Glen Canyon National Recreation Area socioeconomic monitoring pilot implementation: Summer 2016

Resource Systems Group (RSG)

• This report describes the results of a visitor study at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (NRA) conducted from June 18 through June 26, 2016. During the sampling period, 786 visitor groups were contacted to participate in the survey. Of those groups, 660 agreed to participate in the study by accepting a mail-back survey packet. Questionnaires were completed and returned by 296 visitor groups, resulting in a completion rate of 45% among those visitor groups that agreed to participate in the study and an overall response rate of 38% for the study. • This report profiles a systematic sample of Glen Canyon NRA 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). • Thirty-seven percent of visitor groups were groups of two, and 32% of visitor groups were groups of five or more members. Over half of visitor groups (57%) identified as groups of family. • Twelve percent of visitors were 65 years old or older, 15% of visitors were 55 to 64 years old, 27% of visitors were 35 to 54 years old, 26% of visitors were 18 to 34 years old, and 20% of visitors were under 18 years old. • Hispanic or Latino visitors comprised 6% of visitation during the survey period. Most visitors (88%) were white. Fewer visitors were Asian (9%), American Indian or Alaska Native (3%), black or African American (<1%), or Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander (<1%). • Nearly all visitor groups preferred to speak (96%) and read (96%) English when visiting an area such as Glen Canyon NRA. • Individuals from the United States comprised 87% of total visitation during the survey period. At the state level, 23% of visitors were from Arizona, 20% of visitors were from Utah, and smaller proportions of visitors were from 34 other states. International visitors comprised 13% of total visitation with 16% of international visitors from Germany, 16% from Switzerland, 8% from China, and smaller proportions of visitors from 16 other countries. • Seventy percent of visitors indicated having visited the park only once during the last 12 months. Twenty-one percent of visitors had visited another National Park Service (NPS) site once in the past 12 months and 21% of visitors had visited five or more NPS sites within the past 12 months. Twenty percent of visitors had not visited another NPS site within the past 12 months. • Eighty-four percent of visitor groups obtained information about Glen Canyon NRA prior to this trip. The most commonly reported information sources used were previous visits (44%), friends/relatives/word of mouth (27%), and the park website (23%). The vast majority (92%) of visitor groups had the information they needed about Glen Canyon NRA for their trip. • Ninety-two percent of visitor groups used a car, truck, or SUV to get from their home to the park. Forty-eight percent of visitor groups spent up to six hours traveling from their home to the park. Thirty-one percent of visitor groups traveled 251 to 500 miles from their home to get to the park. • Forty-nine percent of visitor groups indicated that visiting Glen Canyon NRA was one of several equally important destinations on their trip away from home. Forty-three percent of visitor groups indicated that visiting Glen Canyon NRA was the primary or sole purpose of their trip. • The most important reasons for visitors to visit Glen Canyon NRA included to spend time with friends/family (37% of visitor groups) and to view wildlife or natural scenery (26% of visitor groups). Twenty-five percent of visitor groups reported that viewing wildlife, natural features, scenery, wildflowers, or other aspects of natural scenery was their primary activity. Twenty-four percent reported that motorized water travel was their primary activity and fifteen percent of visitor groups reported having no primary activity.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area socioeconomic monitoring pilot implementation: Summer 2016

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