Wayne Freimund - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Wayne Freimund

Tourism Management Perspectives, 2016

Developing long-term relationships between domestic tourists and local natural tourist settings s... more Developing long-term relationships between domestic tourists and local natural tourist settings still remains a challenge for most developing countries, particularly, Zambia. To address this challenge, this study explored the concept of destination loyalty by investigating its antecedents from relational and transactional perspectives thereby extending the theoretical understanding of the concept. Data for this study were collected using on-site self-administered surveys from 1060 Zambian domestic tourists at the Victoria Falls World Heritage site and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling. Empirical results showed that to foster destination loyalty, both transactional and relational antecedents of loyalty are fundamental with the relational variable being slightly more powerful as a predictor. Consequently, practitioners and policy-makers, especially in Zambia can promote domestic tourists' longterm relationships to local natural tourist settings by encouraging relational connections to the settings in addition to providing high service quality, as well as valuable and satisfactory experiences at the natural tourist settings.

Protected Area Governance and Management, 2015

The symbolic intermixed complexity of an ancient rainforest tree's trunks, buttress roots and an ... more The symbolic intermixed complexity of an ancient rainforest tree's trunks, buttress roots and an accompanying liana, part of the Great Eastern Ranges corridor,

Developments in big data for park management: a review of mobile phone location data for visitor use management

Landscape Research

Exploring Peace within the Cognitive-Affective Structure of the Destination Image of Glacier National Park

Leisure Sciences

PLOS ONE, 2021

Introduction Visitation to parks and protected areas is a common COVID-19 coping strategy promote... more Introduction Visitation to parks and protected areas is a common COVID-19 coping strategy promoted by state and national public health officials and political leadership. Crowding and congestions in parks has been a perennial problem and the ability to socially distance within them is an unproven assumption. Is it possible to socially distance in a busy national park that has been designed to concentrate use? Methodology/Principal findings An observational study was conducted in July 2020 at the outside foyer of the Visitor Center of Arches National Park. Motion sensor cameras were placed to record one-minute videos when a person entered the field of view. Number of groups, group size, facial coverings and encounters within 6 feet (1.83 meters) of other groups were recorded. Groups were smaller on average than recorded in previous studies. Approximately 61% of the visitors wore masks. Most groups (69%) were able to experience the visitor center with no intergroup encounters. We mode...

Data for "ARCH_covid_crowding_VC

Monitoring of visitor use in Arches National Park to assess social distancing behaviors of visito... more Monitoring of visitor use in Arches National Park to assess social distancing behaviors of visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic

Motivations and spatial behavior of OHV recreationists: A case-study from central Utah (USA)

Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 2021

Tourism Autobiographical Memory Scale

PsycTESTS Dataset, 2019

Journal of Interpretation Research, 2018

The focus of this study is on developing a scale that measures elaboration as originally conceptu... more The focus of this study is on developing a scale that measures elaboration as originally conceptualized by Vezeau et al. (2015), and then tests whether the elaboration scale is able to predict a variety of related behaviors. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to investigate the validity and reliability of the scale. The results suggest that the scale was successful in improving upon previous research in that all theoretical constructs were present in the second-order model of elaboration. Additionally, structural equation modeling was used to examine the predictive validity of the elaboration scale, which was successful in predicting a variety of related behaviors. This research advances the theoretical understanding and measurement of elaboration. Results can be used for evaluating interpretation efforts, including the assessment of programs and materials. Additionally, the results provide further evidence of elaboration as a measured construct and opens a variety of new avenues...

Communication Perspectives About Bison Safety in Yellowstone National Park: A Comparison of International and North American Visitors

Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, 2018

Human-wildlife conflict is a serious issue in many park and recreation settings around the globe.... more Human-wildlife conflict is a serious issue in many park and recreation settings around the globe. The focus of this study is on exploring challenges related to communication and human-bison conflict in Yellowstone National Park. In particular, it examines differences between international and North American (from the United States and Canada) visitors. A variety of statistical testing is used to understand how visitors are using information about bison safety, and what their perceptions are about safe distances while viewing bison. Results show that international and North American visitors are using information sources in remarkably similar ways. However, there were significantly different perceptions about safe distances while viewing bison between the two groups, and international visitors were more likely to say they began to feel unsafe around bison at closer distances. The discussion provides several insights and strategies to help address human-wildlife conflict using communication. Subscribe to JPRA

Environmental Management, 2019

This research empirically merges together two related theories: the elaboration likelihood model ... more This research empirically merges together two related theories: the elaboration likelihood model and the theory of planned behavior. A structural equation modeling approach is used to evaluate the relationship between the two theories and their collective impacts on behavioral intentions. The results suggest elaboration predicts the components of the theory of planned behavior (attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavior control), which in turn all predicted behavior intentions. Furthermore, results showed that the components of the theory of planned behavior partially meditated the relationship between elaboration and behavioral intentions, indicating that elaboration works mostly through the components of the theory of planned behavior to impact behavioral intentions. This study represents an improved understanding of the influence of communication techniques on visitor behaviors in sustainable tourism settings. Additionally, the discussion exemplifies how these techniques can be used to improve communications and evaluate communication strategies.

Using visual-based social norm methods to understand distance-related human–wildlife interactions

Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 2017

ABSTRACT Distance-related human–wildlife interactions are a challenge in diverse settings across ... more ABSTRACT Distance-related human–wildlife interactions are a challenge in diverse settings across the globe. However, few methodological approaches have been proposed to explore the issue of distance in human dimensions research. Drawing from previous research related to crowding, noise pollution, and other visitor experience concepts, this methodological article describes a novel visual-based social norm method for evaluating distance-related human–wildlife interactions. We discuss the process of constructing the tools, the field testing of the techniques in Yellowstone National Park, and reflect on the methodological approach. From these methods, practitioners can gain information about distance thresholds of visitors in relation to wildlife viewing and potentially help identify deviant groups of visitors. Future research directions include pre-post research designs, controlled experiments, and belief evaluations for improving communications.

Visual Visitors: Facebook Users and National Parks

Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, 2017

Social media is ubiquitous in society today and shows no signs of slowing down. Many organization... more Social media is ubiquitous in society today and shows no signs of slowing down. Many organizations have been trying to benefit from the large number of people using this communication tool. The National Park Service (NPS) is no exception to this. For the NPS, social media is a tool that can be used to engage, interpret, and communicate with people. However, we know next to nothing about the people who “like” national park Facebook pages, who are called “virtual visitors.” This research begins to uncover the characteristics, motivations, and preferences of these virtual visitors. Additionally, comparisons are made between younger “millennial” and nonmillennial virtual visitors to evaluate how social media may be impacting different audiences. A survey conducted on Yellowstone National Park’s Facebook virtual visitors is used as a case study in this research. Results from this research indicate that virtual visitors are very similar to in-park visitors in regard to demographic variables, and the vast majority of them had visited Yellowstone National Park previously. Virtual visitors were motivated to “like” the Facebook page for education and entertainment, social, and affective reasons. Two different types of engagement were also revealed: passive and active, with passive engagement being more frequently participated in. Lastly, virtual visitors preferred communication scenarios where the park was highly engaged and interactive and users could build content. They were less supportive of solely user-driven scenarios, as well as solely park generated content scenarios. Comparisons between millennials and nonmillennials showed that millennials had different motivations, levels of engagement, and preferences for communication scenarios as well. Managers can use the information in this research to help develop more effective social media plans. Suggestions are provided for how to better fulfill the purposes of social media in the NPS by using the data from this research. This includes how to better engage users, as well as potentially reach users who are currently not as engaged. Several suggestions are also provided that focus on future research avenues, including continuing to refine and develop information on virtual visitors, trying to improve outreach via social media to underserved or desirable populations, and merging past research and management techniques with social media efforts. Subscribe to JPRA

Absorptive Capacity as a Guiding Concept for Effective Public Sector Management and Conservation of Freshwater Ecosystems

Environmental Management, 2011

Understanding tourist experiences in national parks can assist park managers in meeting the goal ... more Understanding tourist experiences in national parks can assist park managers in meeting the goal of preserving resources while providing opportunities for enjoyment of them. In an effort to contribute to this understanding, this study focused on the effect of human sound and crowding conditions in a national park setting. Previous studies of sound in national park and wildland settings have focused primarily on sounds of aircraft or other mechanically-produced sounds. For this study, a multi-sensory research approach, based on visual methods for studying crowding, was developed to investigate the acceptability of varying sound and crowding levels in a slot canyon in Zion National Park, Utah. Results indicate that both sound level and the number of people have an effect on setting acceptability, with sounds perhaps having the larger effect of the two. The multi-sensory research approach provided valuable information about the acceptability of social conditions in a specific area. Sim...

utdoor recreation emerged as a scientific field of study in the 1960s, and over the last four dec... more utdoor recreation emerged as a scientific field of study in the 1960s, and over the last four decades, numerous studies of park and wilderness visitors have been conducted. While the objectives, scope, and methods of these studies are highly variable, at least one general finding has been pervasive: outdoor recreation is diverse. This is a recurring theme whether in regard to recreation activities, socioeconomic and cultural characteristics of visitors, attitudes about policy, preferences for services and facilities, sensitivity to crowding and conflict, experience level, and motivations for and benefits received from recreation participation. Diversity in tastes for outdoor recreation is found equally in studies of developed campgrounds and investigations of wilderness hikers. For example, an early study of users of vehicle-access campgrounds concluded that study data “illustrate the characteristic heterogeneity of camping as a recreation activity and the multitude of reasons peopl...

Carena J. van Riper, Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism, University of Illinois at Urban... more Carena J. van Riper, Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 South Fourth Street, Champaign, IL 61820; cvanripe@illinois.edu Ryan Sharp, Department of Horticulture, Forestry and Recreation Resources, Kansas State University, 2021 Throckmorton Plant Sciences Center, Manhattan, KS 66506; ryansharp@ksu. edu Kenneth J. Bagstad, Geosciences & Environmental Change Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, P.O. Box 25046, MS 980, Denver, CO 80225; kjbagstad@usgs.gov Wade M. Vagias, Superintendent, Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, Arco, ID; wade_vagias@nps.gov Jane Kwenye, Department of Society & Conservation, University of Montana, 32 Campus Drive, Missoula MT 59812; jane.kwenye@umconnect.umt.edu Gina Depper, Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management, Clemson University, 128 McGinty Court, 263 Lehotsky Hall, Clemson, SC 29634; gdepper@g.clemson.edu Wayne Freimund, Department of Society & Conservation, Univ...

Forest Science, 2003

A major challenge of forest policy and management is effectively understanding different people&#... more A major challenge of forest policy and management is effectively understanding different people's viewpoints on natural resource use and conservation, and how those viewpoints contribute to conflict and conflict resolution. In response to this challenge, the concept of place is gaining currency in natural resource research. The study of place promises an integrative approach to understanding people's relationships with particular areas. Realiz- ing the potential of place research to inform forest policy and management means conceptu- alizing place as an arena of shared and contested meanings. A politics of place is attentive to different and potentially conflicting meanings, and how senses of place may be connected to larger political struggles. This study examines people's images, values, and interests with respect to the Rocky Mountain Front in Montana. In this case study, discourse about place- names provided a window into the politics of place. Results illustrate the...