August 2018 - Parks & Recreation - 15

* Parks, botanical gardens, conservancies (32 percent)
The impact of the local parks
and recreation on tourism can be
tremendous. After having enjoyed
your agency's many amenities,
there's a high probability that tourists will return home and tell their
friends and family about the parks,
trails and museums in your town.
The result is a virtuous cycle where
the good impression your agency
leaves on visitors drives more visitors to return, creating millions of
dollars in economic activity in your
community.
'Staycationing'
As good as park and recreation
amenities are to entice visitors
to vacation in your region, these
same attributes can do the same
to help workers who are unable to
leave town. Workers in the aforementioned Bankrate survey cite
travel costs, family duties and an
inability to take much time off
from work as reasons for not traveling this summer. For them, a
staycation may be in order.
A staycation is a vacation spent
at home, involving activities near
home or visiting local attractions.
The local park and recreation agency offers staycationers a robust set
of offerings that do not cause much
damage to their wallet.
The August 2018 Park Pulse
poll asked 1,004 adults across the
United States about their favorite
summer staycation activities. The
top three favorite staycation activities are likely offered by your
agency: attending a neighborhood
festival or event (48 percent), visiting a local park (47 percent) and
going for a walk or run on a local
trail (47 percent).

Other favorite staycation activities include:
* Shopping at the local farmers
market (41 percent)
* Going to a public pool, aquatic
center or splashpad (31 percent)
* Camping locally (24 percent)
* Kayaking, boating or surfing
nearby (20 percent)
* Visiting a local arboretum or gardens (18 percent).
Park and recreation agencies
serve a diverse population, with
differing needs and desires. So, it is
no surprise that favorite staycation
activities vary widely. For example,
survey respondents who are parents of children under the age of 18
are more likely to include the local
public pool and camping nearby in
their staycation plans. By comparison, nonparents are more likely to
include walking in a park or on a
trail, shopping at a farmers market and visiting a local arboretum
or garden in their plans. Similarly,
millennials and Gen Xers are more

likely to go to the public pool and
camp locally, while baby boomers
are more likely to include attending
a neighborhood festival, going for
a walk or run on a local trail and
shopping at the local farmers market in their staycation plans.
Whether it is for a vacation that
involves traveling across the country or " staycationing " in town, the
local park and recreation agency
is a part of the solution to our nation's crisis of not taking time off
from work. Your agency provides
low-cost, no-cost activities that increase physical activity, reconnect
people with nature and that are
a place where family and friends
may enjoy each other's company.
Moreover, when the weather cools
this fall and your agency's peak
activity period has passed, do not
forget to take some time off, yourself, as well.
Kevin Roth, Ph.D., is NRPA's Vice President of Research
(kroth@nrpa.org).

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Parks & Recreation

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August 2018 - Parks & Recreation

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