New study says social media drives visitation in National Parks, especially in Alaska

Brooks Falls astatine Katmai National Park and Preserve successful October, 2023. (Brian Venua/KMXT)

More and more, National Parks are utilizing societal media to boost visitant numbers and amplify their conservation efforts. A caller study recovered that it’s working- pinch nan thief of mundane visitors. Parks pinch precocious societal media vulnerability saw a important summation successful visitant traffic, and that effect was particularly noticeable successful Alaska.

Casey Wichman is nan writer of nan study and an subordinate professor of economics astatine Georgia Tech successful Atlanta. He said visitation rates for National Parks crossed nan state person been connected nan emergence and he wanted to spot if it was driven by societal media. He called nan study a passion project.

“This stemmed from casual liking successful recreation issues connected nationalist lands, which allowed maine to deliberation astir this arsenic a superior investigation project,” he said.

Wichman’s study compared societal media vulnerability and visitant numbers for much than 60 National Parks earlier and aft societal media began gaining crushed successful 2010. 

Parks pinch precocious baseline visitation grounds smaller increases successful visitation comparative to parks pinch debased baseline visitation. Alaska’s parks surged by almost 80%. (Casey Wichman)

The study recovered parks pinch precocious societal media vulnerability knowledgeable up to 22% much visitors than parks pinch little societal media exposure. Visitation astatine parks successful Alaska surged by almost 80% complete that aforesaid period. 

“I deliberation it’s beautiful absorbing that societal media does look to beryllium influential for parks that are reasonably distant for nan mean American,” said Wichman.

Wichman said nan visitant numbers successful Alaska are overmuch little wide compared to  galore parks successful nan little 48. He said that’s partially why nan increases from societal media look truthful melodramatic for Alaska Parks – an summation of a fewer 1000 visitors tin make a large difference.

But Wichman said he thinks much group are visiting parks successful Alaska for a elemental reason- because they’re learning they beryllium done societal media. And he doesn’t deliberation it’s conscionable nan National Park accounts driving that trend.

He said erstwhile personification successful a societal web posts an unthinkable image from a National Park, it tin animate others to make nan trip. Wichman said a park’s location plays a captious domiciled successful determining really galore group visit. 

“Seeing nan landscapes and nan wildlife, I think, is 1 use group get. But increasingly, I deliberation group besides really bask posting astir their sojourn connected societal media truthful they tin stock that much easy pinch their friends, aliases fundamentally anyone other successful their societal media network,” he said.

The study shows each parks successful Alaska saw much visitors isolated from for Katmai National Park and Preserve adjacent King Salmon. Despite having beardown societal media exposure, nan study shows nan parkland is down astir 8% successful visitors, aliases astir 4500 people.

Wichman said Katmai is difficult to get to, you person to alert aliases return a boat, and that apt contributes to nan flimsy alteration successful visitation. He thinks fans are substituting in-person visits pinch online engagement. 

“Maybe group really bask watching bears from their computers aliases phones, alternatively than really being location pinch them,” he said.

In 2014, Katmai started ‘Fat Bear Week,’ a title betwixt nan preserve’s chubbiest brownish bears. Since then, nationalist accusation serviceman and acquisition programme head Matt Johnson said visitant numbers astatine Brooks Camp person increased, contempt a flimsy dip successful wide visitation to nan park.

The Brooks Camp Campground opened reservations successful January. Within 15 minutes, Johnson said each 60 campsites were booked done mid-September. 

“It utilized to beryllium that you could get a [camp]site anytime,” said Johnson.

Johnson’s domiciled includes curating posts for societal media. He said he looks for photographs that speak for themselves and stock nan park’s mission: to conserve scenery, earthy and historical objects, arsenic good arsenic nan wildlife. 

Two bears vying for a premier sportfishing spot adjacent Brooks Falls successful autumn 2023. (Brian Venua/KMXT)

Their societal media guidance squad looks a small different during Fat Bear Week. He said respective location and nationalist partners are involved, for illustration explore.org.

“Now it’s specified a large woody that location are much group from nan National Park Service progressive successful nan process.”

Johnson said Katmai is looking for ways to thief dispersed their conservation efforts to a wider assemblage that mightiness not sojourn in-person aliases don’t usage societal media. In 2012, nan parkland established live carnivore cameras which person been popular, Johnson said.

Johnson said successful nan park’s history, there’s ne'er been much than 100,000 visitors successful a year. He said comparatively debased visitant numbers to Alaska National Parks are portion of what makes them unique. He hopes visitation numbers support increasing, but he said it’s not thing nan parkland is focused on.

“We’d for illustration to spot an increase,” he said. “Katmai has mini numbers compared to different parks.”

Study writer Casey Wichman hasn’t visited immoderate National Parks successful Alaska, but said they’re connected his bucket list.