Protected Area Management: Collection and Use of Visitor Data Volume 1: Summary and Recommendations
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PROTECTED AREA MANAGEMENT: COLLECTION AND USE OF VISITOR DATA Volume 1: Summary and recommendations Tony Griffin, Sue Moore, Gary Crilley, Simon Darcy, Stephen Schweinsberg Volume 1: Summary and Recommendations Disclaimer The technical reports present data and its analysis, meta-studies and conceptual studies, and are considered to be of value to industry, government or other researchers. Unlike the Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre’s (STCRC’s) Monograph series, these reports have not been subjected to an external peer review process. As such, the scientific accuracy and merit of the research reported here is the responsibility of the authors, who should be contacted for clarification of any content. Author contact details are at the back of this report. The views and opinions of the authors expressed in the reports or by the authors if you contact them do not necessarily state or reflect those of the STCRC. While all reasonable efforts have been made to gather the most current and appropriate information, the STCRC does not give any warranty as to the correctness, completeness or suitability of the information, and disclaims all responsibility for and shall in no event be liable for any errors or for any loss or damage that might be suffered as a consequence of any person acting or refraining from acting or otherwise relying on this information. We’d love to know what you think of our new research titles. If you have five minutes to spare, please visit our website or click on the link below to complete our online survey. STCRC Tech Report Feedback Editor-in-Chief Professor David Simmons Director of Research, Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication Entry Title: Protected area management: collection and use of visitor data: Vol. 1, summary and recommendations / Tony Griffin ... [et al.]. ISBNs: 9781921658396 (pbk.)9781921658891 (pdf) Subjects: Protected areas—Australia—Management. Protected areas—Public use—Monitoring. Other Authors/Contributors: Griffin, Tony. CRC for Sustainable Tourism. Dewey Number: 333.780994 Copyright © CRC for Sustainable Tourism Pty Ltd 2010 All rights reserved. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part of this book may be reproduced by any process without written permission from the publisher. Any enquiries should be directed to: General Manager, Communications and Industry Extension or Publishing Manager, [email protected] First published in Australia in 2010 by CRC for Sustainable Tourism Pty Ltd Cover images courtesy of Tourism Australia, Tourism WA (Margaret River), Tourism NT and SATC Printed in Australia (Gold Coast, Queensland) The authors would like to acknowledge the industry reference groups and all the protected area agencies involved and their staff who gave so generously of their time. Special thanks are also due to Megan Craig, Aggie Wegner, Gail Kennedy and Sabrina Genter who acted as research assistants on this project. Each contributed considerably to the writing of the report. ii PROTECTED AREA MANAGEMENT: COLLECTION AND USE OF VISITOR DATA CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................................IV ACRONYMS ........................................................................................................................................................IV EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.................................................................................................................................. V INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................................V AIMS AND OBJECTIVES .......................................................................................................................................V METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................................................................V ISSUES, GAPS AND STRENGTHS ..........................................................................................................................VI Issues ............................................................................................................................................................ vi Gaps ............................................................................................................................................................. vi Strengths....................................................................................................................................................... vi RECOMMENDATIONS.........................................................................................................................................VII Types of Data Collected .............................................................................................................................. vii Use of Data................................................................................................................................................... ix STORAGE AND MANAGEMENT OF DATA ............................................................................................................IX CHAPTER 1........................................................................................................................................................11 INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................................................11 BACKGROUND...................................................................................................................................................12 BENEFITS OF IMPROVED, CONSISTENT VISITOR DATA SYSTEMS ......................................................................13 CHAPTER 2........................................................................................................................................................16 METHODOLOGY..............................................................................................................................................16 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES .....................................................................................................................................16 RESEARCH DESIGN ...........................................................................................................................................16 CHAPTER 3........................................................................................................................................................20 ISSUES, GAPS AND STRENGTHS .................................................................................................................20 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................20 ISSUES...............................................................................................................................................................20 Measurement ...............................................................................................................................................21 Use of Data..................................................................................................................................................23 Knowledge Management .............................................................................................................................23 COMMUNICATION .............................................................................................................................................24 Staff Training, Funding and Capability.......................................................................................................24 GAPS.................................................................................................................................................................24 Assessing the Economic Value of Protected Areas......................................................................................24 Assessing the Attitude of the Broader Community to Protected Areas........................................................25 Understanding Particular Park User Groups .............................................................................................25 STRENGTHS.......................................................................................................................................................27 SUMMARY.........................................................................................................................................................28 CHAPTER 4........................................................................................................................................................30 RECOMMENDATIONS....................................................................................................................................30 TYPES OF DATA COLLECTED.............................................................................................................................30 Core Data....................................................................................................................................................30