Recreational use of urban forest parks: a case study in Fuzhou National Forest Park, China

ABSTRACT

Urban forest parks provide residents with recreational spaces and interaction with nature. This study aimed to examine the use pattern of an urban forest park in Fuzhou, South China. A total of 249 park visitors were interviewed face-to-face based on a questionnaire, in November 2015 and January 2016. The majority of the respondents visited the urban forest park accompanied by other family members on the weekend and most of them stayed for half a day. The natural/cultural resources and landscape (e.g. air, water, and vegetation) were evaluated as the most satisfying, whereas the facilities (parking lot and transportation to the park) and service (interpretation and crowdedness) as the least satisfying. The factors “income level” and “family structure” significantly influenced respondents’ decision to access Fuzhou National Forest Park (FNFP) by car. The clear majority of the respondents stayed for less than 6 h in FNFP, and thus, residents show a high demand for urban green spaces for leisure, in an effort to follow a healthier, less stressful life style, and enhance their living standards. Recreational activities are mostly gentle and passive, whereas active sports and learning activities are still limited. Our data might help to develop effective management plans for improving urban forest parks in China.

KEYWORDS:

• Car usage
• forest recreation
• tourists’ preference
• visitor satisfaction
• urban park management

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Kagoshima University (Fiscal year 2015 and 2016). We would like to thank all the anonymous interviewees for their collaboration and kindness in providing information and the students from the Institute of Geographical Sciences, Fujian Normal University for their assistance in data collection.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Kagoshima University (Fiscal year 2015 and 2016).