Behavioral Adaptations to Crowding Disturbance: Evidence from Nature Reserves in Israel

Visitors’ strategic anticipation of crowding in scarce recreational resources

“…The findings provided by Hall and Shelby (2000) show that temporal displacement (i.e., changes in visit timing) was the most common strategy of visitors to cope with crowding. Recent research has further shown that individuals' choices of a specific response to crowding are strongly related to their general concern about the number of encounters with others (Fleishman et al, 2007), and their evaluations of crowding are associated with their crowding expectations and preferences (Robert et al, 1983).…”

Examining OHV user displacement at the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area and Sand Lake: A 10-year trend study

“…The 2011 visitors are more highly sensitive to crowding and conflict and likely benefited from restrictive management policies that have been implemented and continue to be enforced. Finally, by assessing a combination of both visitor sensitivity and perceived levels of crowding and conflict over time, managers will be able to operationally define and monitor social disturbances that may negatively impact visitor goal attainment (Fleishman, Feitelson, & Salomon, 2007).…”

“…Perceptions of crowding and conflict (especially crowding) were significantly higher in 2006 than in 2011, and as the visitor population generally became more sensitive to social impacts (in fact, this was the case in 3 of 4 short term crowding and conflict sensitivity trends since 2002), we expect visitors to invest more resources (e.g., displacement) into coping with crowding and conflict as was experienced in 2006 (Fleishman et al, 2007). Specifically, these higher levels of perceived crowding and conflict may help explain the displacement of some 2006 visitors, especially females, first time visitors, less frequent visitors, visitors with longer stay periods, and visitors with shorter travel distances.…”

“…Hammitt and Patterson (1991) also concluded that backpackers in Great Smoky Mountains National Park were more likely to adopt physical coping behaviors (e.g., camping out of sight of other groups, timing trip to avoid other parties, and avoiding popular trails) than social coping behaviors (e.g., avoiding talking to backpackers outside of own group). Finally, Fleishman, Feitelson, and Salomon's (2007) study of visitors in two Israeli Nature Reserves assessed concerns regarding visitor encounters. To measure crowding sensitivity, the visitors were asked whether the number and behavior of encounters mattered to them.…”

An application of the recreation level of service approach to forests in Israel

“…For instance, the influence of factors such as: absolute shortage of space, service or recreational facilities, low quality of facilities, very hot weather, inconvenient access to interest points, insufficiently attractive natural assets or damage to the natural resources may decrease users' satisfaction from the visit, leading to behavioral reactions such as shifting the activity within a single location (intra-site displacement), change in the frequency of visits to the site or shifting to a different location (inter-site displacement) (Hall and Shelby, 2000;Hammitt and Patterson, 1991;Kuentzel and Heberlein, 1992;Fleishman et al, 2007). These reactions to the influence of different nuisances constitute, to a large extent, the behavioral implications of overall dissatisfaction from the visit.…”