Survey on touristic demands and feedbacks in the Mirza Kouchak Khan forest park of Amol

Document Type : Research article

Authors

1 Ph.D. Student Forestry, Department of Forestry, Faculty of Natural Resources , Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University

2 Associate Prof., Department of Forestry, Faculty of Natural Resources, Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University

Abstract

The development of forest parks not only entails the governmental and public support in multiple (political, economic, social and cultural) aspects, but it also requires an in-depth expert knowledge on forest management. The purpose of this study was to control the conducted management plans and review the recreational needs of tourists across Mirza Kouchak Khan forest park in Amol. A total number of 100 questionnaires were distributed among park visitors using the Clawson method. The analysis was performed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Results showed that the Cronbach's alpha = 0.251, turning out that the questionnaires were not valid. By excluding the outliers (i.e. highest numbers) the value of Cronbach's alpha was improved up to 0.55. The relationship amongst the parameters was surveyed by a chi-square test. Except two cases, namely the relationships between the type of park equipment and the right to use parking space as well as between the knowledge and understanding the forest with the other variables, no other significant differences were found. In fact, the public willingness to violate the regulations significantly decreases if the park would be associated with a proper design and planning, which in turns results in reduced damage to a given park. Therefore, this study revealed that the public culture of the park visitors is currently lacking an intuitive understanding and awareness about the biological and ecological values of the studies forest park.

Keywords

References

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