Colin Arrowsmith

Determining hiking experiences in nature-based tourist destinations

Abstract Visitor experiences in natural landscapes are considered integral components of visitor satisfaction research. Many studies have considered satisfaction as a cognitive process leading to an emotional state (J. Travel Res. 34(1) (1995) 11; Outdoor Recreation Benchmark 1988. Proceedings of the National Outdoor Recreation Forum, January, Tampa FL, pp. 422–438). Such emotional states are multidimensional and multisensory manifestations that are exhibited in numerous forms. At the same time they are influenced by preferences, values, beliefs and attitudes or in other words, social cognition of a visitor. Numerous techniques have been used to collect data showing the state of emotions/experiences. Techniques range from simple questionnaires administered in situ, to maintaining diaries of individual activities and experiences, to experiential sampling methods such as those adopted by Hull and Stewart (Environ. Behav. 27 (1995) 404). Recently, more expensive but effective instruments have been used such as video (Monitoring and Management of Visitor Flows in Recreational and Protected Areas. Conference Proceedings, pp. 296–301) and sensors using counters (Monitoring and Management of Visitor Flows in Recreational and Protected Areas. Conference Proceedings, pp. 258–263). The purpose of this paper is to document research currently underway, which is attempting to identify the underlying dimensions influencing visitor experiences through natural landscapes. This paper uses the generic term “experience” to cover a wide range of subjective meanings such as moods, emotions and feelings of individuals moving through natural landscapes. The study has conceptualised and empirically created constructs that underpin the character, magnitude and attributes of visitor experiences in natural landscapes. In situ measurements of feelings and experiences were determined via a questionnaire administered to a group of university students hiking along the Pinnacle walking track in the Grampians National Park in western Victoria, Australia. The study has applied two commonly used multivariate techniques, multidimensional scaling and principal components analysis to create constructs that model the nature and magnitude of the visitor experience in natural settings.

Gis-based modelling of recreational potential of nature-based tourist destinations.

Abstract This paper discusses a geographical information system (GIS)-based technique to measure the recreational potential of natural tourist destinations. The technique was developed for a study area in western Victoria, Australia, known as the Grampians National Park (GNP), a popular natural tourist destination. Regression modelling was used to develop a set of predictors of scenic attractiveness derived from data collected via questionnaire administered to a group of university students. The derived output was then overlaid with ‘recreational opportunity potential’ generated for the region. In the final stage, a spatial model of ‘recreational potential’ was developed from output maps over the entire geographical area. The study found that the areas with high recreational potential are concentrated around more popular walking tracks in the Wonderland Ranges near Halls Gap in the north-east sector. However, other underdeveloped areas of high recreational potential are identified and suggested as alternative strategic sites to ease potential pressure developing around heavily used walking tracks. Despite the limited sample group, the developed technique offers park managers a method for predicting recreational opportunities.

Estimating environmental resiliency for the Grampians National Park, Victoria, Australia: a quantitative approach

Abstract Without a comprehensive understanding of the tourist–environment relationship, unregulated visitation from tourists to fragile mountain environments can result in adverse environmental damage. Impacts from direct trampling can be exacerbated through the natural processes of chemical and physical weathering. Many studies (Mieczkowski, Environmental Issues of Tourism and Recreation, University Press of America, Lanham, Maryland, USA, 1995; Price, People and Tourism in Fragile Environments, Wiley, Chichester, 1996) show that with increasing elevation, susceptibility to human interference becomes greater. This paper presents a study in which the susceptibility to environmental damage has been found to decrease with increasing elevation. Relationships between biophysical variables were determined using principal components analysis for a well-patronised tourist destination in Western Victoria in Australia called the Grampians National Park. The first factor termed “probable tourist impact resilience” shows that with increasing distance from walking track starting points, and with increasing elevation, there is a corresponding increase in resiliency. Due to the geomorphology of the region, extensive weathering has resulted in erodable soils, weathered from the elevated rocky outcrops at high elevation, washing downhill. Tourist walking tracks have then been cut through these lower reaches and subsequent trampling from tourists has resulted in gully erosion. The results from this study will enable park managers to plan for expected tourist growth to the region, by enabling those areas found to be more resilient to impact to be targeted for tourism.

A Comparison of High and Low Gain DMSP/OLS Satellite Images for the Study of Socio-Economic Metrics

The Operational Linescan System (OLS) onboard the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) group of satellites, unlike other passive remote sensing sensors, is capable of recording the emissions from artificial lights on the earth surface. Along with detecting light from forest fires, shipping fleets and gas flares, the OLS sensor also records the light emitted from cities at night. This paper reports on a study that uses the DMSP Operational Linescan (DMSP-OLS) images with fixed gain settings of 20 dB and 50 dB to model selected metrics used in the Indian census for the state of Maharashtra. The study firstly looks into the utility of non-composited single fixed gain radiance calibrated DMSP-OLS products for proposing a method which might help to build a surrogate method for Indian census. Several parameters are considered in this analysis, with detailed focus on population density, total population and proportion of households with electricity access for 35 districts within the state of Maharashtra. Results show that spatial scale plays an important role in selection of the images and gains. Secondly, this study provides a relative assessment of gain setting for the DMSP-OLS images in an urban Indian context. Images with a gain of 50 dB prove suitable for larger areas while those with a gain of 20 dB give better results at a smaller spatial scale. Statistical analysis and residual maps of spatial distribution of total population and population density validate the result.

Investigating the temporal dynamics of tourist movement: an application of circular statistics

This paper explores temporal variability, referred to as temporal dynamics, in the movement patterns of tourists. Circular statistics were used to compute circular mean times and dispersions for different groups of tourists using data collected with Global Positioning Systems receivers at Port Campbell national Park in Victoria, Australia over a two day period. The results indicate that there is a tendency for tourists to visit the site around noon. The differences in the circular mean times computed for different regions and for different types of tourist are not significant. Nonetheless, kernel density estimation plots enabled variability, exhibited in terms of peak time and modality in patterns of visitor use, to be detected.

Assessing the utility of DMSP/OLS night-time images for characterizing indian urbanization

Urbanization, that is the movement of population from rural to urban locations, is a process that has been occurring for hundreds of years, but is increasingly prevalent in todays world. In 2008 most of the global population was resident in urban areas. It has been predicted that in the coming years, an increasing number of people will be living in cities; especially in the developing countries within in Asia and Latin America. This study considers the case of India, the second most populated country in the world, with a present total population exceeding 1 billion. It focuses on the state of Maharashtra (including the mega-city of Mumbai and its surrounds - the largest in India with a population of approximately 18.1 million). The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Linescan System (OLS) is a spaceborne system that detects visible light and thermal emissions of the earth at night. The data is collected nightly, on a global basis. The aim of this paper is to correlate the values obtained from the radiance calibrated DMSP/OLS night-time images of 2001 with population data. The spatial resolution of DMSP/OLS images is approximately 1 Km. This paper asks the question over what range of spatial scales does DMSP/OLS have utility in retrieving metrics of urbanization.

Comparison of Techniques for Visualising Fire Behaviour

During every Australian summer fires are common in the south-eastern region of the continent. The combined forces of climate, topography and vegetation make Victoria in particular, one of the most fire prone regions on earth (DSE 2003). Throughout its history, Victoria has seen a number of devastating bushfires, including Black Friday 1939, Ash Wednesday 1983, and more recently in the northeast of the State in 2003. The loss of life combined with the damage caused to land and property results in a heavy cost to the community. In Victoria, two of the organizations involved in fire management are the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) and the Country Fire Authority (CFA). Both use fire ‘meters’ to determine potential fire behaviour given certain conditions. Values for temperature, wind speed, fuel load and vegetation type are input and a numerical estimate of fire danger given. There are a number of different meters used for different locations and environmental types. The most common meter used in Victoria is the McArthur Meter (CSIR0 2001b). The output data from this meter is numerical, and provides no spatial representation of fire danger. This paper looks at a variety of techniques used to visualise the numerical output from the McArthur Forest Fire Danger Meter. The article outlines the different models used by fire managers to simulate a fire situation, to assess future scenarios and for decision making involving fire management. Particular emphasis is placed on the McArthur Forest Fire Danger Meter as this is commonly used by fire departments in Australia. The article then focuses on geographical visualisation and a number of techniques employed to convey spatial information are discussed. The article then goes on to describe the fire simulation prototypes created for a study, a visualisation proof-of-concept product for organizations involved in managing bushfires in Australia. Finally, results from the evaluation of the prototype are presented.

A framework of environmental modelling and information sharing for urban air pollution control and management

More effective environmental pollution control and management are needed due to the increasing environmental impacts from a range of human activities and the growing public demands for a better living environment. Urban air pollution is a serious environmental issue that poses adverse impacts on the health of people and the environment in most metropolitan areas. In this paper, we propose a geoinformatics augmented framework of environmental modelling and information sharing for supporting effective urban air pollution control and management. This framework is outlined in terms of its key components and processes including: 1) an integrated, adaptive network of sensors for environmental monitoring; 2) a set of distributed, interoperable databases for data management; 3) a set of intelligent, robust algorithms and models for environmental modelling; 4) a set of flexible, efficient user interfaces for data access and information sharing; and 5) a reliable, high capacity, high performance computing and communication infrastructure for integrating and supporting other framework components and processes.

The role of satellite data in census: Case study of an Indian State

Countries, such as India, conduct a census collection every ten years. Currently census in India is carried out manually, therefore suffering from a number of shortcomings including inconsistency issues, the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP) and large temporal acquisition timeframes. This paper proposes a surrogate census method using satellite images captured at night by DMSP-OLS satellites to overcome some of these drawbacks. The lights on the earth surface captured by this satellite represent areas of human habitation. Correlations between stable lights and brightness information with available census metrics from the last Indian census (2001) were calculated using bootstrapping techniques. Linear regression and multivariate analyses were subsequently performed and models proposed for each of the selected census metrics (e.g population density, number of households per square Kilometre, percentage of households with cars, jeeps and vans, Per Capita District Domestic Product (PCDDP) and urban population density) with results ranging from r 2 of 0.8 to 0.9 at the 95% confidence interval. Census metrics unavailable at spatial scales lower than districts were also predicted using the proposed models and maps were derived showing the predicted measures. The results demonstrate that DMSP-OLS night-time images may be successfully used to estimate census variables in real time.

An investigation into challenges experienced when route planning, navigating and wayfinding

ABSTRACT Some map users still experience difficulties when attempting to route plan, navigate and/or wayfind. This paper provides information on the outcomes of a research project that aims to identify the nature of the difficulties/challenges these users experience. The paper draws on findings from studies of strategies used by novice and experienced map users, and users with poor spatial abilities, to identify the skills that those with poor spatial abilities or with little map reading experience lack. Data were collected using Tobii Pro Glasses 2 hardware and associated software. Fourteen participants walked between two predetermined locations while wearing eye-tracking glasses and speaking their thoughts aloud. The data collected in this study were analysed using quantitative and qualitative approaches. Analysis of the results shows three key findings for this particular group: looking at the map incessantly led to missed environmental cues; street names were not labelled at decision-making points on the map; and some individuals having poor spatial abilities prefer small-scale landmarks, for example, buildings with numbers to locate themselves, as opposed to using road names or larger landmarks. We argue that by considering these findings, map designs could be adjusted to meet the needs of map users with poor spatial abilities.