Evaluating spatial structure effects in recreation travel

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of the spatial structure of recreation opportunity on recreation travel. Spatial structure effects are explored in terms of trip generation and the level of competition/agglomeration among recreation opportunities. The results indicate that recreation activity increases as a function of the number of nearby (within 25 miles) facilities. The results also indicate that recreation facilities exhibit both competitive and agglomerative relationships with other nearby recreation opportunities. For parks within a short travel distance from an origin population, the volume of visits to a specific park is negatively related to the number of nearby parks. However when travel distance increases, nearby parks tend to be considered a cohesive unit and therefore volume of visits becomes positively related to the number of nearby parks.

Keywords:

• Gravity model
• trip generation
• Opportunity Theory
• competitive/agglomerative effects