Visitor Movement Behaviour in Urban Green Spaces: Insights from a South African Botanical Garden

Urban green spaces (UGSs) are vital components of urban tourism, providing multifunctional settings for recreation, cultural engagement, and ecological appreciation. Despite their importance, limited research has explored how visitors allocate time, activities, and spatial use within these landscapes. This study examined visitor spatial and temporal behaviour at a South African botanical garden through a quantitative survey of 301 respondents. Results showed that weekend visits and half-day stays were the most common temporal patterns, while significant site–activity associations linked relaxation with the picnic area, hiking with the hiking trail, concert attendance with the concert area, and birdwatching with the wetland. Multivariate analyses further revealed differentiated patterns of visitor site use, visitor composition, and visit characteristics through NMDS and identified four underlying spatial–activity dimensions through PCA: restorative and active recreation, event-oriented use, nature observation, and visual–aesthetic engagement. These findings highlight opportunities to manage visitor concentration, improve spatial connectivity, and encourage greater use of underutilised areas through diversified recreational opportunities. This study contributes to sustainable urban tourism planning by demonstrating how evidence on visitor spatial and temporal behaviour can inform targeted management and the planning of multifunctional botanical gardens.