Research Methods in Tourism, Hospitality and Events Management

5.6.1 Practice examples – a real exercise to design a

questionnaire for a piece of research on a visitor

attraction

Brief

You have recently been employed by Leisure Consultants Ltd, who carry out

consultancy in the leisure, recreation and tourism field. The company has just landed

a contract to undertake market research for a conglomerate which has some interests

in tourism facilities in the UK. One aspect of this contract (a fairly minor one) is to

evaluate the future use of a zoo and wildlife park. There are several aspects to this

contract, including a feasibility study and a visitor survey of current visitors. It is this

latter aspect that your boss has delegated to you. The deadline is tight and without

visiting the site, she (your boss) needs a report on how the company should go about

undertaking the visitor survey. There is no time for you to visit the site, nor talk to

anybody who has worked there. Thus, at this stage, she needs a report on what you

feel would be a suitable method of undertaking a visitor survey, how long it should

take and how much it would cost. To help (or hinder) you, your boss has given you a

questionnaire from a similar survey which she conducted some years ago.

Facts

The wildlife park is called Tiptree Zoo and is based in South Devon between

Ashburton and Buckfastleigh.

It currently has 35,000 visitors a year on a 250-acre site, with an adult charged

£5 and children under 16, £2.50.

On the site there are four main sections: Animals, Reptiles, Birds and Fish.

In addition, there is a gift shop, a catering kiosk, a cafeteria, a children’s play

area, and interpretation provision. The latter consists of leaflets to guide visitors

around the zoo itself, and of displays in a wildlife interpretation centre.