Abstract Type: Independent oral presentation
Abstract TitleManagement considerations of “bucketlisters” visiting national park and UNESCO sites in a time of global change
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Abstract
Some people have a favorite national park or UNESCO site that they visit repeatedly throughout their lifetime and come to know deeply. Others have a goal of visiting a series of locations, creating a “bucket list” of places they want see. Visitation at Capitol Reef National Park (CRNP), a national park in Utah, USA, has experienced rapid growth in visitorship in the last decade. Part of this increase is due to the popularity of the Mighty Five advertising campaign, which encouraged people from around the world to visit all five of Utah’s national parks. A mixed methods study was conducted to find out what factors were responsible for this increase. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using a series of two surveys. First, a convenience sample was collected four times at six key locations in CRNP during the summer of 2021. When participants completed the survey, they could list their email address to receive a second longer survey. Of the 685 participants who completed the short survey, 505 (74%) were visiting CRNP for the first time. Two hundred ten respondents (31%) identified CRNP as a “bucket-list” destination, while 218 (32%) said they were visiting at least one other Mighty Five park on their trip. Of the participants who elected to take the longer survey (n = 158), 79 (50%) indicated that they stayed only one or two days in CRNP. These short trips may indicate that visitors could be trying to “cross off” the park as a place they have visited. These findings have important implications for land managers within the theory of affordances. Compared to repeat visitors, “bucketlisters” may be more focused on affordances—amenities in the built environment such as visitor-center resources and parking at popular trailheads—and less likely to spend substantial time at a park or site. So, when planning for this type of visitor, managers may want to focus on providing facilities in the frontcountry and amenities that can be accessed in a short period of time.
Related Conference Topic Area
recreation and tourism
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Presenter Information
First Name Michael T. |
Last Name Stevens |
Affiliation Utah Valley University |
Author(s) Information
Author | First Name | Last Name | Affiliation |
1 | Michael T. | Stevens | Utah Valley University |
2 | Maria | Blevins | Utah Valley University |
3 | Meaghan | McKasy | Utah Valley University |