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Journal of Public Administration (JOPA)

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Managing national parks : counting visitors to the open-access urban national park of Table Mountain

Author: Ronnie Donaldson

Affiliation: Stellenbosch University

Source: Journal of Public Administration, 2021-07-06 17:22:53

Accreditation: Department of Higher Education and Training(DHET)



Abstract: Managing national parks : counting visitors to the open-access urban national park of Table Mountain

Most national parks in the world monitor visitor numbers through their pay point or main entrance records. Such monitoring and studies are crucial for public managers to investigate and understand how experiences are influenced by the visitors' background and by the social, biophysical and managerial conditions of a park. However, many naturally-protected areas are not fenced. Such areas are usually located in remote areas. However, the Table Mountain National Park, which is the context of the subject of this article, is situated in the heart of metropolitan Cape Town. To effectively manage and plan strategically, it is essential that the park management has access to reliable, comprehensive and updatable information on visitors and their usage of the parks. A comprehensive visitor and user survey for the TMNP was undertaken in 2000. The main aim of this article is to report the updating of the core information collected in that