Encounter norms among visitors at a national park in Turkey

Meryem Bihter Bingül^1*, Jerry J. Vaske² and Maureen P. Donnelly³
 

Received: 17/02/2016 Accepted: 13/12/2016

¹Graduate Student, Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Forestry 230, Fort
Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA; tel: (1) 970-889-8725; email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
²Professor, Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Forestry 244, Fort Collins,
Colorado, 80523, USA; email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
³Associate Professor, Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Forestry 234, Fort
Collins, Colorado, 80523; email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
^*Corresponding author

This article examined response format effects on norm prevalence (i.e., the percent of individuals who could specify a norm). Data were collected in Dilek Peninsula Büyük Menderes Delta National Park, in Turkey. Respondents were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. In the “semi-open” response format, respondents (n = 458) “wrote a number” for an acceptable number of visitor encounters. In the “closed” format, respondents (n = 459) “circled a number” of acceptable encounters, along a range of possible responses. Results showed that encounter norm prevalence was significantly and consistently higher for the closed format of the survey, as compared to the semi-open version. In addition, among those reporting a norm, the average tolerance levels were statistically higher in the semi-open format. Implications for applying the normative approach across different cultures are discussed.

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Keywords:  encounter norms, norm prevalence, response format, Turkey.

Citation: Bingül, M., J. Vaske, M. Donnelly (2017) Encounter norms among visitors at a national park in Turkey. European Journal of Tourism Research 17, pp. 206-214