1-2 November 2004 Who visits British forests and what do they do? Sheila Ward Forestry Commission Economics & Statistics United Kingdom.

1-2 November 2004

Who visits British forests and what do they do?

Sheila Ward

Forestry Commission Economics & Statistics

United Kingdom

1-2 November 2004

2

Introduction

• Background to forestry recreation statistics in Britain

• Survey methodologies:• Local on-site surveys

• Automatic counters

• All forests surveys

• Quality of experience

• Household surveys

• Future developments

1-2 November 2004

3

Background

• Forestry Commission programme of on-site monitoring started in 1995

• On-site survey methods: • local on-site surveys • automatic counters• all forests methodology piloted in 2002, run from 2004• quality of experience piloted in 2002, run from 2003

• Household surveys: Day Visits Survey, Public Opinion of Forestry

1-2 November 2004

4

Local on-site surveys: methodology

• Programme started 1995 - by 2001, 24 surveys covering over 3,000 interviews

• Local surveys - focus on main sites• Interviewer administered questionnaires• Visitors interviewed as they leave• Topics covered include:

• Group composition• Whether travelled from home, transport, distance travelled• Frequency of visits• Main purpose of visit• Ratings of facilities

1-2 November 2004

5

Local on-site surveys: results

• For 2001, results from surveys at 12 districts included:

• One quarter of visitors were senior citizens (aged 60+) and one fifth were children.

• 46% lived locally (within 15 miles/ 24 km) of the site and 33% were holidaymakers.

• Over two thirds had visited the site before.

• 40% were there for a walk and 20% for fresh air and exercise.

1-2 November 2004

6

Automatic counters

• Around 100 vehicle and/ or people counters installed on-site (mainly busier sites)

• Some problems with data reliability

• Calibration exercises carried out to estimate average number of people per vehicle

• Reports produced giving trends in visitor numbers

1-2 November 2004

7

All forests: methodology

• Piloted at 2 areas in 2002; running in Wales in 2004 and Scotland in 2004-06

• Representative sample of recreational forest blocks (usage, population)

• Interviewer administered questionnaires + counting of visitors at all access points

• Visitors interviewed as they leave

• Many blocks have very low usage, so few interviews per day

• Model to estimate total visitors

1-2 November 2004

8

All forests: methodology

• Topics covered include:

• Group composition

• Whether travelled from home, transport, distance travelled

• Frequency of visits

• Main purpose of visit

• Expenditure

1-2 November 2004

9

All forests: results

Wales(Jan – July)

Scotland(June – Aug)

Total interviews achieved 539 143

Average interviews per hour 0.7 0.3

% male 65 62

% day trip 81 71

% visited before 81 73

% walking 73 71

% saying forest very importantor only reason for visiting

61 60

1-2 November 2004

10

Quality of experience: methodology

• Piloted in 2002; running in England from 2003

• 3 sites selected each year

• Interviewer administered & self completion questionnaires

• Visitors interviewed as they leave

• Focus groups to follow up on specific user groups, e.g. mountain bikers

1-2 November 2004

11

Quality of experience: methodology

• Topics covered include:

• Group composition

• Whether travelled from home, transport, distance travelled

• Frequency of visits

• Main purpose of visits

• Rating of facilities

• Importance of facilities

• Impact of other visitors

• Disturbances to visit

1-2 November 2004

12

Quality of experience: results

Grizedale, NW England, 2003:

Importance v satisfaction

‘go ape’ course

Being able to enjoy scenery/ views

Play equipment

Leaflets & information

1-2 November 2004

13

Future developments

• Alternative methodology for quality of experience at quiet sites being used in 2004 - interviews of households in local community rather than on-site interviews.

• Review of & improvement to all forests methodology

• Improved automatic counters at key sites