• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.481-492
• /
• 2019

The Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has held "Travel Week" since 2014 to encourage the people to take a vacation and disperse the seasonal tourism demand that is concentrated in summer in Korea. As part of the program, the Korea National Park Service has also operated the participatory lowland exploration program that offers nature-themed attractions and enjoyment in national parks across the country during the "Travel Week" since 2018. The purpose of this study was to investigate the satisfaction with the program and intention to participate again of participants in the "National Park Spring Week Program" which is held in national parks during the "Travel Week." We conducted a self-report survey of 1,281 participants in the "2019 National Park Spring Week Program" held in 18 national parks across the country. The analysis of responses on the difference in the participants' satisfaction and intention to participate again according to the awareness in advance of the "2019 National Park Spring Week Program" showed that the average satisfaction and intentional to participate again of those who were aware of the program before visiting national parks were statistically significantly higher than those who were not. As for the type of national parks, those who participated in "maritime and coastal national parks" and "historical national parks" showed the statistically significantly higher satisfaction and intention to participate again than those who participated in "urban national parks." As for the type of the programs, those who participated in "cultural performance" and "exploration experience" showed the statistically significantly higher satisfaction than those who participated in "exhibition," "PR booth," and "campaign." Those who participated in "cultural performance" and "exploration experience" showed the statistically significantly higher intention to participate again than those who participated in "exhibition" and "PR booth." This study is expected to provide basic data for establishing a policy to improve exploration services in response to the increasing number of visitors to national parks in spring and fall as well as the peak season of summer.