Authors: Klenosky, David B.; Saunders, Carol D.

Source: Tourism Review International, Volume 11, Number 3, 2007 , pp. 317-327(11)

Publisher: Cognizant Communication Corporation

Abstract:

Understanding why people visit zoos and other nature-oriented attractions is critically important for developing exhibits and programming, as well as promoting the attraction to potential visitor markets. Means-end theory and its associated methodology known as laddering provide a useful framework for characterizing the relationships between the attributes of a choice option (such as a visitor attraction), the consequences (i.e., the benefits or costs/risks) associated with those attributes, and the personal values those consequences help reinforce. The present research uses this means-end perspective to explore the factors influencing people's decisions to visit a zoological park. A total of 138 visitors to Brookfield Zoo (a large conservation-oriented zoological park located near Chicago, Illinois) were intercepted onsite and asked by trained interviewers why they chose to visit the zoo that day. The interviewing technique known as laddering was then used to link the attributes of the zoo that influenced the decision to visit, to the consequences and personal values important to the visitor. Analyses of the resulting data provides an effective complement to traditional approaches for studying zoo visitation motives, and suggests actionable recommendations for managerial practice and future research efforts.

Keywords: VISITATION MOTIVES; NATURE-BASED TOURISM; MEANS-END THEORY; LADDERING METHODOLOGY; QUALITATIVE RESEARCH; ZOOLOGICAL PARK; ZOO VISITORS

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3727/154427207783948757

Publication date: 2007-12-01

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• Tourism Review International is a peer-reviewed journal that advances excellence in all fields of tourism research, promotes high-level tourism knowledge, and nourishes cultural awareness in all sectors of the tourism industry by integrating industry and academic perspectives. Its international and interdisciplinary nature ensures that the needs of those interested in tourism are served by documenting industry practices, discussing tourism management and planning issues, providing a forum for primary research and critical examinations of previous research, and by chronicling changing tourism patterns and trends at the local, regional and global scale.

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