Asignación de recursos, satisfaccción del visitante, administración y manejo de parques nacionales en Costa Rica, Honduras y Nicaragua

The rapid growth forecasted of new visitors arriving to Central America national parks will make essential for park managers to consider visitor satisfaction in its planning process. A total of 915 surveys, 312 to local and 603 to foreign visitors were conducted in Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, to determine using a gap form of the expectations-disconfirmation model the satisfaction of local and foreign visitors with the infrastructure, services and recreational options. The study found that there were important differences and similarities between local and foreign visitors in socio demographics and in the satisfaction rating awarded to key infrastructure, services and recreational options. Standardized regression model identified using stepwise procedure single out the variables that influence the overall gap in satisfaction with the visit. The material permitted improved resource allocation and management decisions by the parks administrator in terms of the elements they needed to consider in their site main-tenance and investment planning in order to increase the visitor’s satisfaction with the visit.