Tourism and recreation

Aims

To investigate recreational provision in a community or area
To investigate the vulnerability (risk of closure) of a particular facility, and the feasibility of it remaining open
To survey the need for a particular type of facility or amenity
To compare the perceptions of recreational facilities amongst residents and visitors
To investigating diurnal and seasonal variations in the use of recreational facilities, for example high and low seasons in a tourist resort
To study the impact of new developments on the tourist industry in an area
To investigate the causes and effects of honey-pot sites
To investigate the provision and quality urban open spaces
To conduct cost and quality surveys of recreational facilities
To investigate the impact of a stadium on match days or a theme park on the local area
To investigate the benefits of tourism to the local area

Equipment

Methodology

Provision

Sketch or photograph the sites and annotate with the main features and additional information
Conduct land use surveys to record the location of facilities, colour coding them according to type. Label the main access routes and supporting infrastructure, for example car parks
Obtain secondary information on the site or facility that you are studying, for example historical photos showing changes in land-use, newspaper articles, tourist leaflets and price lists. Use this information to compare current and past provision
Comment on the quality of the provision and identify any ‘weak' or ‘lacking' areas. Outline the need for further provision. Completing perception surveys will support your comments

Usage

Carry out pedestrian counts (this can also be done by age or gender) at different times of the day or year (if you are comparing high and low season) and in different weather conditions
From a vantage point, observe the movements of people and plot these on a base map. For example, the movement of people from the car park at a honey pot site. Again, pedestrian movements can be classified according to age, gender or family group and the type of activity they are undertaking. Surveys can be carried out at different times of the day and under different weather conditions
Survey tax disks in the car park to estimate the distance people have travelled to the site. Bear in mind that many drivers now purchase their tax discs online so it's harder to trace where they come from, but as an alternative, the new style registration plates can be traced to the vehicle's point of sale
Conduct questionnaires with visitors to the site to more accurately establish the distance they have travelled, the frequency and reasons for their visit, and their opinions about the site

Impact

Develop and complete a conflict matrix for the site. Write all possible users of the site along both axes and complete by adding a tick if there is potential conflict between the users, and a cross if there is not
Support the findings of your conflict matrix with perception surveys, for example adjectival pairs or bi-polar analysis to gain user perceptions and compare the opinions of residents and tourists
Complete environmental quality surveys and collect data on noise pollution and footpath erosion
Use your results to identify issues and inform possible management suggestions for the future of the site

Considerations and possible limitations

A clear focus for the project should be established. The scale of the study should be large enough to be representative but not so large as to be unmanageable and lack focus
There is a time issue with comparing high and low seasons
Conflict matrices are subjective
It can be very difficult to organise interviews with site managers or to obtain information from attractions on their visitor numbers or profit margins

Aims

To investigate derelict areas and possible uses for these areas
To study the impacts of local developments and projects and how these impacts are managed
To investigate conservation strategies in honey-pot sites and vulnerable areas, including the effectiveness of existing strategies and potential future methods
To assess the management of an open farm compared to a working farm
To compare visitor management at a range of major attractions

Equipment

Base maps
Digital camera
Field sketching materials
Other primary data to support the study, for example environmental quality surveys, landscape evaluations, noise surveys, conflict matrices and questionnaires
Secondary data, for example interviews with site managers and planners, historical photographs and maps of the site, newspaper articles and visitor number statistics

Methodology

Make sketches or take photographs of the site and annotate with the main features and landmarks, existing management strategies and key issues or problems.
Compare the current site with historical photographs and maps, statistics on visitor numbers over time and archive newspaper articles to:

Identify changes which have taken place in land use and the provision of services over time
Identify changes in the level of usage and number of people visiting the facility over time
Identify any past issues and determine the extent to which they have been addressed
Survey existing strategies to manage visitor impact, for example by interviewing with planners to find out when and why strategies were implemented, the costs involved with building and maintenance and any future plans

Investigate people's perceptions of the management techniques being used and what they think should be done in the future - through questionnaires and bi-polar analysis and agreement surveys.
Evaluate the overall success or effectiveness of existing strategies. It is possible, with sufficient data, to conduct a cost - benefit analysis (CBA) where the costs of building and maintenance over the lifetime of a project are compared with the costs of doing nothing. For example, the costs of doing nothing on a stretch of coastline can be investigated by finding out retreat rates and mapping the coastline in 20, 30, 50, 100 years and by considering the loss of land and amenities and infrastructure.

Considerations and possible limitations

When conducting a CBA it is very hard to accurately measure all costs, many are intangible and a figure cannot be placed on them. However, a simple CBA can be carried out if enough data is available to support it
It is important to get a balanced view when carrying out questionnaires. Many different parties may have a vested interest and need to be represented. Stratified sampling techniques will help to ensure that all views are represented
As much data as possible should be collected in order to properly and fairly evaluate the management strategies
Information should be used to inform your own suggestions and comments
Perception data is subjective