The use of pricing mechanism for tourism directing and financing the management of specially protected areas in the Czech Republic
The project aims at detailed socio-economic analysis of visitors´ recreation behaviour in selected specially protected areas and its motives, visitor monitoring and their geographical dispersion within the recreation sites.
Donor: Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TAČR Omega)
Duration: January 2014 - December 2015
Project coordinator: Ing. Jan Melichar, Ph. D.
Description of the project
The project aims at detailed socio-economic analysis of visitors´ recreation behaviour in selected specially protected areas and its motives, visitor monitoring and their geographical dispersion within the recreation sites. The results of the project will enable to examine the possibilities of visitor load and dispersion prediction techniques. The project will also facilitate development of optimalization techniques that may be utilised for directing visitor loads in particular localities and/or for analysis of options of financing the management of specially protected areas.
Particularly, the project focuses on the means of managing the flow and dispersion of visitors in selected protected areas. The research focuses on summer and off-season recreation and takes place in two pilot localities:
1) National park and Protected landscape area Šumava
2) Protected landscape area Český ráj
Objective of the project:
1) An overview survey of visitor monitoring mechanisms, models of its prediction and forms of tourism charging in Czech and foreign protected areas
2) Selection of adequate instruments of visitor monitoring and assessment of scenarios related to changes in tourism charging regime in the pilot localities
3) Field survey in pilot localities - data collection concerning:
a) the number and geographical dispersion of visitors in the pilot localities (combination of personal and automatic monitoring in selected monitoring points; validated with external data on recreational fees paid and other data,
b) questionnaire survey in the pilot localities focused on characteristics of the present visit, socio-economic characteristics of the visitors, contingent behaviour in case of different scenarios and forms of tourism charge within the recreational area,
c) cost associated with tourism in the recreational areas (maintenance of tourist trails etc.),
d) environmental characteristics of the pilot areas (spatial analysis).
4) Data analysis:
a) modelling of recreation behaviour of visitors in specially protected areas (as a direct follow-up to a national CUEC project Forests (2005-2007, NPV I MoA) )
b) reaction to contingent scenarios of tourism charging (direct/indirect forms of charge) and presented use of the revenue from charges,
c) optimalisation of tourism charging in terms of its level, with regard to society surplus associated with the visitation to selected pilot area.
Results of the project:
1. Specialised maps of intensity and dispersion of visitors in the pilot localities
2. Guidelines for direct and indirect monitoring of the flow and dispersion of visitors in specially protected areas (based on techniques tested and applied in the pilot localities)
3. Optimalisation model designed for maximalisation of society surplus from visitation to specially protected areas and estimation of revenue from charges (in the form of software)
The results of the project will be provided to state administration executives, organisations focusing on methodic activities and realisation of measures within nature and landscape protection in specially protected areas, and also to territorially and competentionally appropriate administrative authorities. Intermediate results of the project will be presented on project workshops and seminars.
Contact persons:
Project coordinator:
Data collection in NP and PLA Šumava:
Data collection in PLA Český ráj:
