Abstract
As recreational activities in natural settings such as rafting are replicated artificially, professionals’ understanding of participant behaviors, motivations and constraints may need to be updated. Constraints for recreation activities in artificial environments might differ significantly from those in natural environments. As such, the primary purpose of this study was to examine constraints to participating in rafting at an artificial whitewater park. An onsite survey of visitors at an artificial whitewater facility was conducted in the southeastern United States in early fall 2007. Based on the results of this study it appears the primary constraints to participation are similar to traditional river rafting in that lack of time and companionship are major constraints. On the other hand, artificial facilities differ in that they present new constraints such as lack of preparedness. The creation of artificial whitewater facilities near populated areas could reduce the constraint of “no areas near me for this activity” found in the studies of constraints to river rafting. The number of artificial whitewater parks and facilities will require significant funding therefore constraints research in this area will be critical and more research is definitely needed on these artificial facilities.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Rabinowitz, Erik Ph.D.; Frauman, Eric Ph.D.; and Williams, Wayne Ph.D.
(2011)
"Constraints to Rafting at an Artificial Whitewater Park,"
Journal of Tourism Insights:
Vol. 1:
Iss.
1, Article 9.
Available at: https://doi.org/10.9707/2328-0824.1008
Available at:
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/jti/vol1/iss1/9