Visitor management in national parks — Approach to solving the tension between tourism and nature conservation using the example of the Danube-Auen and Gesäuse National Parks

The present bachelor thesis is summarised in the course of answering the initially specified research problem. This is: To what extent are national parks in the conflict between tourism and nature conservation and can measures of visitor management solve this field of tension? The first part of the question is devoted to the ambivalent relationship between tourism and nature conservation. Here it became clear early that in national parks it cannot be completely distinguished between tourist and recreational use. The question can therefore be reworded and reads: To what extent are national parks in the conflict between visitor use and nature conservation? Both the theoretical foundations developed in Chapter 2 and the data analysed in Chapter 5 show that such a field of tension is already present in the internationally standardised objectives of a national park. However, the extent depends entirely on the respective conditions in the national park (number of visitors, visitor structure, user structure, resilience of nature) and cannot be generalised. The second part of the research problem, which reads: Can visitor management measures solve this field of tension? Visitor management aims to combine the interests of both aspects in the field of tension, namely the high quality of nature conservation on the one hand and the nature experience on the other. However, these measures can only succeed with a sound knowledge of the respective conditions in the national park (see above) and the importance of visitor monitoring is emphasised here. The visitor management itself must not be forgotten about the involvement of the local population, as it is often a considerable user group in European national parks. The conclusion can be drawn in a concrete answer to the research question. To what extent are national parks in the conflict between visitor use and nature conservation and can visitor management measures solve this field of tension? In national parks there is basically a tension between visitor use and nature conservation, but the specific extent depends on the respective circumstances. Visitor management measures can at least mitigate this tension, taking these circumstances into account.