Hiking as Mental and Physical Experience
Summary
Hiking as Mental and Physical Experience “studies hiking as a tourist activity and its physical and mental benefits for the tourist”. Hiking is seen as one of the largest segments within nature-based tourism and more people are taking part in hiking all over the world. The article states that tourists are mostly drawn to hiking based on some sort of pull or push factor. An example of a pull factor would be the beautiful scenery or the quality of the trails that the hikers would be going on. Opposing this are push factors which include things like the need to take a break from work or a vacation coming up. These factors are pushing hikers towards the beautiful nature. The article highlights the fact that hiking is greatly influenced by social, environmental and managerial factors. This means that people who go on hikes are generally accompanied by another individual such as their friend or spouse. The environment also has a crucial input into the hiking experience. Hikes that have marked trails, have elements take the hiker on a thrill and memorable experience and hikes that generally have a more accessible setting will generally find more tourists being pulled and pushed towards them. Lastly, hikers enjoy hikes that are properly managed. Not only managed by the owners of the hikes (ensure that the attraction is clean and safe) but also hikes that can be managed by themselves.
In my opinion, I agree with the points drawn from this article. I especially agree with the point that speaks about keeping the preference of the hikers in mind. These preferences include going to an attraction that will guarantee them having a good time by including factors such as marked trails and proper hiking services. Without these key components, hiking trails will lose customers annually. One thing that I don’t completely agree one is the point of refactoring hikes to meet the demands of customers. I believe that changing the hiking trail is not only expensive but it also loses its “natural” touch on things. Refactoring a hike might take away the natural feeling and make it more man-made. Other refactoring methods that can be done would include things like cleaning up the trails, putting up more directional signs and removing all safety hazards, however, changing the physique and characteristics of a hike is not something I fully agree with.
Application
Reading this article has given me more insight into the project that I am working on. It has given me more statistical data based on studies and research done on the different push and pull factors that influence individuals to go on hikes. After reading about the push and pull factors of hiking, I feel as if we should have incorporated these aspects in our contextual inquiry and design overall. There are some factors that we did not fully consider such as incorporating family and friends. The article mostly speaks about three factors: social, environmental and managerial. I believe that our design has covered the environmental and managerial aspects but we have not fully included the social aspect. Family and friends are a crucial factor when thinking of people being motivated to go out on hikes. Most people prefer to go out with their friends and families instead of themselves. A design that we could implement would be one that links several hikers together. This would bring a sense of community among our members and improve the social push factors.
Lastly, I believe that we have designed something that has improved upon what this paper discusses. The article speaks a lot about the need for clearly marked navigation trails and this is one of the key designs that we have come up with to solve this problem. Another aspect of hiking that is prevalent is that of enjoying nature and exploring the wild. Our identification design is one that directly improves on this discussion. This is because this design takes exploring nature to a new level with key features such as plant/tree/flower identification, knowing what natural elements are edible or not as well as knowing general information about animals and things you see while exploring.
Bibliography
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281619759_Hiking_as_Mental_and_Physical_Experience