Can social media data be used as an alternative to traditional surveys to understand tourists’ preferences for nature‐based experiences in protected areas? We explored this by comparing preferences for biodiversity obtained from a traditional survey conducted in Kruger National Park, South Africa, with observed preferences assessed from over 13,600 pictures shared on Instagram and Flickr by tourists visiting the park in the same period. We found no significant difference between the preferences of tourists as stated in the surveys and the preferences revealed by social media content. Overall, large‐bodied mammals were found to be the favorite group, both in the survey and on social media platforms. However, Flickr was found to better match tourists’ preference for less‐charismatic biodiversity. Our findings suggest that social media content can be used as a cost‐efficient way to explore, and for more continuous monitoring of, preferences for biodiversity and human activities in protected areas.

中文翻译：

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社交媒体数据可用于了解游客对保护区基于自然的体验的偏爱

可以使用社交媒体数据代替传统调查来了解游客对保护区基于自然的体验的偏好吗？我们通过比较在南非克鲁格国家公园进行的传统调查获得的对生物多样性的偏爱，并与同期参观公园的游客在Instagram和Flickr上共享的13,600张图片中观察到的偏爱进行了比较，从而探索了这一点。我们发现，调查中指出的游客偏好与社交媒体内容揭示的偏好之间没有显着差异。总体而言，无论是在调查中还是在社交媒体平台上，都发现大型哺乳动物是最喜欢的群体。但是，人们发现Flickr可以更好地满足游客对具有较低魅力的生物多样性的偏爱。