Structural Equation Modeling Analysis of Factors Affecting the Loyalty of Forest Trail Users

Structural Equation Modeling Analysis of Factors Affecting the Loyalty of Forest Trail Users

Background and objective: With the increasing public awareness of health due to COVID-19 and the quality of life, peoplehave come to prefer natural spaces with fewer crowds. Public use of forest trails is increasing as a place that satisfies thedemand for such natural spaces. As a result, the basic plans for trails and mountaineering support were established, andthere has been government-level support such as the establishment of the Korea Mountaineering Support Center, whichresulted in a quantitative and qualitative increase in the use of forest trails. Accordingly, efforts must be made to ensuresatisfaction and loyalty in using forest trails. Methods: Therefore, this study identified the factors affecting the overall satisfaction and loyalty toward forest trailsthrough structural equation modeling. As for the research data, we used data from the Fact-finding Survey on ForestWelfare Facility Users to analyze the use of forest trails. Results: As a result, safety and comfort, kindness, travel time, and program experience variety had a significant effectdirectly and indirectly on overall satisfaction and loyalty. Safety and comfort affected personal activity experience variety,while kindness affected program experience variety. For travel time, the direct effect on loyalty showed a positivecorrelation, but the indirect effect showed a negative correlation. Conclusion: These results showed that safety should be considered a top priority on forest trails, and that long travel timeto forest trails could be a factor that increases loyalty by offering various programs. In addition, loyalty has a multifacetedcorrelation between several factors, suggesting that it is necessary to consider not only direct effects but also indirecteffects.