Monitoring MPA visitor uses handbook

...On a qualitative level, the surveys conducted betweenJuly and September 2011 showed that visitor numbers tothe park in summer (314,345 visitors) are in fact almosttwice the number estimated based on official touristnightstatistics. Visitors to the Cinque Terre NationalPark are mostly foreign and over 95% say they are verysatisfied with their stay and would willingly recommendvisiting the park to friends. In terms of adapting theterritory's management, follow-up on the data is needed.Lastly, the method developed for Cinque Terre shouldbe reproducible and adaptable to other parks or marineprotected areas.Conducting surveys by questionnaire among visitors at Manarola train station(Cinque Terre National Park - Italy). © Credit: Giovanni Riccard5.7.6 Conducting a multiple-choicequestionnaireDeveloping the questionnaire :• Develop a short questionnaire (less than 20 questions),with easily understandable content presented on oneside of A4 paper. It must be answered by the respondentin less than 10 minutes. To achieve this goal,the design of the questionnaire must first be studied atlength. It is advisable to draw up the questionnaire onthe basis of a detailed visitor use survey.• Prepare a list of "closed-ended" questions (a predeterminednumber of answers is suggested to the respondent)enhanced with a few "open-ended" questions(open response).• Structure the questionnaire by categories of question,and do not jump from one category to another. Theoverall result must be coherent and logical for the respondent.Begin with general, fundamental questionsand end with more personal questions (age, occupation,etc.).• Write short and simple questions. Questions that aretoo long or unclear generate imprecise answers. Useappropriate terminology (non-expert) for the target respondentgroup, avoiding technical concepts and terms.• Make sure questions are not biased. For example, thequestion "do you think it is important to protect the environment?"is biased as it calls for an expected answer:"yes".• Adapt the survey questions to the target respondents(specific questions about diving for divers, about boatsfor boaters, etc.), but keep a common base of corequestions so that comparisons between user groupsare possible.Administering the questionnaire in the field :• Administer the questionnaire at the end of the visitwhere possible.• Make sure the pollsters introduce themselves to respondentsand explain the aims of the survey.• Reassure users that the survey is anonymous.• Stay close to respondents to answer any questions.• To ensure that the survey is statistically appropriateand that results are representative :››distribute the questionnaires at random with a certaindegree of chance (for example, polling one pleasureboater in five in a mooring area);››make sure that all user types have the same chanceof being polled during the survey. To do that, vary thedays and times of surveys but also take the differentkinds of site access into account to avoid over- orunder-representation of certain user groups;››respect the recommended numbers and frequencyof distribution to obtain a significant sample.• To optimise the response rate, make sure that res- TABLE OF CONTENTS 33 COLLECTION VISITOR USE OBSERVATION AND MONITORING IN MEDITERRANEAN MARINE PROTECTED AREAS