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Visits to National Parks and Hiking Areas: A Panel Data Analysis of Their Socio-Demographic, Economic and Site Quality Determinants

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  • Anna Nerg
  • Jussi Uusivuori
  • Jarmo Mikkola
  • Marjo Neuvonen
  • Tuija Sievänen

Abstract

This study examines the impacts of socio-demographic, economic and park quality determinants on visits to nature areas. The authors apply panel data estimation techniques to Finnish data on 46 national parks and hiking areas between 2000 and 2008. The main results show that ‘visits to nature areas’, as a variable, reacts positively to the population size and quality features but negatively to gasoline prices and income level. Of the age classes, the population share of ‘young retirees’ – people aged between 65 and 74 – increased the number of visits to nature areas significantly, whereas the share of ‘baby boomers’ – people aged between 55 and 64 – was insignificant in explaining the number of visits. As the baby boomers are reaching retirement age, and assuming that their generation behaves like the young retirees in this study, the demand for national parks and hiking areas may increase substantially in the coming years. This will increase the pressure to expand current parks and establish new ones.

Suggested Citation

  • Anna Nerg & Jussi Uusivuori & Jarmo Mikkola & Marjo Neuvonen & Tuija Sievänen, 2012. "Visits to National Parks and Hiking Areas: A Panel Data Analysis of Their Socio-Demographic, Economic and Site Quality Determinants," Tourism Economics, , vol. 18(1), pages 77-93, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:toueco:v:18:y:2012:i:1:p:77-93
    DOI: 10.5367/te.2012.0104
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bowker, James Michael & Murphy, D. & Cordell, H. Ken & English, Donald B.K. & Bergstrom, John C. & Starbuck, C. Meghan & Betz, Carter J. & Green, Gary T., 2006. "Wilderness and Primitive Area Recreation Participation and Consumption: An Examination of Demographic and Spatial Factors," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Southern Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 38(2), pages 1-10, August.
    2. Weiler, Stephan, 2006. "A park by any other name: National Park designation as a natural experiment in signaling," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 96-106, July.
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    1. Munhyang (Moon) Oh & Seongseop (Sam) Kim & Youngjoon Choi, 2020. "Analyses of determinants of hiking tourism demands on the Jeju Olle hiking trail using zero-truncated negative binomial regression analysis," Tourism Economics, , vol. 26(8), pages 1327-1343, December.
    2. José Manuel Ordóñez-de-Haro & Jordi Perdiguero & Juan-Luis Jiménez, 2020. "Fuel prices at petrol stations in touristic cities," Tourism Economics, , vol. 26(1), pages 45-69, February.
    3. Becker, Nir & Farja, Yanay & Greenfeld, Asael & Markova-Nenova, Nonka & Wätzold, Frank, 2023. "A blueprint for addressing conflicts between ecotourism and farming from an economic perspective: The case of wintering crane conservation in the Hula Valley in Israel," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).

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