Understanding Visitors at an Urban Park by Profiling of Destination Attributes

A park has a variety of attributes, providing beautiful natural scenery and a place to rest as well as a cultural space in which performances and events are held. This study aimed to examine the various destination attributes that a place has, specifically, the resources of an urban park, by profiling visitors according to these destination attributes. The study setting, Gwanggyo Lake Park (GLP), is located in Suwon City and is in the limelight as an eco-friendly leisure and tourism destination in South Korea. As a result of profiling 595 visitors through an application of Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), three types of profiles were obtained: “Relaxation Leisure Seekers (RLS),” “Nature Environment Seekers (NES),” and “Ecological Experience Seekers (EES).” There were differences by type in visiting patterns, environmental propensity, distance from residence, and income. The results allow a better understanding of the various attributes of the park as an ecological tourism destination by visitor profile and profile-specific characteristics. Due to COVID-19, more people are visiting parks, which are natural outdoor spaces. This study provides implications for both theoretical and practical aspects of natural resource management in that it profiles visitors by highlighting parks as both leisure and tourism destinations.