Reflections and Futures - Tourism and Trails: Cultural, Ecological and Management Issues - page 253

Two broad strands of research on the social impacts of trail use have
been to address the perceptions and experiences of residents as well as the
views and experiences of visitors. What clearly emerges in the former is a
high degree of 'not in my backyard' syndrome, with people not wanting
trails nearby as they are believed to have an impact on privacy, increase
exposure to vandalism and reduce property values. The literature is full of
examples where the reaction of locals to trail development ranged from pas-
sive opposition to violent confrontation (see Kaylen et al. , 1993). As for
research on the views and experiences of visitors, the majority of studies
have focused on overcrowding, the displeasure of excessive levels of noise,
particularly for wilderness trails, and animosity toward users who are seen
to be misbehaving. Conversely, some research addresses the social benefits
of trails and routes. This focuses predominantly on quality of life (QOL)
enhancement, physical fitness and building community pride in local natu-
ral and cultural heritage (Iles & Wiele, 1993). The final category of impact
is economic in nature and focuses on how trails induce visitor spending and
financial impacts (Lumsdon et al. , 2004). Previous research has focused
either on user expenditures to demonstrate the size of monies involved, or,
to a lesser extent, the indirect economic effects of trails as part of a regional
tourism economy.
Planning and development
The discussion on planning and developing linear recreation spaces
revealed a number of interesting considerations. First, the development of
large-scale trails is exclusively reliant on supranational or national govern-
ment policies and legislative actions wherein priorities are sent for creating
linear resources. The development of many route systems has been reliant
on the vision and foresight of past administrations that recognized the
importance of setting aside and creating these spaces for people to enjoy.
At the local government level, small-scale trails and routes are increasingly
seen as suitable means of fulfilling social, cultural, economic and environ-
mental goals.
Second, with respect to trail planning, there are several excellent models
that can be used as exemplars for future trail planning and development
(Hugo, 1999; McNamara & Prideaux, 2011). These are a step beyond tradi-
tional procedural planning, as they highlight a range of aspects that are
addressed in this topic, namely funding, the importance of volunteers, the
need to acquire land-use rights, ensuring that there exists participatory
development between the trail designers and the wider community, and
ensuring that cooperation and collaboration are maintained throughout the
planning and development phases. These are not new issues as many of
them relate very closely to other forms of tourism development, in particular
heritage and cultural tourism, especially the role volunteers will play in