National park affinity segments of overnight tourists differ in satisfaction with, attitudes towards, and specialization in, national parks: Results from the Bavarian Forest National Park

The study explored whether national-park affinity segments of tourists differ regarding their level of specialization in, attitudes towards, and satisfaction with, national parks between 2013 and 2014. The research categorized 429 overnight tourists to the Bavarian Forest National Park, Germany, into three affinity segments based on the role the national park played in their travel decision. More than the half of the respondents had a high or rather high national-park affinity. Differences in specialization, attitudes and satisfaction between the segments were found. However, differences were only observed between the more national park-interested segments compared to visitors who are not aware of visiting a national park or whose decision to visit the area was not influenced by the national park label, except for satisfaction. Tourists with higher national-park affinity had more positive attitudes towards, and were more specialized in, national parks and were more satisfied with nature conservation management. For satisfaction, most differences were observed between the segment with the lowest and the one with the highest affinity. Study findings may support sustainable park management and park affinity research.