Park User Survey Program - Ontario Parks

Park User Survey Program
Camper Survey Summary - 2005

Introduction
The Park User Survey program was initiated in 1974 to provide
information about both day visitors and campers for a variety of
planning, research and operational/management functions. The
program operates on a three-year cycle; eligible parks are included in
the day visitor and camper survey once each cycle.
This iteration of the Park User Survey was intended to survey all
operational parks that were on the online reservation system during the
2005 summer season. Using email addresses collected during the online
campsite reservation system, campers were provided a link and invited
to participate in an online survey. This sampling method was limited to
campers using the online reservation service. Campers using the call
centre reservation system and campers who did not make a reservation
are not included in this survey. There were a total of 93,198 survey
invitations sent out resulting in 35,584 surveys being returned
(approximately 38%). This is over twice as many surveys as the previous
cycle.
71 provincial parks were surveyed across the 6 park administrative
zones.
The survey questionnaire was designed to obtain information regarding
the general demographic characteristics of park campers and to obtain
their evaluation of park services and facilities.
This summary is organized into the following sections: response rates,
characteristics of park campers, extent of park usage, marketing
information, travel data, activity participation, trip related
expenditures, health and well-being, and recommendations to improve
the park.

Summary – 2005 Provincial Park Camper Survey
Based on the results of the 2005 Provincial Park Camper Survey, the
following summary is provided.
Response Rates
• There were a total of 35,584 responses to the survey from 71
provincial parks. This is the largest response to the Park User
survey.
Characteristics of Park Campers
• The two largest camper groups are families (57.9%) and couples
(25.7%). Approximately 13% of camper groups are multiple families
and friends.
• The two largest age groups were adults aged 25-44 (38.6%) and
children aged 0-14 (29.7%). Adults aged 45-64 were the third largest
group, composing 20.2% of campers.
• The mean number of people at each campsite was 3.7. The most
frequently reported group size was four (28%), followed by two
(26%) and three (16%).
• Visitors indicated that the two most common pieces of equipment
used were tents (68.0%) followed by Dining Shelters (30%). Tent
Trailers and Travel Trailers (53.5% combined) were the two primary
types of recreational vehicles used by campers.
• 23% of campers reported that they camped with a dog.
• Over 70% of respondents have graduated from a postsecondary
education.
• 14% of campers had household incomes of less than $50,000.
Slightly more than 27% of campers had a household income of
$50,000 to $69,999.
Extent of Park Usage
• Over 90% of respondents reported having camped at a provincial
park before.
• 32% of respondents indicated having camped at non-provincial park
campgrounds in the past year. Visits to non-provincial parks
averaged 2.2 times in the previous year.
• The two most important reasons for choosing the particular park
were “enjoyed previous visit” and “to enjoy nature” at 53.3% and
48.9% respectively.

Marketing Information
• From the camper evaluation of services and facilities; washroom
cleanliness, condition of facilities and value for fee are the most
serious areas that require attention.
• The condition of trails was the only area which scored a higher
satisfaction rating than importance level.
Travel Data
• Slightly over 57% of campers indicated that the trip was their
vacation. Approximately 40% of campers were on a weekend trip.
• The average length of stay was 4.0 nights. The median number of
nights was 3.0 and the most common length of stay was 2.0 nights.
• Most of the visitors indicated having a permanent residence in
central Ontario (37.4%).
Activity Participation
• The top five activities were resting/ relaxing, swimming/ wading,
trail hiking (non-guided), viewing/ photographing nature and
picnicking. Campers tend to spend the most time swimming/
wading.
• 16.8% of campers indicated that they had attended an NHE program.
Nearly 25% of campers thought the information was presented in a
professional and informed manner. Only 7% responded “No”.
Approximately 68% responded that they did not know.
Trip Related Expenditures
• Campers spend the most amount of money on food and beverages.
Campers on average spent $147 on food and beverages on the entire
trip $68 of this within 40km of the park.
• The second highest average expenditure was fuel and transportation
at $95 for the entire trip and $31 within 40km.
• Some campers spent a significant amount of money in the previous
year on equipment other campers reported spending little or
nothing. The average expenditure may be greatly influenced by
several campers making major purchases (ie. new RVs).
Health and Well-Being
• All health and well-being categories had a median rating of
“Somewhat Improved” or higher. Mental well-being was rated has
having the greatest improvement (mean 3.9, median 4).
• Over 90% of respondents did not attribute any fewer trips to the
doctor as a result of visiting an Ontario Park.

Recommendations to Improve Park Visit
• Over 90% of respondents reported that they would want to receive
future surveys through email.
• Over 78% of respondents indicated that they had taken actions to
reduce their impact on the environment. Of the responses,
recycling (44%) and picking up garbage (21%) were the most
common.
• Respondents most frequently indicated that keeping/improving the
recycling program (23%) as an action Ontario Parks can do to reduce
its impact. Education was the second most common response at
13%.
• The gap between the importance and performance rating of the
Ontario Parks website was 0.5. 67% of users indicated using the site
for a combination of general information searching and making
reservations.
• The top four most frequent suggestions for the Ontario Parks
website were: 1) photos of campsites/ park (23%), 2) Update/
improve campsite descriptions (11%), 3) NHE Programs/ events/
activities/ presentations (10%), 4) Reservation System – See
availability (by date)/ Improve availability of ‘good’ sites (8%).
• The four most common recommendations made to improve the park
and increase visitor satisfaction were: 1) Clean washrooms/showers
regularly/paper & soap/mirror, 2) Add more/Renovate/Update
comfort stations, 3) Better enforcement/ control
rowdies/noise/speed (esp. at night), 4) Great Park/no changes.