key: cord-0901845-764nuocx authors: Marconi, Marina; Giglio, Vinicius J.; Pereira Filho, Guilherme H.; Motta, Fabio S. title: Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on SCUBA diving experience in marine protected areas date: 2022-03-03 journal: Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism DOI: 10.1016/j.jort.2022.100501 sha: b415885982fa2375a3b9d4a636e1cef379371127 doc_id: 901845 cord_uid: 764nuocx Faced with the need for isolation of most people to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, a great concern for the well-being of the population has resurfaced. Considering the numerous benefits of outdoor activities to human health and well-being, we assessed whether the quality of the experience of recreational divers in a marine protected area (MPA) was impacted during the pandemic. We applied a semi-structured questionnaire to divers, collected their socioeconomic profile, preferences, motivations, experiences, and compared the results with those obtained in the previous season. We found that the quality of the recreational diver's experience remained high even during one of the world's biggest health crises. This suggests that the combination of contact with a preserved environment and the adaptation of regulations in favor of visitor safety was enough to stimulate positive experiences. Therefore, we highlight the importance of investing in adaptive management so that MPAs continue to promote ecosystem services such as human health and subjective well-being. Outdoor activities and interaction with the natural environment, such as in 24 tourism in protected areas, contribute to reducing stress levels, in addition to 25 improving cases of anxiety and depression (Gascon et visitors and, thus, also contribute to human well-being. However, this type of MPA 29 benefits remains poorly studied at the global and regional levels (Ban et al., 2019; 30 Rasheed, 2020) . 31 MPAs are the favorite destinations for recreational divers, an activity with a 32 high connection between the tourist and the environment (Davenport & 33 health and safety, social connections, education and knowledge, culture and 171 heritage, governance, and local economy (Gollan & Barclay, 2020) . However, 172 understanding the influence and potential that MPAs have to produce this kind of 173 positive impact on their visitors is still scarce (Ban et al., 2019) . As previously 174 mentioned, leisure satisfaction is one of the most investigated topics in tourism, 175 as it is linked to tourist loyalty and the recommendation of the destination. Thus, 176 the focus has been on discovering the causes of subjective well-being, as it 177 fluctuates depending on the dimension studied. During the pandemic, the Alcatrazes Refuge remained closed to public use 202 between March and July 2020 to reduce the transmission rate of SARS-Cov-2 203 during the first major wave of cases in the country. In August 2020, visitation 204 activities at the Alcatrazes Refuge were resumed, following sanitary protocols. 205 One of the implemented restrictions was the 50% decrease in the maximum 206 number of divers on the vessel and thus the number of divers per dive guide 207 increased from four to six. Additionally, the mandatory use of a mask and social 208 distance during the navigation trip (Brasil, 2020c) . The present study used as a baseline the results obtained at the 215 Alcatrazes Refuge in the period before the COVID-19 pandemic and was 216 published in Marconi et al. (2020) . This configures what we considered as the 217 pre-pandemic period and refers to a sampling undertaken between September 218 2018 and September 2019 that comprised 253 questionnaires filled representing 219 27% of the total number of divers who visited the areas during the study period. 220 The novel data collected in this study comprises the pandemic period, considered 221 as the period after the resumption of activities during the COVID-19 pandemic 222 The specific attributes included in the questionnaire (see Table 1 ) were selected 247 in partnership with the local managers and dive operators, who provided insights 248 into which aspects they saw as important to be evaluated. The quality of the diving experience is a complex variable. It can be derived 261 from a complex set of consumer perceptions about the experience itself, but also 262 a range of peripheral experiences associated with diving (Maccarthy, O'neill & 263 Williams, 2006) . In this way, we collected the diver's overall satisfaction regarding 264 the visit and their perception of the performance of 12 individual attributes related 265 to MPA management, the services provided by operators and conductors, and 266 the natural environment (see Table 1 ). Overall satisfaction was measured using 267 a 10-point scale (1 = very dissatisfied; 10 = very satisfied) and a unidirectional 5-268 point Likert-type scale was used to assess the performance of the attributes, 269 ranging from "1 = not at all satisfied" to "5 = extremely satisfied". The reliability of grand mean of attribute performances and a vertical one was drawn on the grand 300 mean of RIOS values. The attribute was considered as a high priority if its RIOS 301 was high, but its performance was lower than average. However, if the RIOS 302 value was high and the performance was also above average, the attribute was 303 considered as a medium priority (Mikulic & Prebezac, 2008) . 304 To compare the potential of an attribute to generate satisfaction with its 305 potential to generate dissatisfaction, we evaluated its asymmetry between the 306 attribute's performance and overall satisfaction using an Impact-Asymmetry 307 Analysis (IAA). Thus, we can classify attributes using the Impact Asymmetry 308 Index (IA; Equation 4) value as the following: "delighters" (IA ≥ 0.4), "satisfiers" 309 (0.4 ≥ IA > 0.1), "hybrids" (0.1 ≥ IA ≥ -0.1), "dissatisfiers" (0.1 > IA ≥-0.4) and 310 "frustrators" (IA < -0.4) (Mikulic & Prebezac, 2008 ). This step allows researchers, 311 J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f managers, and entrepreneurs to understand the attributes that most contribute to 312 visitor satisfaction (Coghlan, 2012) . 313 The following equations were used: 314 Most divers were male, aged between 26 and 45 years (Table 2) . 327 Approximately two-thirds of respondents were postgraduates and had a family 328 monthly income equal to or greater than six Brazilian minimum wages 329 (considered as R$ 1100,00  US$ 212,76) per person. Regarding certification, 330 most divers had an advanced diving course (Advanced Open Water or 331 equivalent). In addition, about 72% of the divers who visited the Alcatrazes 332 Refuge during this period lived in the State of São Paulo, that is, they resided in 333 the same State where the Alcatrazes Refuge is located. Considering the diving 334 activity itself plus transport and accommodation, the average expense was U$ 335 450.00 ± 232 (mean ± SD). 336 Divers' favorite organisms were elasmobranchs (sharks and rays), 343 followed by large fish (e.g., groupers, jacks, etc.). While the least preferred ones 344 were the cryptic and sessile organisms (Fig. 2) . In the pre-pandemic period, the 345 preferred and least preferred organisms were the same despite the different 346 orders of preference. Regarding the motivations that led divers to choose to visit 347 the Alcatrazes Refuge during the pandemic, "The place is an area where nature 348 is preserved" was predominant with 44%, followed by "Escape the routine/Relax" 349 with 30%. The least important motivation for divers was "I'm interested in The average overall satisfaction of divers during the pandemic was 8.60 363 (± 1.50), where values close to 10 indicate high satisfaction levels (Fig. 3) . This 364 result was statistically similar to that obtained in the period before the pandemic 365 Regarding the IRPA (S2), only three individual attributes were classified 373 as of high priority: "2. Rules by managing to avoid environmental impact", "10. 374 Water visibility", and "12. Encounters with animals" (Fig. 4. B) . In the pre-375 pandemic period (Fig. 4. A) , only attributes "11. Diversity and abundance of 376 The attributes that appeared as a medium priority for management during 395 the pandemic were: "1. Easy access to prior information on-site visitation", "6. 396 Low impact diver behavior techniques of other divers"; "8. No litter" and "9. No 397 fishing or lost fishing tackle". When compared with the pre-pandemic period, only 398 attributes "8. No litter" and "9. Absence of illegal fishing or lost fishing tackle" 399 remained as of medium priority (Marconi et al., 2020) . The attribute related to 400 diver agglomeration had better performance and did not appear among the 401 priorities for management, while attributes "1. Easy access to prior information 402 on-site visitation" and "6. Low impact diver behavior techniques of other divers" 403 had worst performances during the pandemic period. 404 According to the IAA analysis, two attributes that appeared as a high 405 priority in the IRPA analysis ("2. Management rules to avoid environmental 406 impact" and "12. Encounters with animals"), were also the ones that most 407 positively impacted satisfaction (delighters) during the pandemic (Fig. 4. C, D) . 408 We also found major differences in the classification of attributes between both 409 periods. In the pre-pandemic period, most attributes were classified as strong pandemic, recreational diving at the Alcatrazes Archipelago was able to 427 contribute to the subjective well-being of visitors. The socioeconomic profile of the interviewees consisted mainly of middle- Refuge is located. This is probably because domestic travel tends to offer less 452 risk of contamination because of the short distances (Kusumaningrum & 453 Wachyuni, 2020) and most divers had access to private vehicles to move from 454 their home-cities toward coastal areas. 455 From the perspective of subjective well-being, governance is an essential 456 domain and plays a relevant role in the acceptability of MPAs because it brings 457 together aspects such as fairness, equity, participation, and trust (Jones, 458 McGinlay & Dimitrakopoulos, 2017; Gollan & Barclay, 2020). Therefore, we 459 recommend that management devote efforts to strengthening social equity in 460 MPAs through adaptive management and bidirectional communication between 461 government and stakeholders (Fox et al., 2012) . In addition, it would be appropriate to invest in more objective actions, such as allocating a percentage 463 of seats on vessels so that low-income people can visit these places for free. 464 Megafauna organisms were the preferred organisms to be viewed by 465 divers in both pre-pandemic and pandemic phases. These organisms usually are 466 preferred to be viewed by divers (Giglio et al., 2015) . was expected when we consider that a large part of the population was in a 485 context of social isolation, living in limited environments and with little or no 486 contact with nature. It also reinforces the idea that the trend after the pandemic 487 will be to invest in nature tourism, not only for a passive contemplation of nature 488 but also to relax and escape routine (Kusumaningrum & Wachyuni, 2020) . 489 In this way, tourism can also be carried out to strengthen health and 490 develop physical and psychological well-being, especially by visitors from large 491 urban centers whose contact with nature is restricted (Utama & Susanto, 2016) . 492 With this in mind, we highlight the value of MPAs as tourist destinations capable 493 of contributing not only to the conservation of biodiversity but also as destinations 494 sought after by visitors interested in improving their health and subjective well-495 being through contact with nature. 496 The quality of recreational divers' experience remained high even amid a 498 challenging period such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This result may be linked to 499 the fact that due to the extended period people were subjected to social isolation, 500 divers were less demanding and, thus, the opportunity to enjoy contact with 501 nature was enough for a high-quality experience. Joyful anticipation cannot be 502 ruled out as an important driving force for the high quality of experience observed. 503 This is due to the social context of a global health crisis and that diving provides 504 an immersion in the marine environment, besides being a challenging physical 505 activity and a way to escape from routine. 506 Joyful anticipation is conceptualized as anticipating an experience that 507 triggers well-being (or happiness) even before undertaking the experience 508 (Kumar, Killingsworth, & Gilovich, 2014) . This can generate higher social 509 benefits, and, in some cases, it was able to surpass the experience even before Another priority that emerged during the pandemic was related to the rules 547 established by the management to avoid environmental impact. This is likely 548 related to divers being more concerned with safety issues than with protecting 549 coral reefs and marine life (Musa et al., 2011) . In this sense, it's important to 550 understand which regulations can generate negative experiences in recreational 551 divers and whether there is a relationship with their profiles and expectations. 552 Even more so, considering that tourists with conservationist orientations tend to 553 be more receptive to actions in favor of preservation than those with orientations 554 more focused on the use of the environment (Needham, 2010; Rossi et al., 2015) . 555 Consequently, to predict negative reactions to management decisions and 556 achieve high performance in these attributes, it's necessary to comprehend the 557 profiles and motivations of divers and promote actions that encourage the 558 participation and interest of visitors in the management of the area. 559 Regarding attributes related to litter, fishing, and lost fishing tackle that 560 appeared as priorities, it is highlighted that during the period in which tourism 561 activities were interrupted, the occurrence of prohibited practices may have been 562 favored (Waithaka et al. 2021 ), as dive operators and guides assist inspection by denouncing illegal activities (Steenbergen, 2013) . The emergence of the attribute 564 related to low impact techniques from other divers as a priority may be associated 565 with the recent increase in the proportion of divers per guide during the pandemic, 566 from four to six divers per guide (Brasil, 2020c) . This may have hindered the dive 567 guides' ability to warn visitors about inappropriate behavior (Roche et al., 2016) . 568 Overall, our results showed that most of the attributes that had a high 569 impact on Global Satisfaction and that appeared as priorities for MPA 570 management were related to environmental quality and management. This 571 corroborates the suggestion that the domain of well-being related to the 572 environment can be divided into two attributes: a healthy natural environment, 573 and sustainably managing the environment (Gollan & Barclay, 2020) . This study 574 also observed that users, especially recreational users, saw the contemplation 575 and encounter with marine life as a positive impact of the MPA. Therefore, our 576 results also support the idea that the loss of habitats and threatened species must 577 be considered not only ecological but also social impacts (Vanclay et al., 2015; 578 Gollan & Barclay, 2020). 579 Given all the impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to the tourism 581 In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has strengthened the worldwide 589 society's view on the connection between healthy nature and human well-being 590 as well as the critical need to change the relationship between people and the 591 natural environment (Hockings et al. 2020; Waithaka et al. 2021) . In this context, 592 our findings suggest a higher sensitivity of visitors to the beneficial effects of 593 SCUBA diving on their well-being during the pandemic. Thus, in a post-pandemic 594 The recognition that a preserved marine environment can contribute to the 597 health and quality of life of its users can be a key factor for MPAs to be valued by 598 society. It has already been observed that MPAs are valued by their recreational 599 users when they enjoy positive experiences related to contemplation and 600 encounters with marine life (Gollan & Barclay, 2020) . It was also observed that 601 participants perceived a lack of knowledge in the local community about the 602 environmental benefits promoted by the MPAs, which inhibited the positive 603 impacts and made the community not care about its conservation (Gollan & 604 Barclay, 2020). Thus, it is understood that the positive impacts of MPAs are linked 605 to environmental quality and access to the environment. 606 Our study corroborated the importance of environmental attributes on the 607 quality of the experience of recreational divers. 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