Investigating Visitor Activity on a Safari Drive
Despite increasing studies focusing on the visitor experience in zoological collections, minimal attention has been paid to visitor activity when driving through safari parks. The dwell time of visitors at exhibits within a traditional zoo setting has offered a good method to measure exhibit and spe...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5636/2/4/41 |
| _version_ | 1797503081781395456 |
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| author | Matthew Lloyd Naomi Davies Walsh Bridget Johnson |
| author_facet | Matthew Lloyd Naomi Davies Walsh Bridget Johnson |
| author_sort | Matthew Lloyd |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Despite increasing studies focusing on the visitor experience in zoological collections, minimal attention has been paid to visitor activity when driving through safari parks. The dwell time of visitors at exhibits within a traditional zoo setting has offered a good method to measure exhibit and species popularity, but studying visitors on a safari drive offers a unique set of challenges, with factors such as road length skewing a basic dwell time measurement. Therefore, the current study proposes that average speed offers a robust means to investigate visitor activity on a safari drive. Average speed was found to be significantly different depending on species exhibited, with primates and felids eliciting slower speeds and bovids and cervids faster speeds. This result broadly mirrors that of traditional zoo studies where primates elicit longer dwell times. Future safari drive studies could help inform decisions made on a safari drive for aspects such a collection planning, drive layout and exhibit design. Harnessing tracking technology, e.g., GPS, alongside more diverse methodologies, such as questionnaires and multi-institutional approaches, would further allow more robust conclusions to be drawn. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:45:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ef0bb71c22564cebadb5457db83fdcd3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-5636 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:45:25Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens |
| spelling | doaj.art-ef0bb71c22564cebadb5457db83fdcd32023-11-23T09:09:56ZengMDPI AGJournal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens2673-56362021-11-012457658510.3390/jzbg2040041Investigating Visitor Activity on a Safari DriveMatthew Lloyd0Naomi Davies Walsh1Bridget Johnson2Knowsley Safari, Prescot L34 4AN, UKKnowsley Safari, Prescot L34 4AN, UKKnowsley Safari, Prescot L34 4AN, UKDespite increasing studies focusing on the visitor experience in zoological collections, minimal attention has been paid to visitor activity when driving through safari parks. The dwell time of visitors at exhibits within a traditional zoo setting has offered a good method to measure exhibit and species popularity, but studying visitors on a safari drive offers a unique set of challenges, with factors such as road length skewing a basic dwell time measurement. Therefore, the current study proposes that average speed offers a robust means to investigate visitor activity on a safari drive. Average speed was found to be significantly different depending on species exhibited, with primates and felids eliciting slower speeds and bovids and cervids faster speeds. This result broadly mirrors that of traditional zoo studies where primates elicit longer dwell times. Future safari drive studies could help inform decisions made on a safari drive for aspects such a collection planning, drive layout and exhibit design. Harnessing tracking technology, e.g., GPS, alongside more diverse methodologies, such as questionnaires and multi-institutional approaches, would further allow more robust conclusions to be drawn.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5636/2/4/41visitor experiencesafari drivezoodrive-through |
| spellingShingle | Matthew Lloyd Naomi Davies Walsh Bridget Johnson Investigating Visitor Activity on a Safari Drive Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens visitor experience safari drive zoo drive-through |
| title | Investigating Visitor Activity on a Safari Drive |
| title_full | Investigating Visitor Activity on a Safari Drive |
| title_fullStr | Investigating Visitor Activity on a Safari Drive |
| title_full_unstemmed | Investigating Visitor Activity on a Safari Drive |
| title_short | Investigating Visitor Activity on a Safari Drive |
| title_sort | investigating visitor activity on a safari drive |
| topic | visitor experience safari drive zoo drive-through |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5636/2/4/41 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT matthewlloyd investigatingvisitoractivityonasafaridrive AT naomidavieswalsh investigatingvisitoractivityonasafaridrive AT bridgetjohnson investigatingvisitoractivityonasafaridrive |