Customer focus for cultural tourism
by Katrina Kalleske
UniSA’s Centre for Tourism and Leisure Management has undertaken three separate visitor surveys at a range of cultural and heritage sites across Australia, to get a better understanding of just how satisfied visitors are with their tourism experiences.
The latest report to be completed is a study covering the iconic Kakadu and Uluru Kata-Tjuta National Parks in the Northern Territory along with Booderee in New South Wales.
While the data about the visitors, their experiences, length of stay, age and satisfaction is interesting in its own right and valuable for the governing organisations, it’s the way this study is being undertaken that makes it particularly special, said team leader from UniSA Gary Crilley.
"This particular study was different than usual because it is the
staff at the national parks who are actually facilitating and
reviewing all the surveys," said Crilley, Senior Lecturer at the
University’s Centre for Tourism and Leisure Management.
"This gives them a unique chance to see how factors at each tourist centre effect visitors’ experiences.
"For example, the weather might have a big impact on how much the experience is enjoyed by the visitor, or maybe a certain facility was not functioning properly and that impacted on their visit.
"Usually studies like this are undertaken over a specific period of time by people from outside the organisation and then at the end of that period, the data is reviewed. In this case, the visitor profile data is being reviewed on a daily basis by the staff who work at the national parks and who interact with the respondents.
"It gives us a unique insight to what outside factors may be influencing visitor’s responses, giving us a much more detailed picture."
The locations being studied are some of Australia’s most recognisable tourism icons including Uluru, a World Heritage Listed site best known for its Aboriginal cultural significance including the giant rock. The national park is well equipped for the many visitors that travel there each year, featuring a range of accommodation facilities located close to a cultural centre, and many guided tour options.
The study showed that most visitors stayed one to three nights at Uluru and for the majority of them it was their first visit to the national park (76 per cent of domestic visitors and 96 per cent of international visitors).
The study of the three national parks is being undertaken over a three year period, to gauge any changes in levels of customer satisfaction over that time.
Meanwhile, UniSA’s Centre for Tourism and Leisure Management teamed up with botanic gardens across Australia and New Zealand to look at the experience for visitors at eight botanic gardens.
Apart from the important performance results for staff at the gardens, there was some interesting data about the people who visit them. Notably, the majority of visitors to each garden lived in that State and more than half of the visitors were not first time visitors.
In addition, close to 50 per cent of visitors see botanic gardens as a ‘peaceful place to relax’ while 21 per cent viewed them as a place for conservation and biodiversity. The work also shows that about one-third of visitors made the trip because of a recommendation.
The third visitor survey project takes in seven of South Australia’s cultural sites that are run by Arts SA (part of the SA Government). They are being studied as part of a three-year project. Surveys undertaken at the sites last year show a high level of visitor satisfaction.
"These types of systematic, regular surveys are not done very often for public sector-run cultural sites," said Crilley. "They are effective in making sure that the sites are relevant and that they are doing well.
"Overall, the visitors were very satisfied with their experiences at these cultural sites.
"The results from 2008 will provide a benchmark for the next two years."
Crilley said one of the surprising results from this survey was that a lot of young people are using the State Library.
It also showed that the four main attractions that visitors see in Adelaide are the Adelaide Botanic Garden, the Art Gallery of South Australia, the SA Museum and the Central Markets.
All three survey projects have been undertaken in close collaboration with the governing organisations.