Thinking Outside the Park: Connecting Visitors’ Sound Affect in a Nature-Based Tourism Setting with Perceptions of Their Urban Home and Work Soundscapes

Trace Gale, Andrea Ednie and Karen Beeftink
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Trace Gale: Centro de Investigación en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia (CIEP), Human-Environment Interactions Group, 5951369 Coyhaique, Chile
Andrea Ednie: Department of Kinesiology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53190, USA
Karen Beeftink: Professional Studies Division, University of Maine Machias, Matthias, ME 04654, USA

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 12, 1-19

Abstract: This study examined the potential for Perceived Affective Quality (PAQ; pleasantness, eventfulness, familiarity) soundscape measures developed within urban settings to enrich current soundscape management approaches within protected areas (PAs). Drawing on the premise that people bring experiences from other life contexts into PA settings and PA visitors are increasingly coming from urban areas, research integrated urban visitors’ soundscape perceptions of their home and work acoustic environments with their perceptions of acoustic environments in PAs. Two-phased survey research (n = 333) separated visitors into urban density groups and compared PAQ variables across home, work, and PA contexts. Significant differences resulted, both in ratings of the three acoustic contexts (PA, home, work) for all three PAQ components and between urban density groups. The importance of pleasantness was confirmed across all contexts; however, alone, this dimension lacked sufficient contrast to interpret the complexity of soundscape perceptions, especially considering diverse Healthy Parks, Healthy People (HPHP) visitor experience scenarios and goals. Thus, managers should consider (1) additional PAQ variables that can provide more useful and contrasting information; (2) incorporating methods that integrate PAQ measures across visitors’ different acoustic contexts, and (3) including urban density measures within HPHP research.

Keywords: soundscapes; protected areas; perceived affective quality; Healthy Parks, Healthy People (HPHP); urban density; sustainable tourism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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