The tourism value of international freedom campers to New Zealand

Fieger, Peter; Prayag, Girish; Hall, C. Michael; North, Chris

doi:10.1080/02508281.2019.1660042

“…Additionally, just over half of the respondents were somewhat in agreement that freedom camping was a form of freeloading (Q8(G)) (see Table 4.7). These findings largely fit with the reported perceptions of freedom camping being a low-cost activity that does not significantly benefit the local economy (Collins et al, 2018;Kearns et al, 2017), even though data from the International Visitors Survey (IVS) shows that freedom campers do in fact have a significant economic contribution (Fieger et al, 2019). The IVS shows that freedom campers' economic contribution is considered comparable to tourists staying in homestays, B&B's, and campsites/national parks (Fieger et al, 2019).…”

Section: Host Community Perceptions Of Freedom Camping Impactssupporting

confidence: 63%

Host Community Perceptions Of Freedom Camping Impacts: A Social Exchange Theory Perspective

Lonergan¹

0

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Residents’ perceptions of tourism impacts in a destination have been widely examined throughout tourism literature. These studies, often underpinned by social exchange theory, show that residents who are dependent on the tourism industry, or perceive a greater level of economic gain from it, tend to have more positive perceptions of the impacts than others (Andereck et al., 2005; Ap, 1992; Tosun, 2002). According to Tosun (2002, p.233), ‘residents benefiting from tourism have a higher level of support for it and thus report more positive impacts’. It is suggested that destinations need to understand what the impacts of tourism are to manage them effectively (Haywood, 1988). Whilst much research has been done on tourism impacts, little work has focused on the activity of freedom camping and how it can impact a destination. Freedom camping is when an individual camps on public land that is not a recognised camping ground or holiday park. This exploratory study uses the research location of the Taupō District, New Zealand, to examine the impacts of freedom camping on the host community of the destination. The aim of this research is to understand what the host community’s perceived impacts of freedom camping are and how these perceptions may vary based on a host community member’s employment relationship with tourism. Additionally, it aims to examine the host community’s overall support of freedom camping. A sample of 182 Taupō District residents were surveyed using researcher administered self-complete questionnaires. Validated tourism impact items were adopted and combined with freedom camping impacts to measure the host community’s perceptions of freedom camping’s impact in the district. Residents were self-appointed into one of four employment groups; those directly employed in tourism, those indirectly employed in tourism, those whose employment has no relation to tourism, and those not in employment. Findings of this study show the differing perceptions within the host community towards freedom camping impacts, with the most negatively perceived impacts pertaining to the effects on the natural environment and public spaces. It was also found that there were no statistically significant differences in the perceptions between the employment groups evaluated in the study. Overall, there are varying levels of support for freedom camping in the Taupō District, with respondents highlighting the need for more facilities and regulations to manage the activity. This research produces important implications for academia by contributing to the knowledge base on freedom camping and recommending avenues of future research. Furthermore, this research has implications for the Taupō District Council and Government by identifying the key areas of concern of the host community about freedom camping, which need to be addressed and managed to reduce the negative impacts and ensure the activity’s success. Key words: Freedom Camping, Tourism Impacts, Host Community, Social Exchange Theory, Taupō District

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“…Nowadays, the act of freedom camping is a contested issue in New Zealand between different stakeholder groups. Communities, tourists, and government all have different perceptions of freedom camping's value based upon their interests (Caldicott et al, 2018;Fieger et al, 2019). The idea of freedom camping being a polarising topic is illustrated by Caldicott et al (2014), who introduces the various views people have about freedom camping.…”

Section: Freedom Camping In New Zealandmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Data from the IVS shows that the number of international visitors participating in some freedom camping in New Zealand has increased from 54,000 in the year ended 2013 to around 123,000 in the year ended 2018, thus accounting for approximately 3.4% of New Zealand's international visitors in 2017 and 2018 (MBIE, 2019 a ) (shown in Figure 2.1). When reviewing data from the IVS between 1997-2018, international visitors who use freedom camping as their primary source of accommodation only accounted for 0.8% of all visitors (Fieger et al, 2019).…”

Section: New Zealand Freedom Camping Statisticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When looking at the activity of freedom camping in New Zealand, it is often the international tourists who are perceived by the locals as being the freeloaders and the ones who violate camping practices (Fieger et al, 2019;Kearns et al, 2017 In the context of domestic freedom camping, a Visitor Insights Programme produced by Angus & Associates (2017) found that between 2014 and 2016, approximately 1% of domestic tourists used freedom camping as their primary mode of accommodation. In conjunction with this, they also found that between 2013 and 2017 the number of New Zealand Motor Caravan Association memberships increased by almost 20%, reaching 71,500 members.…”

Section: New Zealand Freedom Camping Statisticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Host Community Perceptions of Freedom Camping Impacts: A Social Exchange Theory Perspective

Lonergan¹

2021

Preprint

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Residents’ perceptions of tourism impacts in a destination have been widely examined throughout tourism literature. These studies, often underpinned by social exchange theory, show that residents who are dependent on the tourism industry, or perceive a greater level of economic gain from it, tend to have more positive perceptions of the impacts than others (Andereck et al., 2005; Ap, 1992; Tosun, 2002). According to Tosun (2002, p.233), ‘residents benefiting from tourism have a higher level of support for it and thus report more positive impacts’. It is suggested that destinations need to understand what the impacts of tourism are to manage them effectively (Haywood, 1988). Whilst much research has been done on tourism impacts, little work has focused on the activity of freedom camping and how it can impact a destination. Freedom camping is when an individual camps on public land that is not a recognised camping ground or holiday park. This exploratory study uses the research location of the Taupō District, New Zealand, to examine the impacts of freedom camping on the host community of the destination. The aim of this research is to understand what the host community’s perceived impacts of freedom camping are and how these perceptions may vary based on a host community member’s employment relationship with tourism. Additionally, it aims to examine the host community’s overall support of freedom camping. A sample of 182 Taupō District residents were surveyed using researcher administered self-complete questionnaires. Validated tourism impact items were adopted and combined with freedom camping impacts to measure the host community’s perceptions of freedom camping’s impact in the district. Residents were self-appointed into one of four employment groups; those directly employed in tourism, those indirectly employed in tourism, those whose employment has no relation to tourism, and those not in employment. Findings of this study show the differing perceptions within the host community towards freedom camping impacts, with the most negatively perceived impacts pertaining to the effects on the natural environment and public spaces. It was also found that there were no statistically significant differences in the perceptions between the employment groups evaluated in the study. Overall, there are varying levels of support for freedom camping in the Taupō District, with respondents highlighting the need for more facilities and regulations to manage the activity. This research produces important implications for academia by contributing to the knowledge base on freedom camping and recommending avenues of future research. Furthermore, this research has implications for the Taupō District Council and Government by identifying the key areas of concern of the host community about freedom camping, which need to be addressed and managed to reduce the negative impacts and ensure the activity’s success. Key words: Freedom Camping, Tourism Impacts, Host Community, Social Exchange Theory, Taupō District

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“…Measures to restrict mobility also often failed to take account of the large number of people who own caravans and motor homes. Both second homes and caravanning are integral to the tourism economies of many rural areas in Australia and New Zealand (Fieger et al, 2020), even more so given the promotion of domestic tourism, yet in some places such visitors are not welcome because of the perceived health risks they bring. In the case of Kangaroo Island in South Australia tourism represents an A$147m business with only 1,815 (57%) of the 3,150 houses on the island being permanently occupied, the rest being second homes or rental accommodation.…”

Section: Second Homes In New Zealand and Australia: Delicate Balance mentioning

confidence: 99%

Second homes during corona - safe or unsafe haven and for whom? Reflections from researchers around the world

Pitkänen

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Hannonen

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Toso

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et al. 2020

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The tourism value of international freedom campers to New Zealand

Cited by 12 publications

References 11 publications

Host Community Perceptions Of Freedom Camping Impacts: A Social Exchange Theory Perspective

Host Community Perceptions Of Freedom Camping Impacts: A Social Exchange Theory Perspective

Host Community Perceptions of Freedom Camping Impacts: A Social Exchange Theory Perspective

Second homes during corona - safe or unsafe haven and for whom? Reflections from researchers around the world

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