Interpretive media that attract park visitors and enhance their experiences: A comparison of modern and traditional tools using GPS tracking and GIS technology
Introduction
Effective interpretation is an important tool for park managers in attracting visitors and enhancing their experiences in national parks (Light, 1995, Moscardo et al., 2004, Tubb, 2003). Park interpretation aims to educate and increase visitor appreciation and awareness of the cultural and natural heritage aspects of a specific site (Hughes and Morrison-Saunders, 2002a, Hwang et al., 2005), and fosters place attachment and identification with a park (e.g., Ballantyne et al., 1998, Brody et al., 2002). Successful park interpretation draws visitors away from competing leisure attractions and encourages return visits to sites where people experienced high levels of satisfaction (e.g., Bramwell & Lane, 1993). The latter may result in tourists recommending the tour to others which is an important means to attract new visitors (Munro, Morrison-Saunders, & Hughes, 2008). Additionally interpretation is an appropriate tool for guiding visitors in space and time enabling them to select places or features within the park that may be particularly attractive or meaningful to them (Bramwell & Lane, 1993).
Given that there is a range of interpretive media available and that interpretation programs are costly to implement and maintain, it is imperative that research is undertaken to evaluate and identify the most effective media for a specific recreation setting (Light, 1995, Munro et al., 2008). Numerous studies have assessed interpretive media in indoor settings such as galleries, museums and visitor centres (e.g., Alt and Shaw, 1984, Moscardo and Pearce, 1986, Peart, 1984, Screven, 1976, Washburne and Wagar, 1972). In contrast, far fewer studies have evaluated interpretive media for outdoor settings such as national parks (e.g., Brody et al., 2002, Light, 1995, Ruchter et al., 2005). The results of studies from indoor settings are not always applicable outdoors where interpretive media need to be particularly effective at competing with a multitude of random sensory stimuli from the environment and visitors' need to pay attention as they travel along recreational tracks and explore sites (Hughes and Morrison-Saunders, 2002a, Rademaker, 2008). In addition to this, people's motivation to learn and therefore their incentive to engage with interpretive media may be greater in museums and other educational indoor settings (Light, 1995, Novey and Hall, 2007).
We focus on the evaluation of self-guided, traditional (pamphlets, signage) vs. modern (audio MP3 tours, GPS-triggered multi-media tour) media for a walking trail in a well-frequented national park in the Sydney metropolitan area. GPS-triggered multi-media tours can be delivered via smart-phone applications or on GPS navigation devices as points of interests (POIS). Both technologies have become very popular to retrieve location-based information whilst travelling and compared to others, radio-frequency identification systems (Ferrer, Dew, & Apte, 2010) for example, they are comparatively easy to provide as the user supplies the equipment rather than park management. This is a particular advantage for large park systems where many parks need to be serviced with appropriate interpretive information.
The central question in our paper is how modern technical media compare to traditional media as tools for park interpretation. We hypothesised that people prefer traditional media over modern media as the technicality of the latter may distract from the outdoor experience in the natural environment, which is a major motivation to visit national parks. However, modern media were expected to enhance short-term factual learning and to have a higher holding power as they likely increase visitor's attention span.
To evaluate the effectiveness of the different media types we used a questionnaire-based survey in combination with the GPS tracking of visitors, which is a comparatively new and insightful technique that generates high-precision data on visitor movements (Shoval and Isaacson, 2007, Wolf et al., 2012). To our knowledge this is the first study that compares the performance of interpretive media based on an in-depth evaluation of spatio-temporal visitor data. We provide insights into the effectiveness of GPS tracking and GIS for such an evaluation process and how well this approach complements more traditional techniques. Our study exemplifies how the implementation of GPS tracking and GIS technology is crucial to generate reliable and novel performance measures that assist park management in decision-making on the types of interpretive experiences that best meet their requirements.
Section snippets
Range of interpretive media
When implementing interpretive programs along recreational tracks, there is a range of self-guided interpretive media available from which park managers can choose. Museum studies have shown that people actively engage with interpretive media and that the way material is communicated to them influences their level of absorption (McManus, 1988, McManus, 1989). People may briefly read parts of interpretive text in order to confirm the ‘predicted’ meanings of the object which is being interpreted (
Study area and tour stops
We conducted our research along the Bradleys Head walking trail in Sydney Harbour National Park. The park is renowned for its scenic views of Sydney Harbour, European and Aboriginal heritage sites and offers ample opportunity to view unique Australian flora and fauna. Bradleys Head is a 0.4 km2 peninsula located on the north shore of the Sydney Harbour National Park, which conserves much of the Sydney harbour foreshore and islands. Its close proximity to the city centre and easy accessibility
Characteristics of the sample
We surveyed and GPS-tracked 306 park visitors > 18 years of age along the 1.8 km BH walk; from the beginning of the BH walk near the Sydney ferry terminal to the BH historic site. This included 42 control visitors (without interpretive media), 43 audio tour and 54 GPS navigation tour (‘navi tour’) users, 43 users of text-rich and 41 users of image-rich information pamphlets, 42 users of text-rich and 41 users of image-rich signage. Participation rate was at 76%. Twelve of the recorded GPS tracks,
Discussion
Our findings demonstrate the complexity of choices that confront park managers when they need to evaluate the performance of interpretive media in accordance with the objectives of their interpretive program. These may be to maximise learning, promote longer stays at tour stops or a high overall visitor satisfaction. As a result, performance needs to be judged using a range of criteria. In our study, these encompassed the effect of interpretive media on the spatio-temporal behaviour of
Conclusions
Our research revealed that the choice of media is fundamental for effective interpretation as it influences visitor satisfaction, word-of-mouth recommendation, short-term factual learning and all three attracting, distracting and holding powers.
This study further demonstrated that modern technical media, specifically GPS-triggered multi-media tours, performed well in most of these measures. The use of rapidly advancing technology such as navigation devices and smartphones is becoming widespread
Acknowledgements
The research was funded by the Tourism and Partnerships Branch of the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Office of Environment and Heritage, Department of Premier and Cabinet. The authors greatly thank two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript and B. Weiler from Southern Cross University for an insightful discussion. J. Briere is to be thanked for his assistance in the design of the interpretive media, data collection and analysis. The authors
Dr. Isabelle Wolf is a Research and Analysis Officer at the Office of Environment and Heritage, Australia. Isabelle is responsible for all aspects of park visitor research and monitoring, including visitor experience development and management. She is leading numerous GIS-related visitor monitoring projects and New South Wales state-wide visitor research. In this role she capitalises on her expertise in both the social and ecological sciences. As an ecologist her speciality is the interface
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Dr. Isabelle Wolf is a Research and Analysis Officer at the Office of Environment and Heritage, Australia. Isabelle is responsible for all aspects of park visitor research and monitoring, including visitor experience development and management. She is leading numerous GIS-related visitor monitoring projects and New South Wales state-wide visitor research. In this role she capitalises on her expertise in both the social and ecological sciences. As an ecologist her speciality is the interface between people and their environment with recent work on animal behaviour and flora and fauna communities in fragmented and disturbed habitats. Isabelle has completed a PhD at the University of New South Wales and published in both social and environmental science journals.
Heidi Stricker is an Ecologist (University of New South Wales) and environmental consultant currently pursuing research on the ecological role of turtles in the Murray River at the University of Western Sydney. She also has more than 8 years of experience working in the hospitality and tourism sector, including international resorts. Her strong interests in promoting sustainability and conservation through education have led her to undertake park visitor research with the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage.
Gerald Hagenloh is an architect with a long-standing interest in landscape planning, including that of recreation-based settings. He has worked on a range of consulting projects in this field. His speciality is progressive technical and mixed-method approaches in people monitoring and travel route development.