Social Media Communications for Behavior Management in Ontario’s Parks and Protected Areas: A Qualitative Analysis of Manager and Visitor Experiences

Abstract

Communications in their various formats have long been utilized by park agencies to share safety, regulatory, and interpretive information with park visitors. While the study of these communications is an underserved field of research in itself, less attention has been paid specifically to the utility of social media communications in the context of addressing visitor behaviour issues. This study addresses this research gap by exploring the experiences of both park visitors and park managers with respect to the effectiveness of social media communications for park visitor behaviour management. To do so, this study applied interpretive description methodology to support semi-structured interviews with park visitors (9) and individuals who work for park agencies in Ontario in park management roles (8). As management implications, interviews with participants revealed that the utility of social media communications for visitor behaviour management varies widely depending on the sophistication of the park agency’s social media approach. Park visitors often expressed a desire for more authentic and discussion-oriented communications, while park managers frequently expressed a need to improve and increase the resources dedicated to social media communications to meet park visitor expectations. Most park visitors and park managers interviewed reported social media can be an effective visitor management tool but that limits to its efficacy exist. Participants, while believing social media to be effective, expressed the belief that many of the individuals responsible for depreciative visitor behavior, are unlikely to be engaged with parks and protected area social media channels.