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Visitor preferences and satisfaction in Attica zoological park, Greece.

ABSTRACT: In an increasingly competitive tourism market, it is essential to assess visitors' demands and levels of satisfaction. Currently, in Greece, there are two public and one private zoo. The Attica zoological park located in Athens has the most extensive collection of animals from all over the world. At the same time, the two public zoos serve a double purpose as zoos and peri-urban parks. A self-administered questionnaire was designed to determine the views and attitudes of the visitors in both public and private zoos of Greece. A total of 707 questionnaires were collected in Attika Park during the weekends of 2017. According to the results, the visitors were mainly middle-aged and highly educated with their motivation for their visits focused on entertainment. They visit the Park mostly in springtime, traveling mainly by car and covering distances of 5-50 km. As regards the quality of infrastructure, facilities, and services available at the zoo, the visitors of Attica Park found access to the area and security provided at the site as very satisfactory. At the same time, they consider that the animal's living conditions, their hygiene, and the existence of shelters for injured animals to be inadequate. The overall satisfaction with the outdoor recreation experience and satisfaction with the existing park facilities and services was higher at the Attica Zoological Park (91.1%) than in the two public zoos of Greece. The results of this work provide lessons that will improve zoo management, animal welfare, and sustain the flow of visitors.

SUBMITTER: Karanikola P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7498856 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Visitor preferences and satisfaction in Attica zoological park, Greece.

Karanikola Paraskevi P Panagopoulos Thomas T Tampakis Stilianos S Tampakis Antonios A

Heliyon 20200914 9

In an increasingly competitive tourism market, it is essential to assess visitors' demands and levels of satisfaction. Currently, in Greece, there are two public and one private zoo. The Attica zoological park located in Athens has the most extensive collection of animals from all over the world. At the same time, the two public zoos serve a double purpose as zoos and peri-urban parks. A self-administered questionnaire was designed to determine the views and attitudes of the visitors in both pub ...[more]

PMID: 32984617

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Project description:IntroductionVisitation to parks and protected areas is a common COVID-19 coping strategy promoted by state and national public health officials and political leadership. Crowding and congestions in parks has been a perennial problem and the ability to socially distance within them is an unproven assumption. Is it possible to socially distance in a busy national park that has been designed to concentrate use?Methodology/principal findingsAn observational study was conducted in July 2020 at the outside foyer of the Visitor Center of Arches National Park. Motion sensor cameras were placed to record one-minute videos when a person entered the field of view. Number of groups, group size, facial coverings and encounters within 6 feet (1.83 meters) of other groups were recorded. Groups were smaller on average than recorded in previous studies. Approximately 61% of the visitors wore masks. Most groups (69%) were able to experience the visitor center with no intergroup encounters. We model the probability of intergroup encounters and find as group size and number of groups increases, the probability of encounters rises. With four groups present, the probability of one or more encounters ranges from 19% to 40% for common group sizes, while if eight groups are present, the probability of one or more encounters increases from 34% to 64% for common group sizes.Conclusions/significanceUnder conditions in which park visitors have the physical space to avoid close encounters with other groups they are taking advantage of the opportunity. Visitors are minimizing group size, wearing masks, and remaining socially distant. However, encounters increase as the number or the size of the groups increases. In other areas of the parks this ability to avoid encounters may not be as possible. We recommend that park managers continue to appeal for compliance with CDC guidelines, especially the wearing of masks and encouraging visitors to split up into small groups when visiting.

Project description:BackgroundThe independent effects of short-term exposure to increased air temperature and air pollution on mortality are well-documented. There is some evidence indicating that elevated concentrations of air pollutants may lead to increased heat-related mortality, but this evidence is not consistent. Most of these effects have been documented through time-series studies using city-wide data, rather than at a finer spatial level. In our study, we examined the possible modification of the heat effects on total and cause-specific mortality by air pollution at municipality level in the Attica region, Greece, during the warm period of the years 2000 to 2016.MethodsA municipality-specific over-dispersed Poisson regression model during the warm season (May-September) was used to investigate the heat effects on mortality and their modification by air pollution. We used the two-day average of the daily mean temperature and daily mean PM10, NO2 and 8 hour-max ozone (O3), derived from models, in each municipality as exposures. A bivariate tensor smoother was applied for temperature and each pollutant alternatively, by municipality. Α random-effects meta-analysis was used to obtain pooled estimates of the heat effects at different pollution levels. Heterogeneity of the between-levels differences of the heat effects was evaluated with a Q-test.ResultsA rise in mean temperature from the 75th to the 99th percentile of the municipality-specific temperature distribution resulted in an increase in total mortality of 12.4% (95% Confidence Interval (CI):7.76-17.24) on low PM10 days, and 21.25% (95% CI: 17.83-24.76) on high PM10 days. The increase on mortality was 10.09% (95% CI: - 5.62- 28.41) on low ozone days, and 14.95% (95% CI: 10.79-19.27) on high ozone days. For cause-specific mortality an increasing trend of the heat effects with increasing PM10 and ozone levels was also observed. An inconsistent pattern was observed for the modification of the heat effects by NO2, with higher heat effects estimated in the lower level of the pollutant.ConclusionsOur results support the evidence of elevated heat effects on mortality at higher levels of PM10 and 8 h max O3. Under climate change, any policy targeted at lowering air pollution levels will yield significant public health benefits.

Dataset Information

Visitor preferences and satisfaction in Attica zoological park, Greece.

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Visitor preferences and satisfaction in Attica zoological park, Greece.

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