Tourists’ feelings and behaviours in crowded areas of the Kruger National Park’s southern section

Koedoe - African Protected Area Conservation and Science

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Tourists’ feelings and behaviours in crowded areas of the Kruger National Park’s southern section
 
Creator van der Merwe, Peet
 
Subject — crowded areas; wildlife tourism; behaviour; Kruger National Park; natural area tourism; tourists behaviour
Description The Kruger National Park (KNP), South Africa, has reached a stage where crowding has become a challenge and feasible solutions must be found. Previous research found that visitors believe that the park’s southern section tends to experience crowding in specific areas, for example, at wildlife sightings, day visitor areas and picnic sites as well as eating and drinking areas (restaurants). This research aimed to determine the feelings and behaviours of tourists in these crowded areas in the southern section of the KNP. Qualitative research was conducted during the school holidays in December 2022 and the Christmas peak period. The sample population comprised overnight and day visitors (older than 18 years) to the park. Twenty-three interviews were conducted at various places. The research found that tourists experiencing crowding in the park have multiple feelings and behaviours. Some may feel overwhelmed or frustrated by the crowds, whereas others may be excited, anticipating something interesting to see.Contribution to conservation: Visitors might be negatively impacted at crowded places in the park, resulting in negative perceptions among tourists and perhaps fewer visitors. This could have indirect implications for conservation efforts, as fewer tourists to the park will result in less funding for the park’s management.
 
Publisher AOSIS Publishing
 
Contributor
Date 2023-10-16
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Qaulitative
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/koedoe.v65i1.1762
 
Source Koedoe; Vol 65, No 1 (2023); 10 pages 2071-0771 0075-6458
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://koedoe.co.za/index.php/koedoe/article/view/1762/3114 https://koedoe.co.za/index.php/koedoe/article/view/1762/3115 https://koedoe.co.za/index.php/koedoe/article/view/1762/3116 https://koedoe.co.za/index.php/koedoe/article/view/1762/3117
 
Coverage National Parks Current —
Rights Copyright (c) 2023 Peet van der Merwe https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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