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Countryside recreation site management : a marketing approach PDF

241 Pages·2002·8.359 MB·English
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Countryside Recreation Site Management Countryside recreation has become an increasingly popular leisure activity, with rural recreation offering an escape from the stresses of life in the modern city. Con- sequently, the pressures on managers of countryside recreation sites are greater than ever before. This important new vocational text offers comprehensive guidance on the management of countryside sites of all types, from national parks and heritage coasts to cycle paths and tourism enterprises. The book takes an innovative marketing-driven approach to the subject, focusing on the development of each site as a ‘product’ to meet the needs of the leisure ‘con- sumer’. It offers step-by-step guidance to every management issue, from developing infrastructure to on-site health and safety, and is richly supported with diagrams, photographs, case studies and web links. Countryside Recreation Site Management is an essential resource for all students studying recreation or tourism management, and for all professional recreation man- agers. Ian Keirleis a Course Director and Lecturer at the Institute of Rural Studies, Univer- sity of Wales, Aberystwyth. Countryside Recreation Site Management A marketing approach Ian Keirle London and New York First published 2002 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2003. © 2002 Ian Keirle All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocoyping and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN 0-203-47188-1 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-78012-4 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0-415-24884-I (hbk) ISBN 0-415-24885-X (pbk) Contents List of plates vi List of figures vii List of tables viii Preface ix Acknowledgements xi 1 Marketing 1 2 Finding out about your site 19 3 Finding out about your visitor 47 4 Making your site more accessible 81 5 Recreational site infrastructure 103 6 Access for all 129 7 Developing attractions 143 8 Customer care 157 9 Information and interpretation 170 10 Dealing with site conflicts 197 11 Health and safety 204 12 Recreation planning 210 Index 222 Plates 3.1 A micro switch operated stile counter with an automatic data logger 54 4.1 Example leaflets for countryside sites 85 4.2 An example of an overhead oblique site map 88 4.3 Inside a Tourist Information Centre with staff helping the public withanenquiry 90 4.4 A white and brown tourism destination road sign 92 4.5 Signpost directing visitors to attractions 94 4.6 An example of a roadside ‘attraction’ sign 98 5.1 A curved stone bench 106 5.2 Forestry Commission style information sign 107 5.3 A wooden stile with balance bars 115 5.4 A signpost that provides the name of the route, destination information,distance and a symbol that shows the route is a NationalTrail(a white acorn) 118 5.5 Short fingerposts with path type and destination 118 5.6 Example waymarker discs, that can be used on paths and trails, to providereassurance to visitors that they are on the correct route 120 5.7 An orientation panel featuring a large scale map 121 5.8 An overflowing litter bin creates rubbish 122 5.9 An example of a ‘beehive style’ wooden litter bin, containing one bin liner 124 6.1 Information booklets for visitors with disabilities 139 7.1 The start of the Karrimor mountain bike trail, Coed y Brenin, Wales 149 7.2 An adventure playground for children 152 7.3 Sculpture as a ‘gateway’ 153 9.1 Interpretation should relate 175 9.2 Interpretation should reveal 176 9.3 An interpretation panel that shows through pictures the use that elephantsmake of their trunks 177 9.4 Good design can lead the reader through an interpretive panel in a sequentialmanner 184 9.5 An example of an informal design 185 Figures 1.1 The marketing mix 15 1.2 Possible tools in a countryside recreation site marketing mix 16 2.1 An example of a completed infrastructure audit map for a fictitious countrypark 37 2.2 An example of a completed infrastructure audit form for a fictitious countrypark 38 2.3 An example of a completed path audit map for a fictitious country park 40 2.4 An example of a completed path audit form for a fictitious country park 41 2.5 Cross-section of a path showing the worn and bare widths 41 3.1 The survey design process 50 3.2 The process involved in the automatic counting of vehicles, bikes and people 53 3.3 Average counts on an hour-by-hour basis for people passing along anentrance path at a countryside recreation site (fictitious data) 55 3.4 Observation points and observation zones for a fictitious country park 77 4.1 Increasing the level of detail on road signs leading up to the entranceofacountryside site 99 4.2 Designing a site entrance to ensure road safety and to effectively displayentrance signs 101 5.1 Features associated with steps 114 5.2 A decision node map 119 5.3 A ‘baited’ funnel 127 8.1 A cycle of service for a visit to a countryside site 168 9.1 Planning topics, themes, sub-topics and sub-themes for interpreting CardiganBay 180 9.2 The interpretive planning process 193 10.1 Spatial zonation of a lake for different activities 201 12.1 The management planning process 211 12.2 An example of a work programme split into repeated tasks and projects 219 Tables 1.1 Core, tangible, intangible and total products: examples of the car andacountryside recreation site 8 1.2 What are we really buying? The product of the product 9 1.3 Factors that influenced visitors to use the Pembrokeshire Coast Path 9 2.1 The potential products of a children’s playground 33 2.2 The potential products of a waymarked walk 34 3.1 Typical research questions for countryside recreation sites and the typesofinformation that the questions will address 48 3.2 Research questions and the type of information that different survey methodscan address 49 3.3 Counter mechanisms for recording visitor, vehicle and bike numbers 56–7 3.4 Confidence intervals related to sample size (confidence interval 95%) 64 3.5 Cross tabulation table of age category against activity carried out whilstonthe site 73 4.1 Factors prompting visitors to visit Longdendale 82 4.2 Minimum letter height to ensure readability at differing approach speedsandreading distances 97 5.1 The function, type and issues associated with countryside recreation siteinfrastructure 105 5.2 The number of accessible parking spaces that should be provided for disabledpassengers 111 5.3 Maximum gradients and ramp lengths for different types of countrysidesetting 115 5.4 Signage plan based upon decision node map 120 6.1 Groups facing barriers to using the countryside and the nature of thepotential barriers 130 6.2 As a service provider are you discriminating against disabled people inrelation to the Disability Discrimination Act (1995)? 134 6.3 BT Countryside for Allaccessibility standards 136 7.1 Possible sports that can be carried out on a countryside recreation site,andthe facilities and resources that they require 151 9.1 The benefits, negative aspects and requirements of a selection of the mediaavailable for interpretation 188–9 12.1 Headings under which site description can be considered 212 Preface The importance of recreation in the countryside is increasingly being recognised. It is of value in many ways. First, it is important for the individual. Recreating in the countryside is a form of relaxation that allows the stresses and strains of modern living to be stripped away. It provides opportunities to unwind, contemplate life, for adventure, challenge, development of fitness and social interchange between friends and families. Second it is important for rural communities. Visitors attracted into the countryside spend money on food and drink, fuel, accommodation, souvenirs and entrance fees. This directly helps the rural economy and provides much needed employment. In addition, in providing facilities for the visitor, the surrounding communities also benefit in terms of better facilities, improved access and so forth. The development of recreational opportunities within the countryside is therefore an investment in personal health and well being, and in the rural economy. This book focuses on the management of countryside recreation sites. For the purpose of this book a countryside recreation site can be defined as any site in the countryside where provision is made for people to recreate out of doors. Such sites include national parks, country parks, heritage coasts, national trails, regional routes, cycle routes and tourism enterprises. The scale of provision can range from large sophisticated sites with high quality facilities, large visitor numbers and dedi- cated staff, to small-scale informal sites with very few visitors. Countryside recre- ation sites can be free to enter or could be of a more commercial nature with entrance charges such as gardens or wildlife parks. Therefore, if you have anything to do with the management of visitors to the countryside, the contents of this book are appropriate for you. The book takes a marketing approach to the subject matter. This means that countryside sites are viewed as products that the consumer (the recreational visitor) makes a choice as to whether to visit or not. The development of the site product to meet the needs of the consumer is therefore what this book is all about. The book starts by outlining the subject of marketing and considers how a marketing approach can be applied to the management of countryside sites. It then considers what you need to find out about sites and site visitors, prior to planning the manage- ment of a site, and details techniques that can be used. Following this, the issues that need to be considered when managing a site are considered. Chapters on making sites more accessible, disabled access, customer care, site infrastructure (stiles, gates, paths, bins, bollards, etc.), information and interpretation, developing attractions, dealing with conflicts, health and safety and management planning, all provide prac- tical hands-on information to aid site planning and management. Throughout the

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