Consumer response towards an accreditation system for hiking trails

Abstract

Accreditation has a significant role to play in the upholding of quality and sustainability standards in the supply of tourism and leisure products. Accreditation systems, although widely used in tourism accommodation, services and sustainability practices, relate primarily to the traditional market of tourism with very few systems addressing the needs of adventure and nature-based tourism. When applied in the context of hiking, accreditation may materially impact the way trails are managed and marketed, leading to perceptions of quality and credibility amongst consumers. Trail owners and policymakers often question whether a demand for accreditation systems exists amongst consumers and to what extent such implementation could improve participation in the industry. While the work by various authors in the wider context of tourism provide some context as to the influence of accreditation systems on consumers’ decision making and buying behaviour, in the case of hiking products, this has not previously been investigated. In fact, the unique components of consumer behaviour and consumer decision making in hiking has not been clearly defined at an academic level. Current literature provides no insight into the influence of accreditation systems in current and potential consumers’ decision making regarding the consumption of hiking products. This study took a quantitative approach in the form of a survey research strategy to measure the importance of and future intended response towards trail accreditation, as determined by consumers from two different populations: hikers and non-hikers. This was achieved by presenting a hypothetical country-wide implementation of a case study accreditation system to respondents. The study demonstrates a link between accreditation and consumer decision making and the future uptake of hiking tourism amongst both hikers and non-hikers. The findings from this paper contribute to bridging numerous gaps in literature in the fields of adventure and nature-based tourism.