Recreation visitor preferences for and perceptions of outdoor recreation setting attributes

Abstract

Between 1990 and 1994, a comprehensive national survey was conducted by the USDA Forest Service (FS), Southern Research Station, to measure visitor preferences for, and perceptions of, setting attributes at a variety of outdoor recreation sites. Over 11,000 visitors at 31 outdoor recreation sites across the country were interviewed in this study. The study was entitled CUSTOMER, which is an acronym for Customer Use and Survey, Techniques for Operations, Management, Evaluations, and Research. Sites included those managed by the FS, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). This [chapter] section presents results of analysis of CUSTOMER data on visitor preferences for, and satisfaction with, site attributes corresponding to five specific recreation settings (developed, dispersed, water, roaded, and winter) and one general outdoor setting. This [chapter] section provides an overview to visitor satisfactions with, and preferences for, attributes of specific and general outdoor recreation settings using an importance-performance framework. Three objectives were addressed to determine: (1) specific setting attributes that outdoor recreation managers should target, i.e., the "concentrate here" quadrant of the importance-performance framework; (2) the effect of visitor demographic characteristics on their importance and performance ratings; and (3) the effect of trip characteristics on visitor importance and performance.

Citation

Tarrant, Michael A.; Smith, Erin; Cordell, H. Ken. 1999. Recreation visitor preferences for and perceptions of outdoor recreation setting attributes. In: Cordell, H. Ken; Betz, Carter; Bowker, J.M.; and others.Outdoor recreation in American life: a national assessment of demand and supply trends. Champaign, IL: Sagamore Publishing: 412-431.