Personality, Motivation and Level of Involvement of Land-Based Recreationists in the Irish Uplands

This research examined the influence of personality traits and motivational factors for participation in land based recreation in the Irish uplands. During the Summer and Autumn months of 2011 a total of 460 (males; n=268, females; n=192) onsite upland recreationists completed a survey instrument designed to assess their; motivations for participation, personality traits, level of involvement and perceived identity levels for their activity. The results identified that Hill Walking is the most popular land based activity undertaken in the Irish uplands (41% of all recreationists). There was no difference (p=0.331) or relationship (r=0.046) between the personality traits of the recreationists and their choice of upland activity. The main reason cited for participation was to be in Nature/Environment (mean 12.27, ±SD 2.58), while Mountaineers were the most motivated recreationists (mean 83.70 ±SD 9.64) and had the greatest level of involvement (mean 21.40 ±SD 2.63) with their activity. There was no difference or relationship found between perceived identity and activity (p=0.188, r=-0.029), personality (p=0.412, r=0.033), motivation (p=0.078, r=-0.87) or level of involvement (p=0.121, r=-0.074). The results from this study can have useful implications for policy makers in the fields of health and tourism, park managers, researchers and those in the retail and tourism industry who are interested in providing products and services for upland recreationists in Ireland