Empirical Investigation of the Motivation and Perception of Tourists Visiting the Apuseni Nature Park (Romania) and the Relationship of Tourism and Natural Resources (original) (raw)

As part of an international project, national parks and nature parks established in karst regions are examined, with a primary focus on how local residents, visitors and influential figures (i.e., park managers, mayors) perceive the advantages and disadvantages of a specific park. The study area in this paper is the Apuseni Nature Park (Romania). The main natural resources of this park are: the karst (morphology and hydrology), the forests and the landscape. In order to explore the perception and motivation of tourists visiting the park, a field survey using a convenience sampling strategy was conducted in 2019 and 2021 at eleven sites in the park. The results show that among the motivations, the “search for relaxation” option is the most frequently selected (43%), but “interest in caves” (34%) and “interest in karst terrains” (29%) were also relatively popular. In terms of public support for potential developments, one positive result of the questionnaire is that developments invol...