PapersFlow Research Brief
Recreation, Leisure, Wilderness Management
Research Guide
What is Recreation, Leisure, Wilderness Management?
Recreation, Leisure, Wilderness Management is the study of relationships between leisure activities, recreation, tourism, and subjective well-being, including constraints, involvement, health benefits, and community impacts in wilderness and tourism settings.
This field encompasses 34,480 works examining leisure constraints, involvement, and health benefits alongside tourism impacts and experiences of individuals with disabilities in recreation. Key areas include psychological mechanisms linking recreation to quality of life and well-being. Research addresses resident perceptions of tourism and models of leisure choice and constraints.
Topic Hierarchy
Research Sub-Topics
Leisure Constraints Theory
This sub-topic develops hierarchical models of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural barriers to leisure participation. Researchers test negotiation strategies and their effects on activity involvement.
Leisure Involvement and Commitment
This sub-topic examines psychological attachment to leisure activities and its predictors like satisfaction and self-expression. Researchers explore outcomes on persistence and well-being.
Recreation and Subjective Well-Being
This sub-topic analyzes how leisure activities contribute to life satisfaction, happiness, and mental health restoration. Researchers use longitudinal data to link participation patterns to well-being trajectories.
Community Tourism Impacts
This sub-topic assesses residents' perceptions of economic, social, and environmental effects from tourism development. Researchers model support levels and conflict resolution strategies.
Leisure for People with Disabilities
This sub-topic investigates constraints, adaptations, and benefits of recreational access for disabled individuals. Researchers evaluate inclusive programming and policy interventions.
Why It Matters
Studies in this field inform tourism planning and wilderness management by identifying resident perceptions of community tourism impacts, as shown in Andereck et al. (2005) where residents reported mixed economic and social effects from tourism in their communities. Applications extend to event tourism, defined and evolved in Getz (2007) with over 2106 citations, guiding festival and event strategies that boost local economies. Leisure constraint models from Crawford, Jackson, and Godbey (1991) help managers address intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural barriers, enabling inclusive recreation programs; for instance, their hierarchical model integrates these constraints to predict participation rates in wilderness activities.
Reading Guide
Where to Start
"A hierarchical model of leisure constraints" by Crawford, Jackson, and Godbey (1991) is the starting point for beginners, as it provides a foundational, integrated framework for understanding barriers to recreation and leisure participation.
Key Papers Explained
Arnould and Price (1993) in "River Magic: Extraordinary Experience and the Extended Service Encounter" illustrate hedonic experiences in wilderness rafting, setting the stage for motivational studies like Dann (1977) "Anomie, ego-enhancement and tourism" and Dann (1981) "Tourist motivation an appraisal," which unpack tourist psychology. These connect to predictive models in Ajzen and Driver (1992) "Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior to Leisure Choice," which operationalizes intentions, while Crawford et al. (1991) "A hierarchical model of leisure constraints" layers on barriers; community-level insights from Ap (1992) "Residents' perceptions on tourism impacts" and Andereck et al. (2005) "Residents’ perceptions of community tourism impacts" build toward planning frameworks in Jamal and Getz (1995) "Collaboration theory and community tourism planning."
Paper Timeline
Most-cited paper highlighted in red. Papers ordered chronologically.
Advanced Directions
Current work builds on resident impact models from Ap (1992) and Andereck et al. (2005) to address growing tourism pressures in wilderness areas, integrating constraint hierarchies from Crawford et al. (1991) with planned behavior predictions from Ajzen and Driver (1992). No recent preprints available, so frontiers emphasize empirical extensions of event tourism evolution in Getz (2007).
Papers at a Glance
| # | Paper | Year | Venue | Citations | Open Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | River Magic: Extraordinary Experience and the Extended Service... | 1993 | Journal of Consumer Re... | 2.5K | ✕ |
| 2 | The Tourist: A New Theory of the Leisure Class. | 1977 | Social Forces | 2.2K | ✕ |
| 3 | Event tourism: Definition, evolution, and research | 2007 | Tourism Management | 2.1K | ✕ |
| 4 | Anomie, ego-enhancement and tourism | 1977 | Annals of Tourism Rese... | 1.9K | ✕ |
| 5 | Residents’ perceptions of community tourism impacts | 2005 | Annals of Tourism Rese... | 1.6K | ✕ |
| 6 | Residents' perceptions on tourism impacts | 1992 | Annals of Tourism Rese... | 1.6K | ✕ |
| 7 | Collaboration theory and community tourism planning | 1995 | Annals of Tourism Rese... | 1.6K | ✓ |
| 8 | Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior to Leisure Choice | 1992 | Journal of Leisure Res... | 1.4K | ✕ |
| 9 | Tourist motivation an appraisal | 1981 | Annals of Tourism Rese... | 1.4K | ✕ |
| 10 | A hierarchical model of leisure constraints | 1991 | Leisure Sciences | 1.4K | ✕ |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is event tourism?
Event tourism involves travel motivated by specific events such as festivals or sports gatherings. Getz (2007) defines it as a sector with evolving research on planning and impacts. The paper outlines its definition, historical development, and key research directions.
How do leisure constraints operate?
Leisure constraints form a hierarchy starting with intrapersonal factors, followed by interpersonal, and culminating in structural barriers. Crawford, Jackson, and Godbey (1991) propose this integrated model building on prior discrete categorizations. It explains how constraints sequentially influence leisure participation.
What predicts leisure choices?
The theory of planned behavior predicts leisure intentions and behavior through attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control. Ajzen and Driver (1992) applied it to activities like spending time outdoors, showing strong correlations with college student participation. Involvement and moods also factor into these predictions.
How do residents perceive tourism impacts?
Residents often view tourism impacts through economic benefits weighed against social and environmental costs. Ap (1992) measured these perceptions, finding support levels vary by personal benefits received. Andereck et al. (2005) confirmed similar patterns in community settings.
What motivates tourists?
Tourist motivations include push factors like anomie and ego-enhancement alongside pull factors of destinations. Dann (1977) links anomie to escapism in tourism, while Dann (1981) appraises broader motivational theories. These frameworks guide tourism marketing and planning.
What role does collaboration play in tourism planning?
Collaboration theory supports community tourism planning by integrating stakeholder inputs. Jamal and Getz (1995) apply it to develop participatory models for sustainable outcomes. The approach addresses power dynamics and consensus-building in wilderness and leisure contexts.
Open Research Questions
- ? How can hierarchical leisure constraints be empirically tested across diverse wilderness recreation populations?
- ? What psychological mechanisms mediate the link between river rafting experiences and long-term well-being?
- ? In what ways do resident perceptions of tourism impacts evolve with increasing visitor volumes in protected areas?
- ? How does the theory of planned behavior adapt to predict involvement in disability-inclusive leisure activities?
- ? What integration of push-pull motivations best explains tourist behavior in event-based wilderness tourism?
Recent Trends
The field maintains 34,480 works with no specified 5-year growth rate available.
Highly cited papers from the 1970s-2000s, such as Arnould and Price at 2471 citations and Getz (2007) at 2106, continue dominating, indicating sustained influence of foundational tourism and constraint models without new preprints or news in the last 12 months.
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