Recreational Destinations Research Articles

Service Quality Impact on Customer Satisfaction at Amandit Loksado Lestari (ALL) Outbound Camp, South Kalimantan

This study investigates the impact of service quality on customer satisfaction at ALL Outbound Camp, a nature-based recreation destination in Loksado, South Kalimantan. Using the SERVQUAL model, which includes five dimensions of service quality—tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy—the research aims to identify which aspects most influence customer satisfaction. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics and linear regression. Findings reveal that service quality positively affects customer satisfaction, with responsiveness and assurance being the most significant dimensions. Based on these results, improvements in staff training and facility quality are recommended to enhance service delivery and overall visitor experience. This study provides insights valuable for ALL Outbound Camp management and contributes to the broader literature on service quality in nature-based tourism.

Assessing the Experiential Service Quality, Perceived Image, Experiential Satisfaction, and Revisiting Intentions of Public Zoo Visitors

The role of zoos in wildlife management has been revolutionized from basic conservation sites into research institutions, public education, and recreational desti-nations for public visitors. Building upon this evolution, the present study delves into the intricate interrelationships between public zoo experiential service quality, the perceived image of these institutions, experiential satisfaction, and visitors' intentions to revisit. Questionnaires were administered to 330 visitors via purposive sampling at the Kuala Lumpur National Zoo. The study hypotheses were supported, highlighting the significant and positive interrelationship between interaction quality, physical environment quality, enjoyment quality, educational quality, zoo image, experiential satisfaction, and visitor’s revisit intention. The study provides practical managerial implications for the public zoo in delivering superior services, essential in improving visitor satisfaction. Excellent service quality ensures visitor satisfaction, enabling zoo management to meet visitor's expectations and encourage return visits, thus enhancing the zoo’s sustainability. The study results urge public zoo management in developing and implementing out of the box market-orientated service strategies by enhancing the interaction, enjoyment, educational quality, and physical environment perceived by future visitors.

The Ecological Architecture Approach Analysis at Kusuma Agrotourism Resort & Convention Hotel

Resort areas are popular recreational destinations for urban populations, but rapid urban development often leads to significant environmental degradation in these areas. This degradation is evidenced by the decline in water, air, and soil quality, the extinction of local flora and fauna, and the destruction of natural ecosystems. As a response, the application of ecological architecture has become essential in designing and constructing city facilities, including resorts, to mitigate environmental damage. This study aims to examine the implementation of various principles of ecological architecture in resort areas and identify sustainable materials suitable for such applications. A qualitative descriptive method is employed, combining literature reviews and field observations to analyze the integration of ecological architectural principles in the resort area. The findings reveal that key principles such as the use of local materials, energy-efficient systems, and environmental management strategies have been applied. However, the study also highlights areas where improvements can be made to better preserve the ecosystem and minimize the negative impacts of architectural design.

What’s in a landscape? Nature, memory, and tourism in Bitterfeld-Wolfen’s post-mining landscape, East Germany

This paper addresses the transformation of the region around the twin-town Bitterfeld-Wolfen in Eastern Germany from a highly polluted industrial hub into a lakeland idyll and destination for recreation and nature-based tourism. From the perspective of local residents of age, the significance of this transformation was fundamentally shaped by German reunification, in particular by the experience of stigmatisation related to high levels of pollution in Bitterfeld-Wolfen in the context of general bias that devalued East German subjectivities in the course of German reunification. As I detail through both historical and ethnographic research, I show how mine restoration and the clean-up of contaminated sites have subsequently acquired meaning beyond ecological recovery and the improvement of public health. Tied up with the uncertainties and ambivalences of the transformation of East Germany and its integration into a West German entity, I demonstrate how the (im)possibility of restoring a destroyed landscape became inseparable from the postulated need of fundamental recovery of an East German region and its inhabitants from, so-perceived, socialist ruination. Consequently, I argue, the clean-up of contaminated sites and the remediation of a large open-cast mine in (former) East Germany produced not only an idyllic post-mining landscape, but a post-socialist one. Furthermore, as an archive of local history, the restored landscape became a way for elderly people to re-appropriate their past through its transformation into a remarkable present. In tracing this contested history, this paper contributes to landscape-centred analyses of post-socialist transformations in Europe.

Analisa Tarikan Pergerakan Pengunjung Wisata Permandian Waterpark Matua Kecamatan Alla Kabupaten Enrekang

Waterpark Matua is one of the land use objectives that can generate development attraction as a water recreation destination that offers the potential attraction of a beautiful natural panorama because it offers a view consisting of plantations and rocky hills surrounding the tourist area so that it has a beautiful and exotic photo spot. This study aims to determine the characteristics of visitors, what factors affect the attractiveness of visitors, and the growth rate factor of future visitor attraction using the furness method. This research was conducted for 2 months with questionnaire data collection, and processed using the SPSS 24 application. The results showed that the characteristics of visitors according to gender showed that most visitors were female based on a percentage of 66%, age 11-20 years with a percentage of 38%, most visitors from the Alla, Anggeraja, Curio districts with a percentage level of 38%, Students with a percentage level of 47%, the most visitors' transportation mode is motorbike with a percentage level of 70% and the movement attraction model with multiple linear regression analysis method is Y = 2.839 + 0.340 (x1) - 0.473 (x2) + 0.196 (x3) - 0.228 (x5) + 0.190 (x9) + 0.419 (x12). Factors that influence the occurrence of attraction are variables of home distance (x1), transport costs (x2), length of travel time (x3), destination to tourist attractions (x5), food prices (x9), and building conditions (x12). The growth rate factor from the analysis results using the Furness method obtained a growth factor value of Ed = 0.9897 which has met the requirements of the error tolerance limit, with an expected visitor attraction value of Dd = 3214.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on characteristic of bike-sharing systems near metro and bus stations

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on various modes of mobility as it spread rapidly worldwide, leading to changes in the landscape of transportation. This research focuses on comparing the usage of bike-sharing and the shifts in cycling behaviour before (2019) and after (2020) the pandemic outbreak in Daejeon, South Korea. Additionally, it examines the role of bike-sharing as a supplementary mode of transport for public transportation systems such as buses and metros during these periods. Our analysis revealed that bike-sharing has become a more prominent mode of transport after the pandemic. We developed a model to calculate the demand ratio of bike-sharing within the catchment areas of bus and metro stations to assess its impact as a supplementary mode. The results indicate an increase in the usage of some dockless bike stations in the catchment areas of buses and metros by 0.22% and 7.29%, respectively. We also conducted a correlation analysis using Point of Interest (POI) data to understand the factors influencing bike-sharing usage. The findings suggest that travel behaviours have shifted towards commercial and recreational destinations. Given its cost-effectiveness and flexibility, bike-sharing could be a sustainable option for urban mobility. Therefore, city planners in Daejeon can use the results of this study to promote bike-sharing and cycling as viable transportation alternatives.

Transit to parks initiatives in the U.S. and Canada: Practitioners’ perspectives

As large open spaces, such as national and regional parks, have become popular as recreational destinations, car dependency to access those open spaces has created capacity challenges. Due to these issues, transit-to-parks (T2P) initiatives—public transportation services connecting populated areas to large parks—have gained global traction. Limited research has examined these sustainability initiatives, and more knowledge is needed about how these initiatives are created and function. To address these gaps, this study explores motivations, facilitators, and challenges related to T2P initiatives in the U.S. and Canada. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 28 practitioners involved in the planning or operation of T2P initiatives in the two countries. Motivations for T2P included parking and congestion issues, environmental concerns, equity, and economic development. Facilitators of T2P initiatives included robust partnerships, community engagement, and advocacy efforts, emphasizing the importance of tailored narratives and coalition-building. The primary challenges mentioned were limited funding and labor, inadequate infrastructure, and siloed agencies and politics. This study reveals the complex dynamics of T2P initiatives and provides practical implications for transit agencies, public lands agencies, and community advocates seeking to enhance more sustainable and equitable access to nature.

The impact of heat and wind on the environment of cities with hot climate

Due to the rapid growth of the national economies, the architecture of cities is improving and acquiring a diverse and complex typology. Large cities and megalopolises are built up with high-rise buildings, the population density increases, the transport infrastructure is being developed and improved. As a result, unfavorable environmental conditions begin to form in the urban spaces. The formation of the environment in cities with a hot climate, which are a popular destination for tourism and recreation, deserve special attention. The peak of active use of the urban space in hot tourist regions occurs in the summer. Active recreation and tourist flows contribute to the intensity of traffic and increase the anthropogenic load on the city. Additionally, the growing density of contemporary buildings and structures causes pollutants to accumulate in the urban environment, preventing natural air exchange. The southern cities’ mesoclimatic features have been examined. Urban expansion is often associated with conditions that worsen air exchange and contribute to the deterioration of the air environment. Based on the graphic-analytical computation of insolation, the contribution of solar radiation to improving air exchange and the environment has been established.

Perancangan Konten Sosial Media Wisata Agro Lembah Kecubung

This research aims to design an effective social media content strategy to promote Kecubung Valley Agro Tourism. Agro-tourism is increasingly popular as a recreational destination, and social media has become a crucial platform for introducing and promoting tourism destinations. The study involved an in-depth analysis of agrotourism characteristics and target audience preferences. Through a content design approach that focuses on visuals, narrative and interaction, this research seeks to create an interesting experience for social media users. The research methodology includes surveys, interviews and analysis of social media data related to similar destinations. The results are expected to provide insight into user preferences, social media content trends, and the best strategies to increase the visibility of Lembah Agro Tourism. This research contributes to a practical understanding of how to design social media content that can increase user attraction and interaction, thereby advancing the promotion and marketing of agro-tourism destinations.

Survei Kemenarikan Taman Margasatwa Ragunan bagi Pengunjung

Ragunan Margasatwa Park is one of the forms of industrial and tourism acceleration in Indonesia. To this day the Ragunan Margasatwa Park is still operating well and has its own heritage in it. This is why Ragunan Margasatwa Park remains a favourite destination for recreation with family or close people. In order to obtain real data or evidence of the creation that exists within Ragunan Margasatwa Park, researchers will conduct surveys to the visitors by informing the activities that the researchers do through poster products. In order to find out what is of interest to visitors so choose Ragunan Margasatwa Park as their recreational destination. The results of the research we have done have produced the average level of satisfaction of Ragunan Margasatwa Park for visitors on a scale of 5 which is Very Satisfied / Very Interesting. The result of the spread of the lift, will later be the advocate of the truth of the data in the product of the article that the researchers sorted. In addition, the results of the spread of the lift also become factual data that will be informed by the researchers through video products.

The Circle of Life: Rhetoric, Rectification, and Recreation at Steele Indian School Park

ABSTRACT Steele Indian School Park (2001), a city park in Phoenix, Arizona, serves as the memory site for the Phoenix Indian School (1891–1990), an off-reservation boarding school that was part of the federal program of forced assimilation. In this essay, we perform an analysis of the park’s 24 interpretive columns, which serve as an educational display. We argue that the park’s recreational use dominates its role as a historic site. To begin we consider how the history of place shapes memory. We argue that, like museums, parks have a colonial past by addressing their historic relationship to assimilation. Next, we establish that the school served as a recreational destination for Phoenicians. We theorize that both these general and specific histories of place influence the site’s public memory narrative by bifurcating the intended audience and privileging a recreational user. To theorize the relationship between recreation and memory, we build on geographer Kenneth Foote’s term “rectification,” which describes how signs of violent or tragic events are removed so that a site can be returned, in this case, to recreational use. To facilitate the process of rectification, we argue the interpretive columns use four interdependent rhetorical strategies—decontextualization, erasure, appropriation, and paternalism—to elide the racist history of forced assimilation. Our findings indicate the colonial history of place, if unexamined, may continue to influence public memory narratives.

Multisensory Stimuli, Restorative Effect, and Satisfaction of Visits to Forest Recreation Destinations: A Case Study of the Jhihben National Forest Recreation Area in Taiwan.

The perceived quality of the restorative environment of forest resources should be a key consideration for forest recreational areas in managing ecosystem services to provide health benefits to visitors. However, previous studies on utilizing forests as a resource for restorative services have rarely explored the simultaneous integration of on-site sensory experiences from a multisensory perspective or evaluated visitor satisfaction from a service-oriented standpoint. Therefore, this study aimed to understand the association among multisensory stimuli, perceived restorativeness, and satisfaction with visits to forest recreation areas and clarify the mediating role of perceived restorativeness in the relationship between multisensory stimuli and satisfaction. This study deployed a questionnaire and collected 458 valid responses from visitors to the Jhihben National Forest Recreation Area in Taiwan. Structural equation modeling was conducted to test the study hypotheses. The results indicated that visual sensations, auditory sensations, olfactory sensations, and tactile sensations had significant positive effects on perceived restorativeness and satisfaction and that perceived restorativeness also had a significant positive effect on satisfaction. Perceived restorativeness played a partial mediating role in this causal model. This study verified the psychological model of the relationships among a natural setting's multisensory stimuli, perceived restorativeness, and satisfaction. In practice, the findings of this study offer guidance for forest recreation areas to develop strategies for ecological services, encompassing the establishment of restorative environmental management and visitor service management approaches.

Lobbying in social media as a new source of survey bias

Questionnaires are widely-used tools in empirical social science, including tourism research. The key premise of each quantitative survey is the representativeness of the investigated sample. Yet, the rapid development of information and communication technology forces social scientists to take new sources of biases into account. This paper describes the problem of lobbying in social media, initiated by survey participants themselves. We report a collective action of online communities which resulted in over-representation of the collective opinions of certain interest groups. The bias has been observed when analyzing data collected during a visitor monitoring study in a popular forest recreation destination: the Tricity Landscape Park in Poland. Two different methods: on-site survey (n = 994) and online survey (n = 1023) were used to collect data on local recreational preferences. A significant effect of lobbying in social media on online survey responses has been identified in the case of questions related to the forest management. Management implicationsOur study confirms significant differences between results obtained via on-site and online surveys.Cost-efficient distribution of online survey link via social media may cause biased results.Especially, distribution channels of online surveys related to problematic management issues need to be carefully chosen.In such cases, social media activity (link sharing, post assessment (e.g. likes or negative reactions) accompanying the discussion) need to be additionally monitored in order to detect uncontrolled lobbying of certain users’ opinions.

Environment Carrying Capacity Analysis of the Cibinong Situ Plaza as a Public Green Open Space

Cibinong Situ Plaza is a Public Green Open Space (PGOS) with a unique tourism potential: the transition from water and land ecosystems (ecotone). PGOS Cibinong Situ Plaza is the leading free recreation destination that is complete for Cibinong City residents and its surroundings. The level of visits is very crowded and dense, which is a new problem for environmental sustainability there. Therefore, to support recreational activities, it is necessary to carry out an analysis of the carrying capacity of the environment to determine the maximum threshold for the number of tourists who are in the tourist area at the same time. The analytical method uses the physical carrying capacity (PCC), real carrying capacity (RCC) and effective carrying capacity (ECC) approaches. The calculation results obtained PCC values of 684 people per day, RCC 22 people per day, and ECC 20 people per day. The actual number of tourists throughout 2019-2020 is known to be 25 people per day. The conclusion shows that the number of tourists is still below the capacity of the Cibinong Situ Plaza PGOS. Follow-up studies need to explore the preferences and level of interest of tourists regarding tourist facilities to determine the satisfaction of visiting tourists.

The Narrowing of Broad Beach

Waterfronts represent some of Southern California’s most valuable real estate and most sought-after recreation destinations. Despite Los Angeles County’s reputation for large public beaches, privatization and the discouragement of public use came to characterize Malibu’s Broad Beach by the end of the twentieth century. In the same era, erosion reshaped the boundary between public and private property on the beach. Residents called for permanent structures to stabilize the coast. Public beach activists rejected homeowners’ claims that beach armoring was in the public’s interest. Activists demanded state authorities expand access opportunities and protect public recreation instead of protecting beachfront mansions. As coastal erosion altered the parameters of public access, environmental change raised the stakes regarding state and federal authorities’ responsibilities to maintain beaches. At the turn of the twenty-first century, the longstanding challenge to public access in this exclusive Malibu enclave collided with the unfolding climate crisis, highlighting the entwined nature of environmental risk and real estate development on the beach.

Tides of Change—Barriers and Facilitators to Beach Accessibility for Older People and People with Disability: An Australian Community Survey

The beach is Australia's most popular recreational destination with participation in beach-based activities associated with a wide range of health and wellbeing benefits. Unfortunately, access to beach environments is not possible for many older people and people with a disability. The purpose of this study was to investigate the barriers and facilitators of beach accessibility using a framework that recognises the complex interconnections between blue space, accessibility, physical activity, and health and wellbeing. A 39-item anonymous online cross-sectional survey was developed and administered to explore the perspectives of older people and people with a disability regarding beach accessibility. In total, 350 people completed the survey (69% female, age range 2-90 years (mean = 52)). Disability was reported by 88% of respondents, with 77% requiring a community mobility aid. Two-thirds (68%) of respondents were unable to visit the beach as often as they wanted, with 45% unable to visit at all. The most frequently reported barriers to beach access included difficulty moving on soft sand (87%), no specialised mobility equipment (75%), and inaccessible lead-up pathways (81%). If beach access was improved, respondents reported they would visit the beach more often (85%), for longer (83%), and have an improved experience (91%). The most frequently reported facilitators to beach access were the presence of accessible lead-up pathways (90%), sand walkways (89%), and parking (87%). Older people and people with disability have limited beach access, primarily due to a lack of accessible equipment, excluding them from the wide range of health benefits associated with visiting the beach.

Climate change threatens beach tourism

Climate change threatens beach tourism Beaches evoke an emotion known to improve physical and mental well-being and have become a primary destination for leisure, relaxation and recreation, notes Researcher David Cabana from the Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS). However, he highlights, coastal and beach tourism goes beyond mere sunbathing and relaxation – it is quickly becoming an increasing concern for extreme climate change and erosion through rising seawater levels. Looking at the climate change threats to beaches and tourism-related activities, the Climate Services Center Germany (GERICS) in cooperation with the Blue Flag programme of the Foundation for Environmental Education aims to co-develop climate services and indicators to enable the application of climate change information into beach management and decision-making. The goal of the GERICS - Blue Flag programme collaboration is to enable the incorporation of usable and useful climate change information into municipal coastal decision-making such as in the Blue Flag assessment criteria to ensure that operators are prepared to adapt to climatic changes. This will also support the Blue Flag programme continues to recognize and award beaches and marinas that are not only environmentally sound but also resilient in the face of climate change.

Economic Valuation of Lake Tana: A Recreational Use Value Estimation through the Travel Cost Method

Lake Tana is a well-known tourist spot in northern Ethiopia that lures both domestic and foreign tourists. The lake’s value is still underrated, despite the site’s immense potential for recreation and tourism. In this study, the recreational value of Lake Tana is estimated, and the consumer characteristics associated with recreational demand are analyzed. The study employs a Zero-Truncated Poisson (ZTP) regression model for data generated by the Individual Travel Cost Method (ITCM) and draws information from 1094 on-site surveys. According to ZTP regression results, variables that are significantly and positively associated with demand for Lake Tana recreation include the monthly income and age of the visitors and their preference for other recreation destinations such as Tis-Abay and Gondar Fasiledes Royal Castle. However, respondents’ leisure time, overall cost, and residential distance from the recreational site are all negatively associated with the demand for recreation. It is also evident that Lake Tana is endowed with a wealth of attributes, ranging from natural beauty to ancient religious and cultural heritages, making the lake a highly desirable recreation destination. According to the estimation, Lake Tana has a yearly recreational value of around USD 68.5 million. However, it also demonstrates that if lake settings were to improve in quality, the value of Lake Tana would rise considerably, reaching USD 151 million. The value of sentimental attachment implies that determining Lake Tana’s recreational value is a key element in the resource’s sustainable utilization and management. To make greater use of Lake Tana’s recreational amenities, however, uncontrolled waste disposal, favorable recreation facilities, and the spread of water hyacinth should be addressed immediately. Furthermore, it is imperative to maintain the lake’s diverse attributes, as the integration of these attributes is what gives the lake its primary appeal.

Relationships between the tide and fatal drowning at surf beaches in New South Wales, Australia: Implications for coastal safety management and practice

Beaches are popular, recreational destinations, but can be hazardous environments where drowning fatalities and other types of injuries can occur. Ocean lifeguards and beach safety managers make operational safety decisions based on ocean conditions, including various elements of the tide. This study addresses assumptions about the tide that are common in beach safety management; assessing the scientific basis that informs these decisions by evaluating the relationship between elements of the tide and fatal drowning on microtidal surf beaches in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Lower tidal water levels and time periods closer to low tide were associated with increased likelihood of fatal drowning at surf beaches, while tidal phase (rising vs falling), tide range, and the rate of change of falling or rising water levels were not. These results have implications for ocean safety management and those responsible for educating the public about beach safety issues. Broad statements or anecdotal opinions that are not location or beach-specific should avoid describing times with falling water levels (an outgoing tide) as being inherently more dangerous.

Smoke-free beaches in Florida

Beach tourism is often the most important source of revenue for coastal communities, and surveys have shown that the foremost requirements for beachgoers are clean sand and clean water. Beach litter is harmful and costly in many ways, and the No. 1 form of litter on U.S. beaches is cigarette butts. Campaigns for smoke-free beaches have been based largely on environmental issues and aesthetics, but there are other important reasons. Hawaii was the first state to ban smoking on beaches. This paper presents the rationale for Florida cities and counties to adopt smoke-free policies for one of their most important natural resources and recreational destinations.