What experiences do tourists seek in national parks? Analysis of TripAdvisor reviews

Abstract

The article aims to analyse and compare experiences gained by tourists visiting three national parks in Poland. The authors focused on the following questions: What are people's experiences visiting national parks in Poland? Do the natural assets of the national parks affect visitors' unique experiences, or are environmentally valuable areas not crucial for their experiences? The authors used mixed quantitative (text mining, correspondence analysis) and qualitative (content analysis) methods. The data for analysis were opinions written by TripAdvisor users. Reviews on TripAdvisor indicate that the most important experiences for tourists in the National Parks studied were Nature appreciation and Physical activity. The other groups of experiences reflected in the reviews were: Aesthetic, Connection, Tension and Excitement. This confirms that nature is the most important feature of national parks for tourists, but it also indicates a trend to maintain good health and the desire to regenerate physical strength in areas of natural beauty.