Monitoring National Park Visitors in Metsähallitus

Transcription

1 Monitoring National Park Visitors in Metsähallitus Social media data for conservation Workshop, 26th of October 2016 Senior Advisor

2 Contents Visitor Information System Use of Visitor Information Information Needs from SOME

3 National parks in Finland 39 national parks (2016) 2.6 million visits to national parks (2015) 19 strict nature reserves 6 national hiking areas 12 wilderness areas almost 500 other PAs public water areas Altogether over 7 million hectares of protected areas

4 Why visitor monitoring in protected areas? Any phenomenon that is not measured and reported does not exist politically. Governments, societies, communities and individuals place more value on that which is documented. Prof. Paul F.J. Eagles

5 Visitor monitoring system Visitor Surveys Visitor Counting Visitor Information

6 Visitor surveys Visitor Profile Activities Where and When Economic Impacts Length of Stay Health & Well-being Motives Expectations Satisfaction

7 Visitor counting Count visits Collect the data Analyze the data Report the results

8 Development of visitor monitoring system in Parks & Wildlife Finland Year Action Standardised surveys start and the first manuals on visitor monitoring were published in Finland 2002 First MMV Conference 2005 Nordic and Baltic Project on Developing Visitor Monitoring Methodology 2006 ASTA database was launched 2007 Manual of Visitor Monitoring in Nature Areas was published in Nordic and Baltic countries 2008 ASTA database was sold to Estonia (RMK ) 2010 First economic impacts of park visitation report was published in Finland 2013 Questions on health and wellbeing benefits perceived by visitors 2016 MMV8 and IUCN World Conservation Congress

9 ASTA - the visitor information system SURVEYS ON Protected areas and cultural heritage sites Visitor centres Nature tourism enterprises CONTINUOUS FEEDBACK AT Visitor centres VISITS TO Protected areas and cultural heritage sites Visitor centres

10 The current volume of data in ASTA Protected Areas 146 visitor surveys since 2000 More than survey responses 400 electronic counters currently in use Visitor Centres 52 surveys since survey responses continuous feedback responses from nature centres

11 Contents Visitor Information System Use of Visitor Information Information Needs from SOME

12 Use of Visitor Information Visitor information is needed at various levels for decision making and comparisons Local Pyhä-Luosto NP Regional National International Lapland Finland EUROPARC, IUCN

13 Local level: Healthy Parks Healthy People Pyhä-Luosto NP promotes perceived social, psychological and physical well-being Health benefit index is 4.25 (scale 1 5). Pyhä-Luosto NP 2016 (n = 1271) Totally disagree Somewhat disagree Evaluation, % No opinion Somewhat agree Totally agree Average Increased social well-being Increased psychological well-being Increased physical well-being

14 Comparisons: the most popular national parks in Finland Number of visits in 2015 Pallas-Ylläs NP Nuuksio NP Urho Kekkonen NP Oulanka NP Koli NP Pyhä-Luosto NP

15 Statistics: number of visits to national parks and visitor centers

16 Decision making: visitor spending effects The benefits of the parks are not obvious for everybody Decision-makers prefer numbers Money spent on the management and services of national parks and other PAs comes back many-fold through local private businesses and creates a plenty of jobs On average, 1 EUR public investment in the services of national parks results in 10 EUR return to local economies

17 Contents Visitor Information System Use of Visitor Information Information Needs from SOME

18 Information needs from SOMECon Analysis of the SOME posts Happiness of NP posts (happier than average posts?) Early signs of new activities in NPs Health & well-being More detailed profiles (nationalities, origin of residence, language etc.) Hotspots inside certain NPs Favorite landscapes What is the added value of NPs (are people getting something special from national parks that they don't get from anywhere else?)

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20 www. nationalparks.fi Photo:

21 More information