Travel patterns and multi-destinations of visitors: Toward marine park management strategies

Abstract

Understanding visitor movements within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is crucial for their management. This study identifies the choice of destination and heterogeneity of visitors to Hikkaduwa National Park (HNP) in Sri Lanka and explores how this information could be used to inform MPA management. Face-to-face interviews were completed with 241 visitor groups. Results revealed that single-destination visits were undertaken by 70.1% of survey respondents, with 29.9% multi-destination visits. The trip duration, group size, distance between origin and first destination, and recreation time influenced multi-destination visits. Visits also varied based on the frequency of visits, length of stay, and on-site recreation diversity. The findings of this study suggest improving available multiple recreational opportunities to ensure the viability of destination, and recreation in HNP should be managed sustainably to promote recovery of the degraded coral reef and to ensure the long-term survival of the marine ecosystem while increasing contribution to the economy.