TY - JOUR
TI - Visitors’ perception of crowding. A case study from the Tatra Mountains
AU - Hibner, Joanna
AU - Zięba, Antoni
AU - Filar, Bogusława
AU - Taczanowska, Karolina
TI - Visitors’ perception of crowding. A case study from the Tatra Mountains
AB - Protected areas (PAs) serve as significant tourist destinations, drawing a substantial number of visitors annually. Over the past century, managers and scientists overseeing PAs have sought to identify indicators that specify the maximum number of tourists that could visit a particular area without making a large impact on the environment. As a result, the carrying capacity theory was created, which now evolved into the concept called Limits of Acceptable Changes (LAC). This concept is based on the expected conditions that should be met in a protected area in both ecological and social aspects. This study aims to assess the tolerable level of congestion in a cable car destination situated in the Tatra Mountains and, in addition, to obtain information on the factors that affected the differences in visitors’ perception of crowding. Data used in the analysis were collected as part of two research projects: focused on the Kasprowy Wierch area (Poland) and the Skalnaté Pleso area (Slovakia). To gain information on the perception of crowding by visitors, on-site surveys were conducted during the summer season of 2014 and 2015 at both sites. The research results show that the acceptance of crowding decreases with the increasing number of visitors in research areas and it is affected by the type of research area. The analysis also reveals that the acceptance of crowding is also dependent on socio-demographic and social factors such as the level of educational attainment of the respondents, the type of trip or the size of the group.
VL - 2023
IS - Issue 172
PY - 2024
SN - 1644-3586
C1 - 2083-3113
SP - 127
EP - 145
DO - 10.4467/20833113PG.23.018.19205
UR - https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/prace-geograficzne/article/visitors-perception-of-crowding-a-case-study-from-the-tatra-mountains
KW - protected areas
KW - tourists
KW - crowding perception
KW - Tatras