Relevance of crowding effects in a coastal National Park in Germany Results from a case study on Hamburger Hallig Dennis Kalisch
Structure of presentation Conceptual background Research objectives Study area Study methods Preliminary results
Conceptual background (1/4) Coastal areas as popular sites for tourism activities At the same time important protected areas Rapid growth of ecotourism worldwide Increasing numbers of visitors to coastal recreation areas How much can we use the environment without spoiling it?
Conceptual background (2/4) Increasing recreational pressure can lead to an over-utilisation of certain recreation areas with: 1. Degradation of natural resources and 2. Reduction in the quality of the recreation experience Two dimensions of carrying capacity of protected areas: Environmental and social component Social carrying capacity of outdoor recreation activities
Conceptual background (3/4) Definition of social carrying capacity: Maximum level of recreational use above which there is a decline in the quality of the recreational experience (Pigram and Jenkins 1999) Crowding is a function of the discrepancy between the numbers of others one expects to see while participating in the activity and the numbers one actually encounters (Schreyer and Roggenbuck 1978). Visitors may have a negative perception of density
Conceptual background (4/4) Measurement of crowding effects in recreation research surveys: Visitors rate their recreation experience on a crowding-scale (Heberlein and Vaske 1977) from 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Not at all crowed Slightly crowded Moderately crowded Extremely crowded
Research objectives Applicability of social carrying capacity in a German coastal National Park Measurement of crowding effects at a popular daytrip destination Relationship between visitors perception of 1.) encounters with other visitors and 2.) crowding effects Support local authorities in developing appropriate management measures based on study data
Study area (1/2) National Park Schleswig- Holsteinisches Wattenmeer Visitor numbers: 2 Mio. overnight stays and 14 Mio. day visitors per year
Study area (2/2) Important bird area and protected salt marsh 100.000 visitors between April and October Area is visited for hiking, cycling, bathing and bird-watching Hallig is connected with the main land by a road used by cars and a combined bicycle and pedestrian path
Methodology Estimating visitor use on the trail by visitor counting Design and implementation of an on-site survey: 1. General respondent profile 2. Visitor motives and experience 3. Perception of crowding effects Data analysis
Preliminary results (1/3) Visitor counting during survey days (10:00 to 18:00) 700 Number of visitors 600 500 400 300 200 100 Total Hiker Cyclist Car 0 29.05. 30.05. 31.05. 01.06. 02.06. 08.08. 09.08. 10.08. 11.08. 13.08. Survey date
Preliminary results (2/3) Onsite interviews on 10 randomly selected sampling days in spring and summer 2009 (5 workdays and 5 Sundays/holidays) N=509 Heterogeneous visitor composition of local residents and domestic tourists Three main motives for visiting the area: 1. Experience of nature 2. Common getaway with family or friends 3. Get away from daily routine
Preliminary results (3/3) Respondents report a high level of encounter (Mean=5.92) with other visitors during their stay, but a very low level of perceived crowding (Mean=1.87) 22% of respondents showed crowding perception (3-9 on crowding scale) caused by high visitor numbers Visitors of Hamburger Hallig seem to tolerate high visitor numbers Research results provide useful data about crowding perception by applying 9-point-crowding-scale
Thank you very much! contact: dennis.kalisch@mailbox.tu-berlin.de