Measuring Tourists’ Experiential Values for Planning a Sustainable Destination in Natural Areas: A Case of the Rock Islands Southern Lagoon in Palau

A high level of experiential satisfaction among tourists at the Rock Islands Southern Lagoon (RISL) in Palau suggests that concerns about congestion may not significantly impact their overall experience. This finding emerges from a study that developed a framework to measure the experiential dimension of the 'Limits of Acceptable Change' (LAC) approach, which integrates managerial and resource dimensions for sustainable tourism planning. Researchers used six indicators through experimental surveys, line censuses, and noise investigations to collect both subjective and objective data. The results challenge traditional assumptions about tourism carrying capacity by highlighting that tourists' satisfaction could outweigh environmental concerns in natural protected areas.

TOKO, A., HAMA, Y., TAKE, M., & SAKAMOTO, Y. (2021). Measuring Tourists’ Experiential Values for Planning a Sustainable Destination in Natural Areas: A Case of the Rock Islands Southern Lagoon in Palau Urban and Regional Planning Review, 8(0), 26–49. https://doi.org/10.14398/urpr.8.26