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Visitation to recreation and protected areas is increasing globally and in many regions, including Europe, so is research on visitation. But who, where, what and how is the research done and what are the trends and key research gaps? The systematic quantitative review of 758 oral abstracts from the first seven conferences on Monitoring and Management of Visitors in Recreation and Protected Areas answers research questions on methods, goals and locations presented in the last decade as well as discussing trends and recommendations for the future. These major multi-disciplinary conferences are held every two years in different countries in Europe. Most (72%) of the research was from Europe, predominantly from countries where English is not the dominant language. Nearly every abstract was from terrestrial natural areas, often terrestrial protected areas (56%), with only three marine studies. Most abstracts (85%) were in the social sciences, either assessing visitor profile data along with motivations, satisfaction and experiences or focused on psychological aspects such as the attitudes, perceptions and behavior of visitors. Environmental research (32% abstracts) was mostly on vegetation, wildlife and landscape features with limited research on aquatic systems. Technology is driving research, with the analysis of big data from social media transforming where and how visitors can be monitored. Important gaps remain including research from countries and regions with large protected area systems and high levels of visitation including in Asia, South America and Africa, as well as some countries in Europe such as France.

AbstractGrazing by livestock can have positive, neutral, and/or negative effects on vegetation depending on the intensity and type of grazing. This includes grazing by pack animals used for tourism in mountain protected areas. We assessed the response of vegetation to the exclusion of grazing by pack animals over one growing season in the highest park in the Southern Hemisphere, Aconcagua Provincial Park, dry Central Andes. Twenty pairs of exclosures and unfenced quadrats were established in three high-altitude Andean alpine meadows that are intensively grazed by horses and mules used by commercial operators to transport equipment for tourists. Vegetation parameters, including height, cover, and composition were measured in late spring when exclosures were established and ~120 days later at the end of the growing season along with above-ground biomass. Data was analyzed using mixed models and ordinations. Vegetation responded rapidly to the removal of grazing. Vegetation in exclosures was more than twice as tall, had 30% more above-ground biomass, a greater cover of grasses including the dominant Deyeuxia eminens,and less litter than grazed quadrats. These changes in the vegetation from short-term exclusion of grazing are likely to increase the habitat quality of the meadows for native wildlife.

Social media is an emerging source of data to address questions such as how do tourist view and value destinations? This research compared image content and text from Flickr posted by tourists visiting the alpine area around the highest mountain in Australia, in Kosciuszko National Park, to assess seasonal preferences for tourism (i.e., facilities and activities) and nature (i.e., landscapes, flora and fauna). In warmer months when access is easier and the alpine area receives more than 100,000 visitors, tourists' images focused on landscapes (54%) or biodiversity (50%), with fewer images including tourists (23%), mainly hiking (18%). Images were often labelled by the name of the mountain and Park. In contrast, during colder months when access is limited and approximately 400 people visit the alpine area, images still included landscapes (50%) though were also more likely to depict recreation activities (37%), including skiing (8.8%), nearly always showing snow (82%) and using tags such as ‘snow’, ‘ski’ and ‘Snowy Mountains’. Images of plants tended to show flowering herbs (7.3%) when warm or snowgums when cold (11.4%), while lakes (6.8%), creeks (4.2%) and animals (2.4%) were uncommon in images. Seasonal differences in visitor views and preferences of an area have implications for tourism, conservation and management including better understanding what may attract visitors. Challenges with coding images and text and the benefits and limitations of this novel data source in comparison to onsite surveys are considered.