일정: 2020.02.14
장소: LW 컨벤션
연구 배경 및 목적
The level of PM in South Korea deserves an immediate attention. It is ranked as the highest among those of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) member countries (OECD Better Life Index, 2017), and in terms of air quality, it is ranked as 119th place out of 180 countries according to the 2018 Environmental Performance Index (EPI). Now it is common that weather forecast informs the level of PM everyday, and municipalities have endeavored to implement reduction policies and advisory measures such as restricting the operation of diesel-powered vehicles, adjusting the operation time of old manufacturing facilities, and cautioning citizens to avoid outdoor activities and wear masks on a day of a high PM concentration (Cho et al. 2015). Consequently, PM alters human behaviors, and changed the landscape of tourism and recreation. Despite the significance of this type of PM-related issues, quantitative research has not been fully conducted to examine the effect of high PM on tourism industries, specifically those involving scenic views.
연구방법
We investigated the relationship between the level of PM and the number of hikers in national parks in South Korea. In particular, we examined the PM effect and PM alert on the number of hikers. We used Fixed-effects panel models. Our dependent variable is the number of daily hikers, and the question variable is Air quality index. We added the PM alerts such as PM10 watch, PM10 warning, PM2.5 watch and PM2.5 warning. PM 10 watch goes off when the concentration lasts over 2 hours with an average of 170μg/ per hour.
연구결과
First, the number of hikers have changed by PM. PM10 had a negative effect, meaning hikers visited national parks less on the days with higher concentration of PM10. Secondly, when looking at the relationship between the number of national park users and PM alert, we found that when PM10 watches are on, the number of hikers declines.PM has become a serious issue in South Korea, which negatively affects people's health and leisure activities but few quantitative researches has been conducted to see the relationship between PM and tourism. We used fixed-effects models to see the effects of PM and other atmospheric substances on the number of hikers to 17 national parks in South Korea and found that the hikers visitation to national parks lessen on days with higher concentration of PM10. Also, when PM10 watch alert is issued because of airborne particulate matters concentration lasting over 2 hours, the number of hikers decreased on that day.As an early study on the effect of PM on human outdoor activities, the findings of this study will identify factors that directly affect the behavior of hikers and will help evaluate environmental policies and protection. The findings of this study provide an understanding of outdoor activity to PM. People tend to lessen outdoor activities such as hiking when PM level is high. However, some studies report that air quality in mountains or forests might not be good either because of higher temperature and wind speed as well as lower humidity and air pressure (Fu et al. 2018; Daun et al. 2017). To address this issue, governments can raise public awareness about air quality and provide continuous data on air pollutant values.