Examination of benefits sought by hiking tourists: a comparison of impact-range performance analysis and impact asymmetry analysis

ABSTRACT

This study assesses the benefits of hiking for visitors to the Jeju Olle Trail on Jeju Island in Korea, which has been designated as a World Heritage Site. Data were collected from a total of 318 tourists visiting the Jeju Olle Trail. The study focused on comparing the benefits sought by first-time visitors and those of repeat visitors. Analytical results found that first-time visitors and repeat visitors sought different benefits from their hiking experiences. First-time visitors sought to observe nature and interact with people. For first-time visitors, benefits that delighted them were buying unique souvenirs and enjoying educational experiences, whereas repeat visitors demonstrated a good assessment on interactions with new people and buying unique souvenirs.

KEYWORDS:

• Benefits
• hiking
• impact-range performance analysis (IRPA)
• impact asymmetry analysis (IAA)
• satisfaction
• Jeju
• island
• first-time
• repeat
• sustainable
• trekking

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Seongseop (Sam) Kim http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9213-6540

Stephen Pratt http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6550-132X