How popular are Global Positioning System devices with park visitors, and who then shares their data online?

FARÍAS-TORBIDONI, ESTELA; ROSSI, SEBASTIAN DARIO; PICKERING, CATHERINE; MENDEZ NOGUEIRA, RICARDO

2022 The 11th MMV Conference: Behavioural changes of outdoor and landscape recreational consumption in Global Green Deal context. - Book of abstracts.

Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences

Lugar: Jurmala; Año: 2022; p. 8 - 233

Increasingly researchers are exploring how Global Positioning System (GPS) route data from websites and sports apps can provide insights into outdoor and recreational use of natural areas. This includes harnessing data from GPSies.com, Wikiloc.com, STRAVA, MapMyFitness and other GPS route data sources. These data can be used to examine where, how, and when people visit natural areas, including those in and close to cities, as well as how visitation varies among recreation activities (Campelo & Nogueira Mendes, 2016; Norman & Pickering, 2017; Santos et al., 2022).Although small GPS mobile devices were seen as niche gadgets in the past, they are increasingly standard equipment for people engaging in outdoor activities. This is due in part to advances in technology and declining costs while easier access to the internet with lower cost mobile data results in rapid posting of data online. This also reflects changes in how people interact in an age of social media where almost everything leaves a digital footprint (Walden-Schreiner, et al. 2018). In natural areas, particularly close to cities, physically demanding and faster outdoor activities such as running, and mountain biking are increasingly popular. As a result of all these factors, there is increasing amounts of Volunteer Geographic Information online and some of the original voluntary sharing platforms for recreation, such as GPSies and Wikiloc, have been transformed into true digital business models such as STRAVA.For researchers harnessing online GPS routes, key issues remain about the representativeness and reliability of the data, including who shares the data and where. Using Serra de Collserola Natural Park in Spain as a case study, we surveyed who uses GPS devices, who then shares the data and on which platforms. We compared results for those engaging in more intense recreation, such as mountain bikers and runners, with those going on long hikes or short walks.