The broad aim of the CQ Outdoor Recreation Demand Study was to provide some basic statistics on the current and latent demand for particular combinations of outdoor recreation activity and landscape setting from the residents of the region. This information will be used to inform outdoor recreation planning and management, and financial investment in outdoor recreation infrastructure and services. Visitors to the region were not targeted in the Study because they require different sampling techniques. However, it is acknowledged that information about the outdoor recreation demands of tourists/non-residents is also important. This information will be collected through other research.
Specifically, the CQ Outdoor Recreation Demand Study was designed to investigate factors such as: the type of outdoor recreation activity, activity settings, current demand, latent demand, barriers to participation in outdoor recreation activities and the motivations of people who choose to undertake particular activities in particular settings.
In 1999, a total of 2500 residents from the Banana, Calliope, Duaringa, Fitzroy, Gladstone, Livingstone, Miriam Vale, Mount Morgan, and Rockhampton Local Government Authorities participated in a telephone survey. For analysis purposes, the LGA’s were combined to create two sub-regions – North and South.
The survey focused on 12 specific outdoor recreation activities, the types of places (or settings) in which those activities were undertaken (characterised as totally natural, very natural or somewhat natural landscapes); and the participant’s motivations (characterised as leisurely, goal focussed or competitively) for undertaking a specific activity within a chosen setting.
The results indicate that some respondents may have misinterpreted or inconsistently applied the definitions of the landscape settings provided in the survey. The Steering Committee has recommended that follow up research be conducted to clarify the respondent’s understanding of landscape setting definitions.
Data on current and latent demands for outdoor recreation from this research are valid at regional and sub-regional scales for the demographic groups indicated in the results. However, the data are not valid if applied to the outdoor recreation demands of individuals, or residents of specific streets, suburbs, shires or cities. Because of survey design and sample size, the data on outdoor recreation in central Queensland is most robust, reliable, valid and representative when applied to the CQ Outdoor Recreation Demand Study as a whole.
Selected results are presented in Sections 2.1 to 2.5. A full summary table is located in Appendix 4. The data is also shown as flow charts that relate survey questions to particular statistics in Appendix 1