Temporal Changes in Perceived Constraints to Visiting State Parks

Abstract

Two research questions guided the study: Do perceived constraints change over time among a sample of state park visitors? and, Do changes in the magnitude of constraints influence visitation to state parks? Three sets of data were analyzed. Data Sets 1 and 2 were independent samples of visitors to Texas state parks, while Data Set 3 consisted of a follow-up with respondents from Data Sets 1 and 2, 16 and 12 months later, respectively. Results indicated that perceived constraints on the Time Availability, Personal and Facility Constraints, and Weather dimensions did change significantly over these time periods. There was no significant change on the Cost dimension. However, no relationship was found between constraints and variations in visitation levels. Approximately half of the respondents reported relatively low perceived constraints and high visitation, but approximately one-quarter of those reporting high constraints on Time Availability also exhibited high visitation levels, suggesting they negotiated their way through the constraints.

KEYWORDS:

• Perceived constraints
• state park visitation
• longitudinal design