UNDERSTANDING THE EXPECTATIONS OF VISITORS IN PLANNING AND MANAGING THE FACILITIES OF PUBLIC PARKS

Abstract

Public parks play a significant role in the promotion of human well-being, nature protection and as a medium for ecosystem regeneration. Nonetheless, the provision and management of facilities in Malaysia’s public parks has been inconsistently and inadequately administered due to budgetary constraints. To optimise a limited budget whilst safeguarding the multidimensional benefits of parks, this paper aims to identify and classify park facilities according to its vitality. The research was conducted in two stages, involving observation and a questionnaire survey. In total, 1,658 respondents who had experience of visiting the public parks in Malaysia took part in the survey. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and reliability analysis were deployed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software to classify the park facilities whilst measuring the consistency of the classification. Nineteen identified facilities were classified into two constructs, namely essential facilities and value-added facilities. The research outcome serves as a guide to plan and manage public parks within budget limitations. Moreover, future research from the perspective of motive and satisfaction in relation to visiting a park is recommended to validate the provision and maintenance of essential and value-added facilities