Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Counting of visitors in the Meijendel dunes, The Netherlands

  • Published:
Journal of Coastal Conservation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Accurate and sufficiently detailed information about recreation-related use of dune areas is necessary for their management. Long-term monitoring can provide this information. This paper presents the visitor counting programme used in the Meijendel dune area since 1992. The data collected during the first ten years are used to evaluate the method. The combination of mechanical vehicle counts and additional visual counts proved to be reliable and produced an accurate data set. Costs could be reduced through eventually reducing the number of counting locations and limiting the number of visual counts.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anon. 2001.EU focus on coastal zones: turning the tide for Europe’s coastal zones. European Commission Directorate-General. Environment, Nuclear Safety and Civil Protection, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg, LX.

  • Bakker, J.G. & Jaarsma, C.F. 2000. Half a century of research on recreation in the Meijdendel Dunes.Recreatie en Toerisme 10/5: 6–9 (in Dutch.)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bakker, T.W.M. 1997. Fifty years of recreational planning in the Meijendel dunes near The Hague. In: Drees, J.M. (ed.)Coastal dunes, recreation and planning. Proceedings of the European Semínar held in Castricum, NL, November 1–4, 1995.

  • Bakker, T.W.M. & Kramer, R.N.A. 1993. Meijendel, a dune area in a densely populated part of the Netherlands.Coastline 3: 14–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cessford, G., Cockburn, S. & Douglas, M. 2002. Developing new visitor counters and their applications for management. In: Arnberger, A., Brandenburg, C. & Muhar, A. (eds.)Monitoring and management of visitor flows in recreational and protected areas, pp. 14–20. Conference Proceedings 2002.

  • Cope, A., Doxford, D. & Millar, G. 1999. Counting users of informal recreation facilities.Managing Leisure 4: 229–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cope, A., Doxford, D. & Probert, C. 2000. Monitoring visitors to UK countryside resources. The approaches of land and recreation resource management organisations to visitor monitoring.Land Use Policy 17: 59–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Bruin, A.H., van Hoorn, A. & Jaarsma, C.F. 1988.Methode bepaling gebruik openluchtrecreatie-projecten. (Method for calculating visits to outdoor recreation projects; in Dutch). The Winand Staring Centre, Wageningen, NL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doody, P. 1997. Coastal dunes of Europe—Recreational impacts and nature conservation. In Drees, J.M. (ed.) 1997.Coastal dunes, recreation and planning. Proceedings of European Seminar held in Castricum, ML, November 1–4, 1995.

  • Houston, J. 1997. Dune recreation management: experience and trends in the UK. In Drees, J.M. (ed.)Coastal dunes, recreation and planning. Proceedings of European Seminar held in Castricum, NL, November 1–4, 1995.

  • Jaarsma, C.F. 1990. Temporal variation of bicycle traffic flows in The Netherlands. In: Koshi, M. (ed.)Transportation and traffic theory, pp. 443–459. Proceedings 11th International Symposium on Transportation and Traffic Theory, Yokohama, 18–20 July, Elsevier Science Publishing Co., New York, NY, US.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jaarsma, C.F. 1992.Trouble shooting for cycling on rural road networks, based on a quick and reliable building of volume data files. Proceedings Managing Traffic and Transportation Conference, Amsterdam, NL, April 13–15, pp. 348–349.

  • Jaarsma, C.F. 2001.Monitoring van de recreatie-mobiliteit: ‘meten is weten’ bij natuurgebieden. 11e Verkeerskundige werkdagen CROW, Ede, NL, pp. 191–202. (In Dutch.)

  • Jaarsma, C.F., Webster, M.J. & Bakker, J.G. 1998.Monitoringsonderzoek recreatie duingebied Meijendel—Trendrapport, deel VII: Ontwikkelingen van het recreatiebezoek en het recreatieverkeer in deperiode maart 1992—februari 1997. Nota 73. Wageningen University, Wageningen, NL. (In Dutch.)

    Google Scholar 

  • Jaarsma, C.F., Webster, M.J., Beunen, R. & Bakker, J.G. 2003.Monitoringsonderzoek recreatie duingebied Meijendel. Deel XIII: Ontwikkelingen van het recreatiebezoek en het recreatieverkeer in de periode maart 1992—februari 2002 in de vallei Meijendel. Nota 94. Wageningen University, Wageningen, NL. (In Dutch.)

    Google Scholar 

  • Loomis, J.B. 2000. Counting on recreation use data: A call for long-term monitoring.J. Leisure Res. 32: 93–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacGregor, C. 1998.A guide to collecting visitor information for AONBs. Centre for Leisure Research, Edinburgh, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Micallef, A. & Williams, A.T. 2002. Theoretical strategy considerations for beach management.Ocean Coastal Manage. 45: 261–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muhar, A., Arnberger, A. & Brandenburg, C. 2002. Methods for visitor monitoring in recreational and protected areas: An overview. In: Arnberger, A., Brandenburg, C. & Muhar, A. (eds.) 2002.Monitoring and management of visitor flows in recreational and protected areas pp. 1–6. Conference proceedings, Universität für Bodenkultur, Wien, AT.

  • Ploner, A. & Brandenburg, C. 2002. Modelling the dependency between visitor numbers and meteorological variables via regression trees. In: Arnberger, A., Brandenburg, C. & Muhar, A. (eds.) 2002.Monitoring and management of visitor flows in recreational and protected areas, pp. 225–232. Conference proceedings, Universität für Bodenkultur, Wien, AT.

  • Rauhala, J., Erkkonen, J. & Iisalo, H. 2002. Standardisation of visitor counting—Experiences from Finland. In: Arnberger, A., Brandenburg, C. & Muhar, A. (eds.) 2002Monitoring and management of visitor flows in recreational and protected areas, pp. 258–263. Conference proceedings, Universität für Bodenkultur, Wien, AT.

  • Reynolds, G. & Elson, M.J. 1996. The sustainable use of sensitive countryside sites for sport and active recreation.J. Environ. Planning Manage. 39: 563–576.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Street, B. 2000. Pers. comm. on Manager and specialist, visitor counting, US National Park Service. In: Cessford, G., Cockburn, S. & Douglas, M. 2002. Developing new visitor counters and their applications for management. In: Arnberger, A., Brandenburg, C. & Muhar, A. (eds.)Monitoring and management of visitor flows in recreational and protected areas, pp. 14–20. Conference Proceedings 2002.

  • Visschedijk, P.A.M. & Henkens, R.J.H.G. 2002. Recreation Monitoring at the Dutch Forest Service. In: Arnberger, A., Brandenburg, C. & Muhar, A. (eds.).Monitoring and management of visitor flows in recreational and protected areas, pp. 65–67. Conference proceedings, Bodenkultur University Vienna, AT.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Land Use Planning Group, Wageningen University, Gen. Foulkesweg 13, 6703 BJ, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Beunen Raoul & Jaarsma Catharinus F.

  2. Duinwaterbedrijf Zuid-Holland, P.O. Box 34, 2270 AA, Voorburg, The Netherlands

    Kramer Rob N. A.

Authors
  1. Beunen Raoul
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jaarsma Catharinus F.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kramer Rob N. A.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jaarsma Catharinus F..

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Beunen, R., Jaarsma, C.F. & Kramer, R.N.A. Counting of visitors in the Meijendel dunes, The Netherlands. J Coast Conserv 10, 109–118 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1652/1400-0350(2004)010[0109:COVITM]2.0.CO;2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1652/1400-0350(2004)010[0109:COVITM]2.0.CO;2

Keywords

Search

Navigation