Assessment of visitor preferences and attendance to singletrails in the Moravian Karst for the sustainable development proposals

Abstract

An optional leisure activity in forest areas for mountainbikers is the subject of discussion in this article. Cycling has become a popular leisure time activity, not only in the Czech Republic but internationally. A bicycle offers the user an unparalleled freedom that seems to have great appeal in these globalized, modern times. A singletrail is a narrow single-directional path for mountain bicycles in the landscape, in contrast to the two-lane forest roads mainly intended for the industrial purposes of forest management. The singletrails of Moravský kras (Moravian Karst) are built on the land owned by the Mendel University in Brno (Masaryk Forest Enterprise Křtiny) near the Jedovnice municipality of the Czech Republic. The aim of the article is to assess the attendance of the area using automatic counters, and to analyse the results, especially according to the illegal transits in the area of interest. The preferences of visitors were evaluated using questionnaires as well. Hypotheses were defined, and the chi-square test and Mann-Whitney testing methods were used to validate or improve them. Separate preferences for men and women were analysed in order to detect the differences or similarities of preferences. According to the results, women notably prefer the medium to easiest level of difficulty of the trails while men mainly prefer the trails of medium difficulty, although they use the most difficult trails too. Contact with nature is important for both the target groups. Training on singletrails is not as important for women as for men, but physical activity is very important to both groups. Women mainly ride on the singletrails for the joy of movement, which they consider to be a more important reason than men. The results of this study will be used to improve the area for mountainbikers as well as singletrail design for newly planned areas. Both human preferences and environmental needs will be taken into account.