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Destination governance
Edited by Harald Pechlaner, Frieda Raich and Pietro Beritelli
1. Introduction
Parks and protected areas currently encompass 12 per cent of the earth's terrestrial surface and 0.5 per cent of water based surfaces ([56] Lockwood et al. , 2006). In conjunction with the protection of these land and sea masses, these areas also serve as major destinations for recreation and tourism-based services and products ([20] Dearden and Rollins, 2002). Historically, parks and protected areas within Canada were based on natural features which served as an attractant for developing tourism-based industries ([20] Dearden and Rollins, 2002; [14] Buteau-Duitschaever, 2009). From the creation of the first national park in Canada, Banff National Park (1885) to the present day, protected areas are created through increasingly structured processes where each level of government adopts various management systems for the management of parks ([25] Eagles, 2008; [14] Buteau-Duitschaever, 2009).
The creation of government-owned protected areas is guided by public demand while the development and refinement of management systems for these protected areas are typically guided by active, vocal and demanding members of the public who place pressures on government representatives ([54] Killan, 1993). Cooperating with and engaging civil society in governance processes is a vital component in ensuring proper management of a park agency ([10] Bovaird, 2005; [29] Edgar et al. , 2006). Furthermore, [13] Bushell et al. (2007) asserted that "political support for parks only exists if sufficient numbers of satisfied park visitors are influential enough to affect societal decision-making" (p. 9). Thus in order for parks to survive and thrive, a strong constituency of supporters must be present; namely satisfied park visitors. Yet there is a lack of understanding regarding visitors' perceptions of park governance ([25] Eagles, 2008). This gap in knowledge is alarming as it indicates that protected areas are managed without proper understanding of the benefits and disadvantages of park management models employed and visitors' perspectives of the models. As parks are owned and managed by governments on behalf of the people of Canada, governments are ultimately accountable to citizens who are the owners of these protected areas. Furthermore, ensuring visitor satisfaction with parks management is necessary as visitors increasingly generate a significant amount of revenue for park management.
1.1 Park governance
Governance...