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Abstract |
Visitor monitoring is an invaluable tool and source of information in recreation planning and management (Kajala et al. 2007). Traditionally, monitoring activitiesinvolve investigations on visitor numbers, profiles and spatial behavior, which is used for overview and information purposes. Unfortunately,monitoring activities that involve acquiring information about visitor experiencesare rarely prioritized by managers (Elands & Marwijk 2008). This is problematic, especially because recreation management “includes managing both material and symbolic […] landscapes” (Hall et al. 2013, p. 122). This is also emphasized by McCool (2006), who states that the state-of-art in visitor experience management needs improvement and that studying visitor experiences can be a way for managers to go beyond what he calls ‘superficial’ monitoring, which is monitoring efforts with a focus on visitor statistics only. Consequently, it is important thatvisitor monitoring efforts are not narrowed down to numbers and figures only, but also include detailed information about the details and specifics of various visitor experiences (McCool 2006). Indeed, it is an essential part of what has been referred to as experienced-based management, where securing and monitoring of high quality experience opportunities is put forward as a crucial part of area planning and management processes (Bushell& Griffin 2006). |
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