Exploring trip preference heterogeneity in away-from-home birdwatchers using a discrete choice experiment

Birdwatching has grown in popularity worldwide and birdwatchers have emerged as an important constituency for wildlife and habitat conservation. To help promote wetland conservation, agencies and managers need to understand birdwatchers' desired trip experiences. We conducted national web-based surveys of American and Canadian birdwatchers by employing a discrete choice experiment to explore birdwatching trip preferences. We also collected information about participation in birdwatching and recreation specialization. We used latent class analysis to identify groups of birdwatchers with similar preferences. Our analysis indicated that birdwatchers were not homogeneous in their preferences. The seven attributes and associated attribute levels that were presented to participants (travel distance, site naturalness, bird rarity, the presence of waterfowl and wetlands, ease of access, species diversity and the number of birds seen) were all relevant, to varying degrees, in decisions about whether to take a birdwatching trip. We identified five latent classes of birdwatchers in the United States and Canada. ‘Nature seekers’ prioritised setting naturalness; ‘local birdwatchers’ strongly preferred shorter travel distances; ‘list-focused birdwatchers’ prioritised bird rarity and diversity; whereas ‘site-focused birdwatchers’ prioritised on-site characteristics above bird-related characteristics; and ‘casual birdwatchers’ were most likely to opt out of taking a trip. We found variation in recreation specialization and avidity levels across all the classes. Some classes ( e.g. list-focused birdwatchers) tend to be more specialised and more avid than others ( e.g. casual and local birdwatchers). Recognising the diversity of birdwatcher trip preferences can help outdoor recreation and wildlife managers provide a variety of suitable settings, services, and experiences.