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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RESPONSIBLE TOURISM AND

HOSPITALITY 2022 TITLE: A gendered analysis of urban park usage among
selected college students in Manila, Philippines during CO...

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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RESPONSIBLE TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY 2022

TITLE: A gendered analysis of urban park usage among selected college

students in Manila, Philippines during COVID-19
Luzviminda O. Tugade1, Yolanda T. Montances*2, Karissa Acosta3

1
Luzviminda O. Tugade, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Philippines
2
Yolanda T. Montances, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Philippines
3
Karissa M. Acosta, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Philippines

*Correspondence email: ytmontances@pup.edu.ph

Keywords: Gender, Manila, Philippines, Students, Urban Park,

EXTENDED ABSTRACT

The proponents probed into the motivations, activities, and constraints in urban park visits
of two hundred conveniently sampled college students in Manila, Philippines, during the alert
level 1 period in 2022 by employing a descriptive – quantitative online survey. Students seldom
visited parks during the pandemic, though female college students are high potential urban park
visitors. There are marked inequalities among male and female students regarding their
motivations, preferential activities, and constraints in urban park usage. Students are niche
markets in urban parks with their own reasons and preferential activities and conditions. As this
study examined the usage patterns, preferences, and perceptions of urban parks from the
Filipinos' cultural context, destination management organizations and park authorities need to
work on green spaces in cities that fulfill the needs of college students to improve their overall
health, especially during this pandemic.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Benefits of urban park usage

Addas and Maghrabi (2022) state that urban parks provide various ecological services and
direct and indirect mental and physical health benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.
University students, known to include a vulnerable population, have become even more
susceptible during the pandemic (Goncalves et al., 2021). Alizadehtazi et al. (2020) report in their
study that in high vulnerability cities of Philadelphia and New York City with documented higher
COVID-19 cases, residents seem to have been undeterred from visiting parks during this phase
of the pandemic, in which males were more frequently observed than females in parks in both
high vulnerability and high-density neighborhoods. Thus, according to Halkos et al. (2021),
visitors' motivations for visiting parks generally differ. Many visitors come for harmony with
nature and the benefits it brings with it. Some park visitors wished to escape the monotony of
everyday life (Andriotis, 2011), while others wanted to relax (Irvine et al., 2013) or engage in
personal pursuits such as reading (Irvine et al., 2013). Moreover, individuals' social needs are
also met in parks. Demand from citizens for gardens and outdoor green spaces has improved since
the COVID-19 episode and highlights the critical role and benefits of parks, mainly urban and
community parks (Geng et al., 2021). The park-based activities are among the few options for
urban residents hoping to enhance and sustain their well-being and health in a crisis (Ugolini et
al., 2021). Parks serve as green spaces most closely linked to our lives and offer beautiful natural
scenery and recreational activities, including walking, sports, social assemblies, and events for
physical and mental health (Tu et al., 2020; Baek et al., 2021).
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RESPONSIBLE TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY 2022

RESEARCH METHOD

The proponents utilized a descriptive quantitative method to describe and collect data on
purposively sampled two hundred college students from selected public and private
universities in Manila using google form. According to McCombes (2019), descriptive
research characterizes a population, a situation, or a phenomenon methodically and accurately.
A researcher-made instrument comprising 60-item assessment measures motivation,
preferences, and constraints measured on a four-point Likert scale. Three experts went through
the research questions to ascertain the adequacy and appropriateness of the instruments. The
overall reliability test score of the study questionnaire was 0.95, resulting in excellent internal
consistency. The proponents assumed a .05 level of significance for the hypothesis testing to
determine the variation of assessments between male and female students based on the given
constructs. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed for data analysis. For ethical
grounds, the researchers obtained permission from the respondents to partake in the online
survey questionnaire allowing them to volunteer their involvement without being threatened or
coached.

RESULTS

Profile of Respondents

The most significant number of college students is aged 18–25, under Generation Z, while
the most dominant gender is female. The study purposely obtained an equal number of students
from several private and public schools resulting in a total of two hundred respondents. Most
students seldom visited parks during park usage during alert level 1 of COVID-19 in Manila.
Further, data indicate that they prefer weekend afternoon schedules with their friends and
classmates and still intend to pursue park visits amid the pandemic.

Motivations of students in urban park usage

Table 1 presents the gendered analysis on students’ motivations in urban park visits.

Table 1. Comparison of motivations in visiting urban parks by gender

Students established visiting urban parks to fulfill all the four dimensions of social,
recreational, environmental, psychological, and health motivations. The environmental desires
emerge as their most significant pull, while recreation is the least of their intent. Results infer
those females demonstrate slightly higher valuations than their male counterparts in all aspects
of motivations. However, the significant difference test indicated that male and female students
prefer to visit urban parks with the same intent in the given measurements of social, recreational,
psychological, and health motivations. Yet, findings insinuate that they vary in environmental
triggers.
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RESPONSIBLE TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY 2022

Preference of students in urban park activities

Table 2 presents the gendered analysis of students’ preferential activities in urban park
visits.

Table 2. Comparison of preferential activities in urban parks by gender

Findings signify those students prefer all four aspects of activities in urban parks.
However, environmental activities capture their most important choice, while psychological and
health activities emerge as the least of their preference. Furthermore, male and female students
do not vary in social and recreational priority, while they differ in environmental and health
activity likings.

Constraints of students in urban park usage

Table 3 presents the gendered analysis on students’ constraints in urban park visits.

Students confirmed moderate to significant constraints in visiting urban parks. Findings

suggest that safety and hygiene factors are the most pressing while interpersonal conditions are
the least. However, female students consistently demonstrate more severe concerns of constraints
in all five dimensions of intrapersonal, interpersonal, government restrictions, information,
safety, and hygiene. In addition, male and female students significantly differ in their
interpersonal perceptions of constraints while they depict common perspectives in the rest of the
constructs.
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RESPONSIBLE TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY 2022

DISCUSSIONS

Park visitation decreased during the pandemic, even during the alert level one status of
many cities in Metro Manila, Philippines, starting March 2022. Nevertheless, female college
students are high potential urban park visitors. The current global crisis is not a handicap for
college students, and some factors still motivate them to visit urban parks amid the pandemic.
Urban gardens can support various requirements and functions comprising social, recreational,
environmental, psychological, and health to offer vital services to the student market segment.
However, urban Park visits at the present time provide significant risks, particularly regarding
safety and hygiene.

There are marked inequalities among male and female students regarding their
motivations, preferential activities, and constraints in urban park usage. Female students have
more significant desires, interests, and restrictions in urban park visits compared to their male
counterparts. The varying personality differences between men and women influence their
ecological attitudes and environmental behavior. Significant gender differences in why men and
women visit parks and how parks are used reflect cultural determinants of gender roles. However,
the ecological attributes of urban parks appear to be a strong pull for student visitors. The scope
of their preference for urban park activities during the pandemic indicates that partaking in a park
experience is more satisfying with its environmental attributes. The empirical results of this study
underline the link between motivation and preferred activities and between motivation and
visitors’ satisfaction.

MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS

The results obtained in this study point to the need to consider the users’ gender when
designing urban parks, considering significant differences in their perceptions of park usage.
The study findings can be relevant for park stakeholders to effectively manage and create urban
park activities that promote recreation during the pandemic, directed by health protocols and
safety guidelines. Destination management organizations and park authorities need to work on
green spaces in cities that fulfill the needs of college students to improve their overall health.
Leaders should demonstrate an appropriate combination of measures such as increasing space
available to encourage dispersion and non-collective activities, deploying enough authorized
physical distancing measures, providing opportunities for hand hygiene, and allowing people to
access green spaces to gain larger areas for some social, recreational, environmental, and
psychological activities with more self-protection. With these findings, the study may be helpful
to park developers, tourism planners, or local government units in demonstrating gender
inclusion and making public spaces such as urban parks safe and accessible to all. In that sense,
people in every gender spectrum might find urban parks safe and accessible, boosting the
industry.

FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

Future studies addressing gender disparities in urban park usage constraints are
encouraged to help generate evidence-based decision-making recommendations to limit these
gaps in the leisure and recreation industry. In addition, the market-based demands for urban park
usage are compelling areas of study to contribute to the design and development of urban parks
in the Philippines.
 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RESPONSIBLE TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY 2022

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Andriotis, K. (2011). A comparative study of visitors to urban, coastal and rural areas. Evidence
from the island of Crete. European Journal of Tourism Research, 4(2), 93-108.

Baek, J., Kim, Y., Kim, H., & Song, H. (2021). Understanding Visitors at an Urban Park by
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