Understanding Recreational Experience Preferences: Application at Fulufjället National Park, Sweden

Abstract

This paper investigates the recreational experience preferences (REP) of visitors to Fulufjället National Park, Sweden. Data were derived from a pilot study conducted in the summer of 2005 by Colorado State University on behalf of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and the European Tourism Research Institute. A total of 107 Swedish and international visitors were surveyed on‐site. Analysis included reliability and exploratory factor analyses to investigate the motivational aspects of visitors to Fulufjället National Park. Aims were to examine motivations of visitors in a Northern European national park using REP items from a North American context and to examine REP’s potential for cross‐cultural use. Four primary REP dimensions were identified including self‐discovery, experience of places, seeking solitude and challenging self. Implications for management and the Scandinavian context are given along with the cultural context of allemansrätten and friluftsliv.

Key Words:

• Wilderness experience
• recreational motivations
• REP scales
• friluftsliv
• allemansrätten