Hikers' attitudes to the national hikingway system in the South-Western Cape

Abstract

The major line of investigation is a cross-sectional attitude study to ascertain trail facility preferences of mountaineers in the study area. The social milieu of mountaineering is established in order to place the research in an ethical and historical context. The literature on outdoor recreation has been reviewed and the major trends in research identified to place the research in a methodological paradigm. The overview and principles which have been established are used to develop an attitude survey report on National Hiking Way trail facility preferences. While a range of preferences are found to exist, they are found to be more supportive of the status quo than expected. The survey results emphasise the importance of evaluating conceptual perspectives with empirical analyses. Social and ecological interests are best served by providing a range of trail types, characterised by various trail facilities, to cater for high and low carrying capacity preferences.