Targeted interpretation: exploring relationships among visitors' motivations, activities, attitudes, information needs and preferences

Abstract

Visitors to an interpretive setting have different motivations for their visit, reflecting their personal characteristics, attitudes and interests. These motivations, in turn, influence not only the type of recreational experiences that these visitors seek and select but also their needs and preferences regarding the informational/interpretation sources and content to which they are likely to pay attention. This paper reports findings from a major survey of visitors to Fraser Island, a World Heritage area on the eastern coast of Australia. The relationships between visitors' motivations, activities, characteristics and attitudes, and their information needs and preferences are explored. Ways of designing interpretive messages and media which build on, or compensate for, different motivational patterns are suggested. It is concluded that targeted interpretation must be based on a thorough understanding of visitors' motivations, existing knowledge, attitudes and behaviour, as well as their information needs and preferences.