Perceived value of geocaching experiences in Yellowstone National Park
Perceived value of geocaching experiences in Yellowstone National Park

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine a secondary tourism attraction complex, geocaching, for its tourism experience by analyzing a real-life situation of geocaching within Yellowstone National Park (YNP) in the United States. A thematic analysis was used to analyze the comments accessed through Geocaching.com. The analysis involved 72 geocache sites within YNP and all the geocachers’ written comments within the year of 2016. Three identified themes included Locality, Geocache-Based Experience, and Geocachers’ Self-Expression. Implications and management recommendations are identified for National Parks and other locations participating in geocaching. The limitation of this study is that we only examined 72 sites within the YNP, considering approximately three million active caches throughout 180 different countries. There is limited research on geocaching, although geocaching is becoming increasingly popular activity throughout the world. This study fills part of this gap while authors posit that there needs to be more thorough and comprehensive understanding of geocaching tourism.

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