Crowding as a Descriptive Indicator and an Evaluative Standard: Results from 30 Years of Research

Abstract

This paper examined perceived crowding using 615 evaluation contexts obtained from 181 studies that used a 9-point scale. Four methods for summarizing the crowding scale were highly correlated (r ≥ .90) across all evaluation contexts. Four independent variables (year study was conducted, region of United States, country, specific activity) affected perceived crowding for both the collapsed scale and the mean of the scale. One factor, specific location of the encounter, only affected perceived crowding for the percentages, not the mean. Consumptive versus nonconsumptive activities had no effect on perceived crowding. Using capacity judgment standards, 40% of the 615 evaluation contexts were in the suppressed crowding category, 16% were over capacity and 9% were greatly over capacity.

Keywords:

• comparative analysis
• crowding
• crowding measurement
• evaluative standards

Acknowledgements

This study could not have been completed without the assistance of researchers who provided their data and study information: Kathleen Andereck (Arizona State University), Robert Becker (Clemson University), Alan Bright (Colorado State University), Mark Brunson (Utah State University), Joshua Carroll (Colorado State University), Gordon Cessford (Department of Conservation, New Zealand), Chad Dawson (SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry), Maureen Donnelly (Colorado State University), Eron Feitelson (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel), Pete Fix (University of Alaska – Fairbanks), Larisa Fleishman (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel), Peter Fredman (European Tourism Research Institute, Sweden), Alan Graefe (The Pennsylvania State University), Thomas Heberlein (The University of Wisconsin–Madison), Walter Kuentzel (University of Vermont), Robert Manning (University of Vermont), Mark Needham (Oregon State University), Peter Newman (Colorado State University), Jordan Petchenik (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources), Rick Rollins (University of Victoria, Canada), Ilan Salomon (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel), Bo Shelby (Oregon State University), Bunny Sterin, (Bureau of Land Management), William Valliere (University of Vermont), Hans Vogelsong (East Carolina University), George Wallace (Colorado State University), and Doug Whittaker (Confluence Research and Consulting, Alaska).

Notes

¹All categories include five years with the exception of 2000–2005.

²All categories include ten years with the exception of 1995–2005.

³Ecuador, Sweden, and Thailand were deleted from this analysis due to low sample size (4 studies in total).

∗p < .05

∗∗ p < .001.

¹One study is likely to have specific contexts in one or more locations or activities.

∗p < .05

∗∗ p < .001.