Visitors’ acceptance of negative ecological impacts in national parks: comparing the explanatory power of psychographic scales in a Norwegian mountain setting

Abstract

Even in protected areas, it is inevitable that any human use will produce some impact on natural resources. This study identifies visitors' tolerance of potential negative ecological impacts from tourism activities and facilities in a Norwegian national park context, based on park visitors' expressed degree of acceptance of negative effects on particular species of wildlife (wild reindeer and raptors) and on vegetation. Attitudes were analysed using psychographic scales, reflecting respondents' nature orientations, their specific facility desires, their preferences in a wilderness setting and their concerns about human interaction with the natural environment. Fourteen research hypotheses were tested. Findings demonstrated that the psychographic scales explained more variation in attitudes than most social background and trip characteristics. Higher levels of education among visitors were strongly associated with increased ecological concern; age and gender were not. There was generally strong ecological awareness and ecocentrism among park visitors in general, with a small proportion of wilderness purists. Better trail conditions, signposting and interpretation were sought. But park visitors were also found to possess a complex mixture of needs and drivers. The study found significant potential for strategic alliances between tourism and conservation interests, and key value issues for park governance systems.

Tourist Segments for New Facilities in National Park Areas: Profiling Tourists in Norway Based on Psychographics and Demographics

“…All items were significant at the .001 level. Haukeland et al (2010Haukeland et al ( , 2013. The most important items of the Inspiration dimension were "obtaining a deeper connection in life," "experiencing nature's magic and mysticism," "finding inspiration in natural surroundings," "feeling connectedness with landscape and nature," and "attaining a feeling of freedom."…”

“…The important items for the Challenge dimension were "searching for challenges with a certain risk" and taking an interest in "demanding physical activities in nature." Finally, within the Comfort dimension, the most important item was the enjoyment of "comfort in natural surroundings," while "closeness to co-travelers" and "sightseeing" interests were also important (Haukeland et al, 2013).…”

“…Segmentation based on the respondent's quest for facilities may apply items/variables such as the Quest for Tourist Facilities (QTF) scale proposed by Haukeland, Grue, and Veisten (2010), to some extent building on survey elements related to visitor preferences monitoring applied in a Nordic nature tourism context (Kajala et al, 2007). Haukeland et al (2010) and Haukeland, Veisten, Grue, and Vistad (2013) identified four dimensions based on their set of facility quest items using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis: Tracks and Signposts, Infrastructure and Service, Food and Accommodation, and Tours and Interpretation.…”

“…Two datasets are combined for our analysis: the first based on a survey among German, Dutch, and Danish motor tourists leaving Norway by ferry during the summer of 2008 (Haukeland et al, 2010); the second based on a survey of tourists, foreign and Norwegian, recruited in the NordGudbrandsdal region during the summer of 2009 and followed-up with in an Internet-based survey in the winter of 2009/2010 (Haukeland et al, 2013). Similar questions in each dataset about quests for facilities enabled comparison of post hoc market segmentation and the same clustering variables between the two samples.…”

Linking visitor motivation with attitude towards management restrictions on use in a national park

“…Thus the interest in how to implement and evaluate management actions has increased over the last decades; in this study it is about protecting the natural resources in mountains and to ensure visitor satisfaction in Norwegian national parks, especially within the wild reindeer range (Hammer 2008, Haukeland et al 2013. Similarly, as the concept of protected areas (that are often within the wild reindeer range) is shifting from "protection from people" to "sustainable use", a much deeper understanding of responses to anthropogenic disturbance is urgently needed to support sustainable and more flexible management strategies (Kaltenborn et al 2014a).…”