The Recreational Trail of the El Caminito del Rey Natural Tourist Attraction, Spain: Determination of Hikers' Flow.

Publisher: MDPI Country of Publication: Switzerland NLM ID: 101238455 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1660-4601 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 16604601 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Int J Environ Res Public Health Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: Basel : MDPI, c2004-

Recreation* ; Travel*; Conservation of Natural Resources ; Diagnostic Tests, Routine ; Physical Phenomena ; Spain

Hiking is a very popular outdoor activity, and has led to an exponential increase in the number of visitors to natural spaces. The objective of this study was to analyze the circulation pattern of visitors to the Caminito del Rey trail, based on the three zones into which the trail can be divided. The sample consisted of 1582 hikers distributed into three different profiles. Of these, 126 utilized an eye-tracking device during the hike, while, for the rest (1456), only their travel speed along the trail was recorded. The use of eye tracking devices identified a greater number of interesting landscapes located in zones 1 and 3 of the trail, and it was observed that the mean travel speed was greater for zone 2 (42.31 m/min) ( p < 0.01). Additionally, when the three different visitor profiles were analyzed, significant differences were found between the mean travel speeds according to sectors ( p < 0.05). This information is crucial for more efficient management of the trail, as it allows for the development of measures to control and regulate the flow of visitors according to zone, and the design of additional strategies to increase the awareness of the hiker about specific areas of the hike.

J Environ Manage. 2016 Apr 1;170:79-87. (PMID: 26803258)
PLoS One. 2017 May 24;12(5):e0177712. (PMID: 28542280)
JAMA. 2013 Nov 27;310(20):2191-4. (PMID: 24141714)
Atten Percept Psychophys. 2010 Nov;72(8):2204-14. (PMID: 21097863)
Behav Res Methods. 2015 Dec;47(4):977-993. (PMID: 25490980)
Physiol Behav. 2019 Mar 1;200:83-95. (PMID: 29522796)
J Environ Manage. 2009 Mar;90(3):1427-34. (PMID: 18930578)
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Jan 21;16(2):. (PMID: 30669640)
Front Psychol. 2017 Oct 17;8:1845. (PMID: 29089918)
J Environ Manage. 2010 Jan-Feb;91(3):551-62. (PMID: 19864052)
Environ Monit Assess. 2005 Sep;108(1-3):279-93. (PMID: 16160792)
Environ Monit Assess. 2016 Jan;188(1):52. (PMID: 26694709)
AIMS Public Health. 2016 Jan 12;3(1):13-24. (PMID: 29546142)

Keywords: eye tracking; hikers’ flow; hiking management; outdoor recreation; recreational trails; spatiotemporal analysis

Date Created: 20210306 Date Completed: 20210423 Latest Revision: 20210423

20221213

PMC7917633

10.3390/ijerph18041809

33673288