2023/09/25 by Ashley Lowe Mackenzie, Steven J. Dundas, Bo Zhao · 1 voice
Environmental Science · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research #Environmental Education and Sustainability #Recreation, Leisure, Wilderness Management
paper · pdf · doi:10.3368/le.100.2.122920-0192r1
openalex publication_date 2023/09/25 · openalex created_date 2023/09/26 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
<h3>Abstract</h3> Public lands in the United States have recently experienced significant increases in visitation. Journalists and park managers suggest Instagram as a reason for the increase. We explore this issue in the Oregon State Park system by combining visitation data with park-specific georeferenced content and engagement indicators from Instagram. Using several empirical specifications, we show suggestive evidence that Instagram is not likely correlated to increased visitation everywhere, but only in a few locations generating high user participation within the app. We find no contemporary effect and a positive association with cumulative Instagram engagement indicators on visits at this subset of parks.