The number of visitors choosing to visit the many national parks scattered around Germany is constantly on the increase, yet to date there have only been a few research undertakings into the social effects of tourism and outdoor recreation on these areas. With this in mind, we set out to investigate and identify the social effects of visitor crowding, as well as visitors' expectations and satisfaction in one such national park; the Biosphere Reserve of the "Schleswig-Holsteinisches Wattenmeer" on the island of Hallig Hooge. We feel that the findings of our study could be used by the local tourist management board as a guide for the implementation of future tourist management plans for the area. In the survey, we identified and interviewed two different types of dayvisitors, namely guided and independent visitors. As well as these groups, overnight visitors constitute an ever increasing percentage of those visiting the reserve. Tourism is the main source of income for the local economy and consequently there are many different businesses catering for both visitor groups, each with their own economic objective.
A visual approach was used to identify the factors which influence the levels of crowding as perceived by tourists to the area. Each person surveyed was asked to evaluate the acceptability of a number of use levels as depicted in five computer-edited photographs. The results show that nearly 20% of the visitors reported some degree of crowding. So the majority of those interviewed found the level of tourist activity to be acceptable. The most sensitive visitor group were the non-guided dayvisitors, whereas guided visitors were much more tolerant of crowding. Otherweise perceptions of crowding seem to have had just only a slight impact on visitor satisfaction. As tourism is the main source of income for the local economy, our findings could be relevant for local businesses and for future tourist management planning in the area.