Library of Trails Benefits

This study evaluates American perspectives on how social media data is used by researchers. A scenario-based survey with American Facebook users demonstrated that factors such as the type of researcher, content, purpose of data use, and awareness of data collection influence their level of comfort or concern regarding data use. This study provides recommendations for researchers and ethics review boards to ensure responsible data handling.

This study analyzes data from Twitter, Flickr, and Instagram to assess visitation at 10 urban and peri-urban Swiss National Forest Inventory sites and evaluates recreational models on a national scale. Social media text was analyzed and a Flickr-based model and Twitter-based model were compared with a pre-existing potential recreation demand (PRD) model to estimate recreational use. Both the Flickr and Twitter models correlated with the existing PRD model; the Instagram model was not evaluated due to data limitations.

This study measures use and perceptions of eight urban parks in Bucharest, Romania, using Instagram posts and Google reviews during the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of posts and reviews was found to be correlated with the initial lockdown, as both on average decreased during March, April, and May, and increased after June as restrictions lessened and warm weather increased.

This study analyzes how different data collection methods can support local recreation planning. Data is compared on current land use (land already used by outdoor recreationists) and the potential use (land that is not used by outdoor recreationists) through participatory mapping, free listing, photo ranking, and analysis of social media data. Local planners were interviewed to assess how applicable the different methods are in practice. Results show the potential and challenges for different research methods to be incorporated into local planning practices to manage outdoor recreation hotspots effectively.

This study examines the biases in social media analyses using different data sources that estimate the number and demographics of visitors to urban parks. Flickr, Instagram, an on-site survey, an online/phone survey, and an AI facial recognition program are utilized to address the bias that can be generated from different social media platforms. The number of visitors and demographic composition of the visitors are estimated using an AI facial recognition algorithm (Face+++).

This study uses mobile data from the analysis platform Streetlight to estimate visitor use in four urban parks and protected areas in Orange County, California. The mobile device methods are compared to other trail counting methods to determine whether mobile device data could be a reliable measure of trailhead visitation counts and spatial distribution of visitor use. Resulting estimates are close to the results from well-established automatic trail counting and GPS-based monitoring methods.

This study uses social media to measure tourism levels and spatial variation in The Bahamas Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Andros Island. Social media data from Flickr was found to be well correlated with visitor counts from entrance surveys. Annual visitation to The Bahamas MPAs was estimated to be an average of 383,000 visitor days. Combining social media with entrance surveys in Andros Island, the largest island in The Bahamas, tourists were found to spend 125,000 visitor nights and more than $45 million annually in the most visited district.

This study reviews the scientific literature of studies using social media to measure visitation patterns and visitors’ experiences in parks and outdoor recreational areas. The majority of studies they reviewed (79%) used a single social media platform, with Flickr being the most common. The authors provide five “best practices” which are a list of recommendations to help improve future research in this field.

This study analyzes the economic impacts of visitor expenditures at local parks operated by the Pat Harrison Waterway District (PHWD) in Mississippi which provide amenities like boat launches, fishing opportunities, camping, and trails. A survey and input-output model from IMPLAN is used to model expenditures. Visitors’ total local spending was estimated to be $5.1 million annually and generate $4.4 million of output, 68 jobs with $1.4 million of labor income, and $2.9 million of value added to the gross regional product.

Utah State University researchers found that the creation of the Bears Ears National Monument in San Juan County, Utah, has likely increased outdoor recreation volume and growth in outdoor recreation-related industries. Retail trade, scientific, professional, and technical services as well as food services have all experienced significant economic growth in the three years after the monument was created. The researchers expect that the monument’s creation will ultimately result in a long-term increase in outdoor recreational activity in the county. 

The authors reviewed 33 academic and practitioner studies on mountain bike tourism and found inconsistencies in the methodology for measuring economic impacts. They critique the existing literature and make recommendations to improve variable instruments and analysis. The authors claim more coherent and consistent variables analyses will better support community advocates in their push for the investments of public funds into mountain bike tourism.