The Efficacy of Visitor Management Tools in Encouraging Ethical Practices: Evidence from iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa
摘要
This chapter aims to assess the efficacy of visitor management tools in encouraging ethical practice at iSimangaliso Wetland Park (IWP). This study is divided into two parts. The first part consists of a literature review. The literature review identifies and adopts five visitor management tools: infrastructure designs and eco-labels, education and awareness programs, codes of conduct, economic instruments and regulatory systems, and social norms. In the second part, a survey of 323 respondents at IWP has been used to test the efficacy of the visitor management tools. Data obtained is then analysed using descriptive (frequency) and inferential statistics (ANOVA). The study results revealed variations in the efficacy of visitor management tools in encouraging visitors to engage in ethical practice at IWP. Infrastructure designs, eco-labels, and education and awareness programs emerged as the most effective tools for promoting ethical practice at IWP from a visitor’s point of view. This research will help visitor management in the future. By understanding visitor management tools’ efficacy, IWP authorities can select and fund the most effective tools for encouraging visitors to engage in ethical practice. This study is the first to assess the efficacy of infrastructure designs and eco-labels, education and awareness programs, codes of conduct, economic instruments and regulatory systems, and social norms at IWP from the visitors’ point; hence, it contributes to visitor management literature.