The firefly tour is one of the characteristics of Tung-Shih Forest Recreation Area. Interpretation service is offered to introduce the relative knowledge to tourists. The study assessed and discussed the efficiency and tourists’ satisfaction of the interpreter’s service currently offered at Tung-Shih Forest Recreation Area from the following three aspects including leisure experience, the receiving of ecological knowledge, and the agreement with the nature conservation of fireflies. A convenience sampling was used to collect 263 valid questionnaires. The sampling time was from April to July 2003.
The results were as follows: The surveyed tourists felt that the firefly tour was an interesting and relaxing experience, contained substantially and abundantly activities after receiving interpreters’ service. The samples had higher efficiency for leisure experience and highly satisfaction, and got higher scores for the knowledge of firefly after receiving the interpreter’s service during the tour. Therefore, they would like to participate this tour again, and had highly agreed with the nature conservation of fireflies.
The surveyed tourists thought that firefly tour can be developed as a eco-tourism, it should forbid to catch fireflies and to enter their habits during the tour, lighting will disturb the ecology of fireflies, and the noisy made by tourists will influence the tourists’ mood of participating the firefly tour.
Generally speaking, samples had highly satisfaction with leisure experience, the receiving of ecological knowledge, and the agreement with the nature conservation of fireflies after receiving the interpreter’s service. To offer interpreters can increase tourists’ satisfaction and protect the fireflies. Although it costs much money to pay interpreters, the manager of Tung-Shih Forest Recreation Area is suggested to give some benefits to volunteer interpreters to attract those volunteers.
