Is National Park Affinity Related to Visitors’ Satisfaction with Park Service and Recreation Quality? A Case Study from a Thai Forest National Park

Abstract

The provision of high-quality national park tourism services depends on an understanding of the role of the national park brand in visitors’ decision-making on visiting parks. The consideration of forest recreation and park brand awareness not only helps to increase the quality of visitors’ experiences but also assists in the management of natural park resources. This study explored whether national park affinity can explain differences in visitor satisfaction with the national park trip, tourism services and facilities, visitor loyalty, and perceptions of recreation quality as well as visitor expenditures. This study classified 400 on-site visitors to the Khao Yai National Park into three national park affinity segments. The results indicated that about two-fifths of respondents had a low national park affinity with less satisfaction with the national park tourism facilities and services and visitor management. This segment reported lower visitor loyalty and that visitors felt more crowded, while no differences in expenditures for the trip were found between the affinity segments.

Keywords

• national park affinity
• crowding
• national park tourism
• Khao Yai National Park
• park brand
• visitor loyalty