Following Stynes (2008), annual recreation visits are split into
‘type of stay’ segments based on segment shares reported in
Table 3. These visits are adjusted for re-entry into the park by
dividing recreation visits by the associated re-entry rate for each
segment to put them on a person trip basis. Person trips for each
segment are then divided by the associated average group size to
arrive at party trips. The results can be found in Table 4.
For each ‘type of stay’ segment, average visitor expenditures per
party per trip are calculated. Not all visitor spending should be
attributed to Park visitation if visiting the Park was not the primary
purpose of their trip. Thus, visitors were asked to report whether
their visit to Yellowstone National Parkwas: a) the primary purpose
of their trip; b) one of many equally important reasons or destinations
for their trip; or c) just an incidental or spur of the moment
stop on a trip taken for other purposes or to other destinations. For
those visitors in the first category, all of their spending was counted;
for those in the second category, half of their spending was
counted; for those in the third category, one quarter of their
spending was counted. After making these necessary adjustments
to spending, average visitor expenditures per party per trip are
calculated. Total visitor spending, which provides the basis for the
economic impact analysis, is calculated by multiplying average
visitor spending per party per trip for each segment by the estimated
number of party trips by segment.
Results of the contingent visitation survey question show that
12% of survey respondents believe that their decision to visit