The Model of Satisfaction in Outdoor Recreation

The study aims to identify factors determining the satisfaction of outdoor recreation participants and employ them for developing the model of satisfaction in outdoor recreation. In the introduction, the notions of outdoor recreation and satisfaction were specified. As a result of a research of literature on the subject, the following factors were specified: hierarchies of demand, recreation opportunity spectrum, crowding, quality, stress, personal perception of adventure and emotional states. It was assumed that the general model of satisfaction in outdoor recreation should take into account as many variables as possible. There were divided into two groups: situational (resource / environment conditions, social settings and management settings) and subjective evaluation (socioeconomic characteristics, attitudes and preferences, cultural characteristics, subjective norms, experience, crowding and risk perception). It was found that due to its multi-dimensional nature, the notion of satisfaction may be a somewhat insensitive indicator of the influence of the variables which can be modified by outdoor recreation managers. The large number of variables determining the satisfaction of outdoor recreation participants and the relative nature of overall satisfaction suggests that it may remain high even when the type or quality of recreation opportunities changes. The author suggests that measures of satisfaction should refer to the satisfaction with individual service components, specific experiences or benefits rather than to the general satisfaction with a given form of outdoor recreation. Multiple-item measures of satisfaction may be more useful than general, singleitem measures.

Marek Nowacki