 2018

ecomont

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“…Many different types of automated systems for counting pedestrian traffic are currently in use all over the world, and several technical and scientific papers address their applicability and potential shortcomings (Ahlström 2011;Cessford & Muhar 2003;ChiChuan 2006;Pettebone et al 2010;Rupf-Haller et al 2006;Schneider et al 2005;Shoji et al 2008). These studies, however, assess the performance of devices when used in an urban setting (e.g.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring visitors to natural areas in wintertime: issues in counter accuracy

Andersen

Gundersen

Wold

et al. 2013

Journal of Sustainable Tourism

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The sustainable management of vulnerable natural areas requires accurate measurement of visitor flows, especially in mountain and protected areas. Pyroelectric sensors that detect the heat radiation emitted by human bodies are now commonly used in many regions, including Scandinavia and the UK, to count pedestrian traffic in both urban and natural areas. We used four different tests to investigate pyroelectric counters' accuracy in mountain winter conditions. Air temperature, distance to sensor, visitor clothing and visitor volume were all found to affect counter error rates. For tests within moderate winter temperatures (between 0°C and -18°C) counters reported within manufacturer's claimed accuracy at 5% for 2 m range, but for -21°C and below visitor numbers were over reported by 10.9%. Counter accuracy was generally unaffected by visitor clothing within 2 m of the sensor, but at a 4 m distance counters frequently failed to detect individuals in insulating down jackets more than fleece jackets. Counter error rates were slightly higher in outdoor than indoor tests, but still accurate within 5%. Error rates increased with increasing visitor traffic. The findings provide methodological implications for researchers and managers using automated visitor counters to estimate wintertime visitor use in mountain areas.

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“…However, in reality few protected area managers have the luxury of sophisticated monitoring systems such as that of Yosemite National Park, where data is collected not only on visitor use levels but also on the associated impacts via monitoring of soundscapes, use of formal and informal trails and spatial distribution of visitors (Eagles, 2014). Many are conversely forced to function without proper data on visitation, as statistics from individual sites are not systematic and can be inaccurate or out-ofdate (Cope et al, 2000;Cessford & Muhar, 2003;Buckley (2009b). When local trends are scaled up to national level this can lead to mixed messages -or even confusion over the direction of growth -as this paper aims to demonstrate using empirical evidence from Japan.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… lack of multi-year time series since count methods, and even management agencies themselves, are subject to change (Hornback & Eagles, 1999;Liu et al, 2012);  multiple access roads or the presence of non-tourist traffic (Buckley, 2009b);  cost of continuous staff or automated counters (Cessford & Muhar, 2003;Buckley, 2009b);  sample days not representative -significant fluctuations in visitor numbers due to weather or public holidays, etc. (Cessford & Muhar, 2003).…”

Section: Parks Vol 221 March 2016mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Aside from keeping track of social, environmental and economic impacts, monitoring is vital in order to justify limited management budgets and allocate visitor facilities, services and staff. Accurate visitation data is also fundamental to troubleshoot problematic 'hotspots' and minimize conflicts between visitor segments (Cessford & Muhar, 2003;Eagles, 2014). Efforts to monitor NBT often focus on protected areas such as national parks for a number of reasons.…”

Section: Monitoring Visitor Trendsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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