Acadia National Park socioeconomic monitoring pilot implementation: Summer 2015

Resource Systems Group (RSG)

This report describes the results of a visitor study at Acadia National Park (NP) during August 7 – 31, 2015. A total of 1,065 questionnaires were distributed to visitor groups. Of those, 734 questionnaires were returned, resulting in an overall 68.9% response rate. This report profiles a systematic sample of Acadia NP visitors. Most of the results are presented in graphs and frequency tables. Summaries of visitor comments are included in the report and complete comments are included in the Visitor Comment Appendix. Forty-seven percent of visitor groups were in groups of two and 33% of groups were in groups of four or more. A majority of visitor groups (68%) were family groups. Thirty-one percent of visitors were ages 35 to 54 years old, 21% were under 18 years old, 18% were 55 to 64 years old, 16% were 65 years old or older, and 14% were 18 to 34 years old. Hispanic or Latino visitors comprised 2% of visitation during the survey period. Most visitors (92%) were White and 3% were Asian. Nearly all visitor groups preferred to speak (98%) and read (98%) English when visiting an area such as Acadia NP. United States visitors comprised 91% of total visitation during the survey period, with 20% of US visitors from New Jersey, 16% of US visitors from Massachusetts, 13% of US visitors from Maine, and smaller proportions from 42 other states. International visitors comprised 9% of total visitation with 34% of international visitors from Canada, 21% of international visitors from Germany, 16% of international visitors from the United Kingdom, and smaller proportions from 9 other countries. Eighty-three percent of visitors indicated having visited the park only once during the last 12 months, while 18% had visited more than once during the past year. Most visitor groups (97%) obtained information about the park prior to their visit. Prior to this visit, visitor groups most often obtained information about the park through the Acadia NP website (55%) and from friends/relatives/word of mouth (52%). Most visitor groups (94%) had the information they needed prior to their visit. Ninety-five percent of visitor groups used a car, truck, or SUV to get from their home to the park, and 20% used an airplane. Sixty-one percent of visitor groups spent up to 8 hours traveling from their home to the park. Forty-eight percent of visitor groups traveled up to 499 miles from their home to get to the park. The most important reasons for visitors to visit Acadia NP included to view wildlife or natural scenery (29% of visitor groups), and to spend time with friends/family (26%). Eighty-two percent of visitor groups stayed overnight in the park or in the nearby area. The majority of the groups (59%) stayed overnight in lodging outside of Acadia NP. One tenth (11%) of visitor groups visited another National Park Service site on their trip away from home. The mostly commonly reported other National Park Service sites visited included Cape Cod National Seashore, Boston National Historical Park and Roosevelt Campobello International Park. Forty-six percent of visitor groups reported that day hiking (≥ 1 hour) was their primary activity; 26% reported that viewing wildlife, natural features, scenery, wildflowers, etc. was their primary activity. One-fifth (20%) of visitor groups reported having no primary activity. The vast majority of visitor groups (93%) indicated that no one in their group had a physical condition that made it difficult to access or participate in activities or services during their visit. Of those visitor groups that did have a group member with a physical condition, the mostly commonly reported physical condition was a mobility-related condition (65%). The majority of visitor groups went to the Visitor Center (71%) and/or read the park brochure (65%). Fifty-six percent of visitor groups reported viewing outdoor exhibits and almost half of visitor groups talked informally with a ranger (47%).

Acadia National Park socioeconomic monitoring pilot implementation: Summer 2015

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