Applying social science methods to visitor research in Terra Nova National Park

Abstract

Canada's national parks are mandated to protect both the natural and cultural significance of the unique places they represent. Each national park is required to evaluate the outcomes of their external communications strategies. Social science research methods were applied to the evaluation of park communications to key audiences in Terra Nova National Park (TNNP), Newfoundland. Data collected through a questionnaire were used to measure the effectiveness of the parks communications to its two critical audiences: visitors and community residents. Data were analyzed relating to the understanding of the three main interpretative themes of the park: Canada's national park system, local issues in TNNP and ecological issues in TNNP. Research results indicate that visitors are more likely to avail of the parks educational programming than community residents and that community resident believe the experiences offered in national parks can be found elsewhere. Visitors demonstrated significantly more positive attitudes towards national parks and TNNP, although both audiences demonstrated a generally positive attitude. Visitors also demonstrated consistently higher levels of knowledge than community residents although knowledge of ecological issues was weak among both groups. The values exhibited do suggest that national parks are perceived to be of great benefit to both key audiences.