Outdoor recreation resources in the Manawatu : with a preliminary case study of Foxton Beach as a water-based recreation resource

The subject of supply of outdoor recreation resources is discussed in this thesis. The nature of the resources suitable for outdoor recreation and the present use made of them are determined. The extent and use of one type of recreation resource in the Manawatu - the Water-based recreation resource - is extensively reviewed. A preliminary case study is made of Foxton Beach as a water - based recreation environment. The results of the study of the ecological implications of recreation on the beach and the visitor surveys conducted there are presented. Major areas of 'ecological intolerance' are described and the recreation behaviours exhibited by the visitors at the beach are reported. Foxton Beach is reported to be able to attract visitors from within and outside the Manawatu region

New Zealand outdoor recreation benefits

Millions of people participate in outdoor recreation activities in New Zealand every year. Economic recreation studies in the country concentrate mostly on market values. Market values only present part of the outdoor recreation benefit; while non-market values represent the other part. In this study, a meta-analysis is used to determine the non-market benefit of recreation. Results show non-market benefits from outdoor recreation to be over five billion dollars annually, exceeding market benefits of approximately four billion. New Zealand non-market values were then compared to those from a United States recreation database and results were favourably similar

Involvement of Park and Recreation Professionals in Pedestrian Plans

Professionals from many different disciplines are finding innovative ways to work together to increase physical activity to help create healthier communities. One process that can provide a focal point for promoting physical activity by park and recreation professionals, land use and transportation planners, public health practitioners, and other stakeholders is the development and implementation of pedestrian plans. A pedestrian plan is a public document that lays out a community’s vision for future pedestrian activity, identifies the actions required to realize that vision, ties actions to funding sources, and describes implementation and use. The purpose of this study was to explore whether park and recreation professionals were involved in creating pedestrian plans and how park and recreation elements were represented in these plans. To answer this, we identified, collected, and conducted a content analysis of all pedestrian plans in North Carolina. Among the 41 regional, county, and municipal pedestrian plans, park and recreation professionals were mentioned in the plan 56% of the time. Seventy-one percent (n=29) had a vision statement; however, among those only five vision statements mentioned parks or recreation. In all five cases, when a plan contained a vision statement that mentioned parks or recreation, there was a park and recreation member involved in the development of the plan. A higher percent of plans with a park and recreation professional involved were more likely to list parks in their land use analysis (74% vs. 67%). Park master plans were mentioned in the pedestrian plans 29% of the time; however, a lower percent of plans with a park and recreational professional involved mentioned a park master plan (26% vs. 33%). Given the potential importance of pedestrian plans in creating connections for pedestrians, park and recreation professionals are encouraged to become involved in the pedestrian planning process if they are not already. Parks can offer opportunities for residents of diverse ages and cultures to come together to socialize and engage in health-promoting activities. Integrating a park and recreation perspective into a more comprehensive planning process can enhance access to parks, inform programs, support multiple community goals, facilitate efficient use of resources, and promote partnerships for greater sustainabilit

Recreation, Tourism, and Rural Well-Being

The promotion of recreation and tourism has been both praised and criticized as a rural development strategy. This study uses regression analysis to assess the effect of recreation and tourism development on socioeconomic conditions in rural recreation counties. The findings imply that recreation and tourism development contributes to rural well-being, increasing local employment, wage levels, and income, reducing poverty, and improving education and health. But recreation and tourism development is not without drawbacks, including higher housing costs. Local effects also vary significantly, depending on the type of recreation area.recreation, tourism, recreation counties, rural development, economic indicators, social indicators, rural development policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

What price recreation in Finland? – A contingent valuation study of non-market benefits of public outdoor recreation areas

Basic services in Finnish national parks and state-owned recreation areas have traditionally been publicly financed and thus free of charge for users. Since the benefits of public recreation are not captured by market demand, government spending on recreation services must be motivated in some other way. Here, we elicit people’s willingness to pay (WTP) for services in the country’s state-owned parks to obtain an estimate of the value of outdoor recreation in monetary terms. A variant of the Tobit model is used in the econometric analysis to examine the WTP responses elicited by a payment card format. We also study who the current users of recreation services are in order to enable policymakers to anticipate the redistribution effects of a potential implementation of user fees. Finally, we discuss the motives for WTP, which reveal concerns such as equity and ability to pay that are relevant for planning public recreation in general and for the introduction of fees in particular.non-market valuation; payment card; recreation; recreation fees; taxes; user fees; wllingnes-to-pay; WTP

Use of Multiple Methods: An Examination of Constraints Effecting Ethnic Minority Visitor Use of National Parks and Management Implications

Understanding outdoor recreation participation and national park visitation by members of ethnic minority groups has been a particular focus of outdoor recreation researchers for the past twenty years. Attracting ethnic minorities, and understanding their recreation needs and interests, demands a multi-faceted approach and sustained commitment not only by the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) but by other resource management agencies as well

Recreation Benefits of U.S. Parks

Over 90 percent of people living in the United States participate in some type of outdoor recreation, from walking the dog to rock climbing. These activities increase a person’s well-being and are examples of recreation benefits. These benefits can be measured by using a variety of available techniques to calculate consumer surplus values. Consumer surplus values for recreation in U.S. parks were collated from an extensive literature review. Studies conducted between 1967 and 2003 yielded over 1,200 observations of non-market benefits. From this meta-analysis, it was determined that an average day of recreation in U.S. parks provide people with a non-market benefit of $60.50/day (2006 US$). With an estimated 924 million visitor days, the benefit of outdoor recreation on federal park lands during 2006 was estimated at $54.7 billion dollars. This analysis did not include state, county, and city parks, and hence the total benefit of outdoor recreation in all U.S. parks would be significantly higher

QUALITY AS A LATENT VARIABLE IN RECREATION ACCESS ANALYSIS

Recreation trends indicating an increasing demand for quality recreation experiences suggest the need for special consideration of quality in analysis of fee access recreation. By viewing quality as a subjective latent variable, this paper uses a simultaneous equation framework to consider the use of subjective versus objective appraisals of quality in fee-based recreation access analysis.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Assessing the recreation values at risk from wildfire: an exploratory analysis

The levels of participation in various types of outdoor recreation in forested areas are substantial. Studies have shown that over 18.5 million days, representing approximately 80% of recreation user days, were spent by Canadians in recreational activities in forested lands. Furthermore, recreation has significant social and economic value that should be reflected in management decisions if sustainable forest management is to be achieved. The importance of recreation in forests has resulted in the selection of measures of recreation participation as one of the relevant indicators of sustainable forest management reporting in Canada. This suggests that recreation areas should be an important component of the values of forest at risk due to loss from wildfire. However, the presence of recreationists, who are considered to be the highest values at risk, dispersed on the fire prone landscape presents some issues for fire management agencies. These issues include the possibility of recreationists perishing in a wildfire and/or the possibility of fire starts as a result of recreation activities which are projected to increase into the future. For fire management agencies that strive to suppress all wildfires, the latter issue is particularly challenging when faced with resource constraints. Thus, a move away from suppression of all wildfires to suppression based on protecting highest values at risk is needed. An explicit incorporation of recreation values is advantageous in that these values are closely linked to the presence of recreationists. Therefore, during fire events, directing resources to high value recreation areas fulfill a fire management goal of protecting highest values at risk as well as identifying areas of the landscape where the suppression efforts are to be directed.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,