Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
utilise coastal routeways that receive comparatively limited traffic outside of the main
summer season, but also it reduced congestion on other routeways between Auckland and
the Bay of Islands. Geographers have also examined one other contentious element of
movement in coastal environments: the use of recreational footpaths (Huxley 1970).
These are a major routeway resource, a linear recreational resource that often transects a
variety of other leisure resources, from the coastline to the built environment through to
the countryside. Many countries contain dense networks of footpaths, with Patmore
(1971) referring to an estimated 120,000 miles in England and Wales. The issue is
contentious, especially in coastal environments where the coastline is adjacent to
privately owned land, and access is carefully guarded. In England and Wales, the
designation of Heritage Coasts (Romeril 1988) has improved access issues and provided
an opportunity for management agreements to be developed between private landowners
and planners. As Keirle (2002) has shown in relation to Wales, coastal land should be
considered as open countryside so that the public have right of access.
TOURIST AND RECREATIONAL BEHAVIOUR: USE AND
ACTIVITY PATTERNS IN COASTAL ENVIRONMENTS
Among the influential studies by geographers from the 1970s were the development of a
behavioural geography and its application to recreation and tourism, especially in relation
to coastal environments. Mercer (1971a:51) summarised the significance of the
behavioural perspective where 'The values and attributes of any outdoor recreation site,
whether a local neighbourhood park or major wilderness area are perceived somewhat
differently by numerous sub-groups within society'. Mercer (1971a) outlined the
recreationalists' decision-making process (subsequently modified by Pigram 1983) and
the meaning attached to tourism and recreational experiences. Mercer's (1970) analysis
of recreational trips to beaches in Melbourne highlighted the urban resident's vague
notion of the outdoor recreational opportunities open to them. The role of image in
choosing beach environments is an important factor, and may override concerns of
overcrowding and even pollution. Perceived distance and accessibility are also important
factors affecting recreational search behaviour, and may account for why certain coastal
environments attract large crowds and others do not. In England and Wales, the coast is
no more than 120 km away for the most inland population, and, building on the model by
Pearce and Kirk (1986), it is evident that the coast contains a variety of recreational
environments: the shore, beach and the marine environment (Orams 1999). Each resource
is perceived in a variety of ways by different individuals and groups, and the potential for
resource conflict is high unless research can harmonise the needs and wishes of multiple
resource users.
There is also a need to understand fundamental differences in the user's perception of
the developed coastal resort and the nature of the natural environment, such as the beach,
sea and coastline, because as Patmore (1983:209) remarked, 'the coast is the epitome of
the wider problems of recreational use' of resources. The behaviour and activities of
coastal tourists and recreationalists are therefore vital to understanding the nature of the
problems and impacts which occur. The use of coastal environments is very much
temporarily contingent on the availability of leisure time as holidays and free time at
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