spatial perspective of visitor experiences in national parks

Visitor use of national parks must be efficiently planned to cope with increasing and diversifying use of these areas. Academics worldwide have proposed that the use of Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS) could improve national park management. A spatial perspective of visitor experiences in national parks further investigates the potential of PPGIS methods in the context of planning for outdoor recreation in national parks, and does so by incorporating views of practitioners working in Finnish national park management.

The study increases the understanding of factors that influence visitor experiences, and reveals how PPGIS methods could serve visitor planning practices and frameworks. Moreover, the study advances understandings of challenges and opportunities related to implementing PPGIS methods into outdoor recreation planning.