{"id":58702,"date":"2026-06-03T15:42:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T22:42:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engage.gov.bc.ca\/bcparksblog\/?p=58702"},"modified":"2026-06-03T15:42:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T22:42:45","slug":"who-visits-outdoor-recreational-spaces-in-b-c-day-use-styles-help-us-get-to-know-our-visitors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engage.gov.bc.ca\/bcparksblog\/2026\/06\/03\/who-visits-outdoor-recreational-spaces-in-b-c-day-use-styles-help-us-get-to-know-our-visitors\/","title":{"rendered":"Who visits outdoor recreational spaces in B.C.? Day-use Styles help us get to know our visitors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n Home<\/a>\n \n Who visits outdoor recreational spaces in B.C.? Day-use Styles help us get …\n <\/span>\n
\n <\/div>\n <\/bcgov-breadcrumb>\n\n\n

Who visits outdoor recreational spaces in B.C.? Day-use Styles help us get to know our visitors<\/h1>\n
BC Parks News<\/a>, <\/span>Design Research<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In July 2025, we created Camping Styles<\/a> to better understand who our campers are. Using the same research approach, we\u2019ve now developed Day\u2011use Styles to complement the Camping Styles and reflect the experiences of people visiting a park or recreation site but not staying overnight (referred to as day-use visitors).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s virtually impossible to optimize services, digital products, and policies for users when you don\u2019t know who they really are. Though we\u2019ve been speaking directly with visitors for several years, we wanted to learn more about what makes the experiences of day-use visitors unique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, who are the people who visit parks and recreation areas? What motivates them to get outdoors? And what is their experience when they get there?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this post, we share what we learned from 15 conversations with a variety of day-use visitors.<\/a> These learnings have shaped a set of user types that we call Day-use Styles. Day-use Styles are a valuable tool for teams across our organization to use when making decisions that impact our visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Day-use Styles are (and are not)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day-use Styles are inspired by Thinking Styles<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea for Day-use Styles came from Thinking Styles<\/a>, a method developed by strategic researcher and author Indi Young. It\u2019s a way to dig beneath behaviours and preferences to understand users on a deeper level.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day-use Styles are visitor archetypes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They shine a light on the different ways people approach their day-use experiences in B.C. They help us understand how visitors think, their emotional reactions, and guiding principles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day-use Styles are based on research<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are not fictionalized characters. We created them by finding patterns in what real people told us about how they approach and experience their outdoor recreation trips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day-use Styles help us empathize and understand<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are a tool to help us expand our idea of who day-use visitors are and what they need. This is especially useful when making decisions that impact visitors directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day-use Styles are not demographics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They do not divide along lines such as age, gender, ethnicity, or physical abilities. Each style includes people from a variety of demographics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day-use Styles are not rigid<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One person does not always equal one Day-use Style. People\u2019s Day-use Style can change depending on context. For example, if one weekend you\u2019re enjoying a walk alone, and the next weekend you\u2019re at a picnic with extended family, it\u2019s likely that you\u2019re a different Day-use Style on each weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day-use Styles are not perfect<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are designed to evolve as we learn more about our visitors. Our current styles represent what we know so far, but as we talk to more people, the styles will change along with our knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meet our Day-use Styles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So far, we\u2019ve uncovered three distinct Day-use Styles, to which we\u2019ve (hopefully) given memorable names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n