Blue Ridge Parkway socioeconomic monitoring pilot implementation: Summer 2015

Resource Systems Group (RSG)

• This report describes the results of a visitor study at Blue Ridge Parkway conducted from October 8 – 17, 2015. During the sampling period, 1,165 visitor groups were contacted to participate in the survey. Of those groups, 902 agreed to participate in the study by accepting a mail-back survey packet. Questionnaires were completed and returned by 599 visitor groups, resulting in a completion rate of 66% among those visitor groups that agreed to participate in the study and an overall response rate of 51% for the study. • This report profiles a systematic random sample of Blue Ridge Parkway visitors. Most of the results are presented in graphs and frequency tables. Summaries of visitor comments are included in the body of the report. Verbatim comments are included in the Visitor Comment Appendix (bound separately). • Sixty-eight percent of visitor groups were groups of two, and 20% of visitor groups were groups of three or more members. A majority of visitor groups (72%) identified as groups of family. • Thirty-six percent 36% of visitor were 65 years old or older, 28% of visitors were 55 to 64 years old, 23% of visitor were 35 to 54 years old, 7% of visitors were 18 to 34 years old, and 6% of visitors were under 18 years old. • Hispanic or Latino visitors comprised less than 1% of visitation during the survey period. Most visitors (97%) were white. Few visitors were Asian (2%), American Indian or Alaska Native (1%), black or African American (<1%), or Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander (<1%). • Nearly all visitor groups preferred to speak (99%) and read (99%) English when visiting an area such as Blue Ridge Parkway. • Individuals from the United States comprised 97% of total visitation during the survey period. At the state level, 34% of visitors were from North Carolina, 17% of visitors were from Virginia, and smaller proportions of visitors were from 42 other states. International visitors comprised 3% of total visitation with 43% of international visitors from Canada, 28% from the United Kingdom, 14% from Germany, and smaller proportions of visitors from 5 other countries. • Fifty-four percent of visitors indicated having visited the park only once during the last 12 months, while 21% had visited more two times during the past year. Thirty-eight percent of visitors indicated that they had not visited another National Park Service (NPS) site within the past 12 months. • Ninety-five percent of visitor groups obtained information about Blue Ridge Parkway prior to this trip. The most commonly reported information sources used were previous visits (69%), maps/brochures (41%), the park website (38%), and friends/relatives/word of mouth (24%). The vast majority (93%) of visitor groups had the information they needed about Blue Ridge Parkway for their trip. • Ninety-five percent of visitor groups used a car, truck, or SUV to get from their home to the park. Sixty-nine percent of visitor groups spent up to 6 hours traveling from their home to the park. Fifty-eight percent of visitor groups traveled up to 250 miles from their home to get to the park. • Fifty-seven percent of visitor groups indicated that visiting Blue Ridge Parkway was the primary or sole purpose of their trip away from home. Thirty-nine percent of visitor groups indicated that visiting Blue Ridge Parkway was one of several equally important destinations. • The most important reasons for visitors to visit Blue Ridge Parkway included to view wildlife or natural scenery (93% of visitor groups), to relax (84% of visitor groups), and to be outdoors (83% of visitor groups). Twenty-seven percent of visitor groups reported that viewing wildlife, natural features, scenery, wildflowers, or other aspects of natural scenery was their primary activity. Eighteen percent reported that driving for pleasure was their primary activity. Sixteen percent of visitor groups reported having no primary activity.

Blue Ridge Parkway socioeconomic monitoring pilot implementation: Summer 2015

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