Joshua Tree NP VSP Visitor Study
April 3–9, 2004
Visitor Services Project
Joshua Tree National Park
Report Summary
- This report describes the results of a visitor study at Joshua Tree National Park (NP) during April 3-9, 2004. A total of 700 questionnaires were distributed to visitor groups. Visitor groups returned 525 questionnaires for a 75% response rate.
- This report profiles Joshua Tree NP visitors. A separate appendix contains visitors’ comments about their visit. This report and the appendix include summaries of those comments.
- Forty-five percent of visitor groups were groups of two and 25% were groups of three or four. Fifty-three percent of the visitor groups were family groups. Fifty-nine percent of visitors were age 26-60 years and 19% were age 15 or younger.
- International visitors, comprising 8% of the total visitation, were from Canada (29%), Germany (21%), England (19%), and 15 other countries. United States visitors were from California (76%), Washington (4%), 31 other states, and Washington D.C.
- Prior to this visit, visitor groups most often obtained information about Joshua Tree NP through previous visit(s) (52%), friends/relatives/word of mouth (43%), and internet-NPS or Joshua Tree NP web site (39%). Eight percent of visitor groups received no information before their visit. Most groups (90%) received the information they needed about the park.
- Eighty-five percent of visitor groups’ primary reason for traveling to the Joshua Tree NP area (including Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, and Twentynine Palms) was to visit Joshua Tree NP. On this visit, the most common activities while visiting Joshua Tree NP were sightseeing (83%), visiting visitor centers (58%), and dayhiking (56%).
- The average visitor group expenditure in and outside the park (including Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, and Twentynine Palms) was $254. The average per capita expenditure was $78. The median visitor group expenditure (50% of group spent more, 50% spent less) was $115.
- In regard to use, importance, and quality of park services and facilities, it is important to note the number of visitor groups that responded to each question. The most used information services/facilities by the 454 respondents included park brochure/map (93%) and park newspaper (63%). The information services/facilities that received the highest “extremely important” and “very important” ratings included park brochure/map (86%, N=408) and self-guided trail brochures (83%, N=135). Assistance from visitor center staff (92%, N=164) is the service that received the highest “good” and “very good” quality rating.
- The most used visitor services/facilities by the 476 respondents included directional road signs-in park (86%), restrooms (85%), and paved roads (81%). The visitor services/facilities that received the highest “extremely important” and “very important” ratings included campgrounds (96%, N=189), trails (92%, N=296), and restrooms (91%, N=391). The service that rceived the highest “good” and “very good” quality rating was trails (87%, N=286).
- Most visitor groups (93%) rated the overall quality of visitor services at Joshua Tree NP as "very good" or "good." Less than two percent of visitor groups rated the overall quality of visitor services as “poor” or "very poor."
For more information about the Visitor Services Project, please contact the University of Idaho Park Studies Unit—visit the VSP website: http://www.psu.uidaho.edu [1]
