Recreation Business Commons^™

Activity Trends Pre/Post Covid-19 In State Park Campgrounds, Patty Janes, Sango Otieno, A. Scott Rood

Proceedings of the Recreation Experience Community Network Research Symposium

Outdoor related activities surged both during and following COVID 19. Numerous studies support the increase of many outdoor related activities from swimming to bird watching, and biking to geocaching. Understanding the interests and habits of visitors helps organizations. The purpose of this study was to analyze the Michigan Department of Natural Resources campground visitor activity participation from before and after COVID. Nearly 40,000 campers each year were compared from 75 campground locations throughout the state of Michigan. Findings indicate the growth of many of their outdoor oriented activities from 2019 to 2024 including beach / swimming, hiking, rock hunting, and …

Sun, Fun, And Structure: What Resort Activity Schedules Reveal, Phileshia Dombroski, Ph.D., Kayla D. Mohney, Ed.D., Rebecca L. Moriarty, Ava Beal, Libby Scanlon, Emily Bailey, Cyan N. Kvacky

Proceedings of the Recreation Experience Community Network Research Symposium

Daily activity schedules are central to the guest experience in resort environments, guiding participation, communicating brand identity, and structuring leisure time. This mixed-method content analysis explored how resorts across the United States design and present these schedules, emphasizing accessibility and program diversity. Eighteen publicly available resort activity schedules were evaluated using accessibility tools (PAC 3, Adobe Acrobat, WCAG 2.2) and coded for 4,166 individual activities across eight categories. Findings revealed moderate adherence to accessibility standards. Most schedules met minimum font size and color contrast guidelines, but only 25% were compatible with screen readers and 80% lacked alternative text or structural …

Perceived Value Of Sport And Recreation In Aruba: Resident Perceptions Of Health, Lifestyle, And Physical Activity, Stephen L. Shapiro, Andy Gillentine, Jo-Anne Croes, John Wardlaw

Proceedings of the Recreation Experience Community Network Research Symposium

Sport and recreation play an important role in shaping community well-being, particularly in small island nations where health and tourism are integrated. This study examines how Aruban residents perceive the value of sport and recreation and how these perceptions vary based on the type of activity and children’s participation in these activities. A mixed-methods design was used across two phases. Phase I employed focus groups with residents, educators, and government stakeholders to explore themes of health, community impact, and education. Findings emphasized concerns over inactivity and identified sport and recreation as essential to promoting healthy lifestyles, sense of community, and …

Drivers Of Policy Support And Political Consumerism Behavior Among Water Recreationists, Mina Kim

Proceedings of the Recreation Experience Community Network Research Symposium

Individuals who engage in water-based recreation share a distinct bond with water quality due to their direct contact with aquatic environments during leisure activities. Increasing concerns about water quality have led to a rise in research exploring how environmental conditions and perceived risks shape environmental attitudes and conservation actions. However, it remains uncertain whether water recreationists extend their conservation efforts beyond those directly tied to their activities. To explore this issue, the present study investigates whether water-based recreationists in South Carolina support more stringent water management policies and engage in political consumerism behaviors, such as boycotting and buycotting. Data were …

From The Field To The Future: How Experiential Learning Supports Student Success, Joshua Carroll, Ph.D.

Proceedings of the Recreation Experience Community Network Research Symposium

Field Experiences are often considered extracurricular, and not always a part of traditional college programs. However, these experiences can provide unique opportunities for learning, increase student confidence, broaden student perspectives of their chosen profession, and connect students with their environments, professors, and classmates. Because these programs often require a deep commitment from faculty, administrators, and the students, it is sometimes difficult to justify the resources required to successfully implement these courses. This project sought to identify several of the impacts that a field course may have on students, and to summarize these findings into sharable data for potential college and …

How Did The Pandemic Change The Role Of Recreational Waters In Bringing Visitors? Analysis Of South Carolina Mobility Big Data, Seonjin Lee, Lori Pennington-Gray, Ph.D.

Proceedings of the Recreation Experience Community Network Research Symposium

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on nature-based recreational activities. Outdoor recreation became popular as an alternative to international travel with less risk of contagion. However, the question remains whether there was an enduring change in the role of natural resources in driving visitors. This study investigates the relevance of recreational waters, particularly lakes and beaches, to changes in patterns of domestic visitors to South Carolina between 2019 and 2023. All counties showed growth in recreational visitors, as well as diversification of visitors. However, the magnitude of the increase showed a significant difference based on geographical factors. Eight coastal …

Understanding The Factors Influencing Tourist Adoption Of Peer-To-Peer Accommodation Services: Attitudes, Intentions, And Behavioral Insights, Maya Talwadker, M.S. Dayanand Dr., Edgar Dsouza Dr.

Journal of Tourism Insights

This study investigates the factors influencing the adoption of peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation services among Indian tourists, integrating Behavioral Reasoning Theory (BRT), Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Data were collected from 526 tourists using self-administered online and paper-based surveys. The findings reveal that modern lifestyles significantly enhance perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, which positively influence behavioral intentions toward P2P accommodations. Psychological ownership emerged as a critical factor, indicating that emotional attachment to the accommodation enhances user engagement and satisfaction. Interestingly, privacy concerns did not significantly impact behavioral intentions or perceived usefulness but did influence …

A Longitudinal Analysis Of Music Tourism Impacts, Kate Price-Howard, John C. Crossley, Andrew Holdnak Dr.

Journal of Tourism Insights

Music tourism has boomed in recent decades and has been part of the rise in cultural tourism. In recent years, several communities have implemented a concert series to help promote tourism during the shoulder season, or slower months during the off-season. In this study, a longitudinal examination of several concerts of various sizes and genres spanning about three years looks at the economic impacts for the tourist destination of Panama City Beach, FL. This paper will conduct an analysis comparing the tourism development tax, hotel/motel data provided by the industry leading data resource, Smith Travel Research (STR), in order to …

Driving Rvpark/Campground Selection: A Grounded Theory Approach, Aj Templeton, Jill Fjelstul, Kimberly Severt, Yeon Ho Shin

Journal of Tourism Insights

The ability to “provide almost unrestricted land travel” (Prideaux & Carson, 2003, p. 307) has made drive tourism popular for tourists. A considerable sub-sector of the drive tourism industry is that of the multi-billion-dollar recreational vehicle industry (RV). Minimal academic research has been conducted on this important sub-sector of the drive tourism industry. This study builds upon previous research towards a further understanding of the RV consumer. A grounded theory approach was used to drive the direction of the research for this study. Given the scope of the data and studies that have been done regarding RV industry, this study …

Las Vegas Versus Macao As Diversified Travel Destinations, Carlos Siu Lam, John Crossley

Journal of Tourism Insights

Events and festivals can help attract people to a destination, and this study was to examine how events and festivals can build and diversify tourism. With their programs of pleasurable activities and entertainment, events and festivals have a historical trajectory of delivering development outcomes such as economic restructuring and tourism revenue generation. In addition, events and festivals can provide an opportunity for a leisure, social, or cultural experience that is outside the normal range of visitors’ choices. Furthermore, events and festivals can raise market awareness and boost the local economy.

Based on secondary data from books, research papers, and websites, …

Dominican Resort Tourism, Sustainability, And Millennium Development Goals, Vinod Sasidharan, Marilyn E. Hall

Journal of Tourism Insights

The tourism industry continues to be touted as the main income and employment generator for Caribbean nations. In the Dominican Republic (DR), international tourism has become one of the largest industries and is a major contributor to the country’s economic growth. A recent trend in the DR is the development of luxurious residential resort complexes and private resort cities, mainly designed and created for foreign ownership. The Dominican government support for such projects has been very strong due to the economic propensity of these high-end resorts to assist the country in generating local opportunities for stable employment, creating basic infrastructure, …