Number of Groups and Crowding
Crowding standards are influenced by visitor expectations
and characteristics, in addition to the behavior of those
encountered and the characteristics of the area (Manning
1985). In general, gender does not influence the preference
for number of groups and perception of crowding. However, the PCA results showed that gender is negatively
associated with encountering groups. Women visitors’
preference for number of groups was found to be lower
than that of men. Chang (1993), in a study of crowding in
Yangmingshan National Park in Taiwan, also found no
significant relationship between gender and perception of
crowding.
Age was found to be the most influential factor for the
preference for number of groups and, consequently, for
perception of crowding. At least 25.0% of all age categories preferred to encounter no other groups in the park,
whereas at least 75.0% of all categories found the park not
to be crowded. Almost one-fifth of the respondents older than 65 reported that the number of groups at one time was
not an important issue for their visit.
One of the most interesting results of this study was the
difference between Turkish and European visitors’ preference for number of groups and perception of crowding.
There was a considerable number of total respondents who
preferred there to be no other visitors in the park, whereas a
significant majority of Turkish visitors (97.6%) did not
mind at least 1 or 2 groups to be present during their visit.
Although this study is not concerned with the reasons for
this finding, it can still be generalized that major differences existed in the socio-cultural structure of Turkish and
European visitors that affects the perception of crowding,
and this was confirmed by our results.
Leujak and Ormond (2007) found that Egyptians were
not sensitive to crowding on the beaches of South Sinai; in
fact, most Egyptians preferred crowded beaches. On the
other hand, crowding of beaches may not be comparable to
archaeological sites, and Europeans also appear to tolerate
crowded beaches. However, Vaske and others (1996) found
few differences among visitors from five countries of origin, namely Canada, United States, Japan, Germany, and
England, for perceived crowding levels at the Columbia
Icefield in Jasper National Park, Alberta. Kim and Shelby
(2008) also found that demographics and past visitation did
not show strong relationships with a variety of standards,
including crowding. However, Fleishman and others
(2004) found that crowding perceptions appear to be
directly influenced by the cultural and socio-demographic
diversity of visitors and that younger, better educated visitors of European or American descent are less tolerant of
crowding than those who are older and/or of Asian or
African descent.
Respondents’ educational level was also related with the
preference for number of groups, and, in general, the more
years of education, the stronger preference for fewer
groups. The relationship between perceived level of
crowding and education level is only significant when the
park is not crowded. Contrary to expectations, visitors of
higher educational level agreed more strongly about the
park’s low level of congestion than those of lower educational level. Chang (1993) also found no relationship
between perception of crowding and educational level.
Respondents’ perception of crowding was influenced by
income: Visitors of higher income were more agreed about
the park’s low level of congestion than those of lower
income categories.
At least 60.0% of the visitors were not concerned about
levels of crowding in the park. In addition, almost one-fifth
of visitors did not want to share their experience with any
other groups; they would prefer solitude in the park. This,
and the perception of the park as not being crowded,
appeared contradictory. Turkish visitors did not mind the presence of other visiting groups. Perhaps this is because
they have not travelled and experienced such places as
much as Europeans, where different conditions are found.
Another possible reason could be the dissimilarity of
crowding tolerances, which is influenced by socio-cultural
characteristics. Turkish visitors could be more used to
crowded conditions as a result of living in dense cities, for
example.