Visitors' Attitudes Towards China's National Forest Park Policy, Roles and Functions, and Appropriate Use

Abstract

National parks throughout the world are increasingly challenged to accommodate the dual mandates of protecting natural and cultural resources while providing positive recreation experiences for park visitors. This is particularly true for China's national forest parks (NFPs), now important destinations for both the domestic and international tourist markets. The sustainable management of the NFPs requires an understanding of park visitors' attitudes. This paper examines how visitors perceive the roles and functions, policies and appropriate uses relating to China's NFPs, based on data from an important NFP. Results suggest that visitors' attitudes towards NFPs are positive. The majority of study participants placed higher priority on the protection of the ecological integrity of NFPs than on their development and use for recreation and tourism. They were supportive of NFP policies for limiting visitor numbers and phasing out inappropriate uses. Non-consumptive activities were viewed as highly appropriate while religious activities and dancing/karaoke lounges were seen as highly inappropriate. Visitors who placed higher priority on the protection of ecological integrity were less likely to compromise protection with use, and more likely to support non-consumptive activities. Future research needs are discussed.

Modelling attitudes to nature, tourism and sustainable development in national parks: A survey of visitors in China and the UK

“…For example, Boyd (2000) lists a range of activities which take place inside parks, including wildlife protection, conservation, tourism, research and interpretation. Huang et al (2008) undertook a study of sustainable activities in parks, seeking to define different types of activities according to their level of sustainability. Passive activities (for example, watching wildlife, photography and hiking) are viewed as appropriate.…”

“…However, the over-development of tourism in many national parks is causing serious concern about the natural environment (Eagles & McCool, 2002;La Page 2010). Yet many park managers in the world are under increasing pressure to provide more visitor facilities and accommodation, and to provide different types of activities to meet the growing demand of visitors (Huang, Deng, Li & Zhong, 2008). Whilst the tension between the requirements of recreation and the needs for conservation have been recognised (Barros, 2005), it is acknowledged that in some developing countries, it is the user fees and other tourism related revenues which provide the funding for conservation in the parks (Eagles, Romagosa, Buteau-Duitschaever, Havitz, Glover & McCutcheon, 2013).…”

The Institutional Sustainability in Protected Area Tourism—Case Studies of Jiuzhaigou National Scenic Area, China and New Forest National Park, United Kingdom

“…However, this also determines visitor experiences, which currently are restricted to sightseeing within the park and tourists are physically separated by barriers from the forest and natural water (field observation). This results in limited impact to the environment (Huang et al, 2008) but there were tourists who complained about the lack of interaction with nature (notes from field observation). To date, soft management tools have little importance in Jiuzhaigou (see Table 3).…”

From Farm to Rural Hostel: New Opportunities and Challenges Associated with Tourism Expansion in Daxi, a Village in Anji County, Zhejiang, China

“…However, 40% acknowledged a mediocre to poor level of environmental protection, 62% recommended better cleaning and general environmental maintenance, and 63% identified the need for improved services. Likewise, 11% were in favor of reducing the number of hostels, and 27% that of local tourist shops, a situation found in other areas of outstanding natural values in China [29]. This suggests that the massive increase in tourism in Daxi is reaching an unsustainable level, having created a number of environmental and other types of problems that could compromise the long-term viability of the economic development strategy.…”

“…Recent research on visitors' perception of the roles, functions, policies and uses of forest parks in China, show that they ascribe a high priority to protecting the ecological integrity of the area, supporting a limit on the number of tourists [29]. Simultaneously, in the context of China, cultural values such as Human-Nature interactions and collectivism have been found to have an influence on consumers' attitudes towards green purchases [30].…”