Knowledge of visitor impacts is critical for sustainable tourism management in
national parks. The focus of past tourism impact research on national parks is either on
bio-physical impacts (conducted as recreation ecology research) or on social impacts
(human dimensions, including environmental perception and crowding). Research
integrating these two dimensions has been rarely conducted. This research aims to fill
this gap through the integrative approach that attempts to understand current biophysical
impacts of visitor activities in a national park, and it examines how visitors
perceive these impacts. The primary objectives of this dissertation are 1) to provide a
synthesis of existing of bio-physical impacts of visitor activities in the Khao Yai
National Park (KYNP) and 2) to examine visitors’ perception of those impacts. Also, the
factors affecting visitors’ perception are analyzed. Both qualitative and quantitative
methods were used in this study. Previous impact studies conducted in KYNP were
reviewed. A visitor survey was conducted between December 2008 and February 2009.
The questionnaires were distributed to 628 domestic and 40 international visitors. The 38
KYNP official interviews were completed.
Based on previous impact research in KYNP, the most common bio-physical
impacts include soil compaction, removal of humus layer, erosion, plant damage, soil
and root exposure, water quality deterioration, disturbance and feeding wildlife. Other
environmental impacts include noise pollution and garbage accumulation. The results
indicate that more than 30 percent of visitors do not recognize the negative results of their
activities. With the exception of vegetation and water impacts, overall, visitors perceive
the impacts as less severe than the actual impacts. Environmental impacts are rated
differently by the KYNP officials, domestic, and international visitors. Also, significant
differences were found among birders, hikers, and campers. The key factors influencing
impact perceptions include income level, education level, residential location, park
visitation experience, length of stay in KYNP, recreation activity, frequency of activity,
group type, and group size. It is suggested that both the quality and the quantity of
visitor impact research are needed to construct the body of knowledge of impacts in
KYNP. A long-term impact monitoring is required to sustain the ecological integrity in
KYNP.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2010-08-8223 |
| Date | 2010 August 1900 |
| Creators | Phumsathan, Sangsan |
| Contributors | Nepal, Sanjay K. |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
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