Perception of Thematic-Based Interpretation at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial: A Study of Korean Visitors

Abstract

The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (Gateway Arch) is a National Park Service (NPS) monument in St. Louis, Missouri, that serves as a symbol of westward expansion and frontier life in America during the 19th century. Most of the nearly 2.5 million annual visitors are interested in learning about its history and significance. Although the Gateway Arch is an international tourism destination, few attempts have addressed the language requirements of foreign visitors. This study evaluated thematic-based interpretation at the Gateway Arch using a sample of Korean visitors. A total of 148 subjects were recruited from the Asian Affairs Center (AAC) at the University of Missouri (MU) and assigned to one of three conditions: control group (n=42), watching a DVD prior to the visit (n=62), or participating in an on-site, ranger-led tour (n=44). Individuals were asked to evaluate five interpretive themes developed by NPS staff (by condition) using a questionnaire that was translated into Korean and checked for accuracy. Results indicated that theme perception was relatively poor in the control group, but improved significantly (p < 0.05) after watching a DVD and attending a NPS ranger-led tour. Managerial implications of this study focused on improving visitor experiences for international audiences, especially Koreans.

Keywords

interpretive themes National Park Service Jefferson National Expansion Memorial international audiences Korean visitors

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ballantyne

, Packer

, & Beckmann

(1997). Targeted interpretation: Exploring relationships among visitors’ motivations, activities, attitudes, information needs and preferences. Journal of Tourism Studies, 9 (2), 13–25.

Beerli

, & Martin

J. D.

(2004). Tourists’ characteristics and the perceived image of tourist destinations: A quantitative analysis – A case study of Lanzarote, Spain. Tourism Management, 25 (5), 623–636.

Beck

, & Cable

(2011). The gifts of interpretation (3rd ed.). Urbana, IL: Sagamore Publishing.

Benton

G. M.

(2009). From principle to practice: Four conceptions of interpretation. Journal of Interpretation Research, 14 (1), 7–32.

Boniface

(2002). Cultural tourism in the transitional city. A driving force for urban tourism-application of experiences to countries in transition. 1st international seminar on culture, Dubrovnik, Croatia. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from www.culturelink.org/publics/joint/tourism01/Jelincic_Urban_Tourism.pdf

Brochu

, & Merriman

(2001). Certified interpretive guide training workbook. Fort Collins, CO: National Association for Interpretation.

Cohen

(1985). The tourist guide. Annals of Tourism Research, 12 (1), 5–29.

Cook

(2013). Impacts of visitor spending on the local economy: Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, 2012 (Report No. NPS/NRSS/EQD/NRR-2013/677). Moscow, ID: Visitor Services Project. Retrieved February 17, 2014, from http://psu.uidaho.edu/files/vsp/economics/256_JEFF-2012-MGM2.pdf

Dann

(1977). Anomie, Ego-Enhancement and Tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 4 (4), 184–194.

10.

Dellaert

G. C. B.

(1999). The tourist as a value creator on the internet. Information and Communications Technologies in Tourism, 66–76.

11.

Floyd

(1999). Social science review: Race, ethnicity and use of the national park system. Retrieved February 17, 2014, from http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1426&context=govdocs

12.

Fodness

, & Murray

(1997). Tourist information search: An operationalization and comparison of approaches. Annals of Tourism Research, 24 (3), 503–523.

13.

Fournier

, Mick

, Wilton , & Peter

(1999). Rediscovering satisfaction. Journal of Marketing, 63, 5–23.

14.

Gremler

(1994). Word-of-mouth about service providers: An illustration of theory development in marketing. AMA Winter Educators’ Conference Proceedings: Marketing Theory and Applications, American Marketing Association, 62–70, Chicago, IL.

15.

Ham

(1992). Environmental interpretation. Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing Co.

16.

Ham

, & Weiler

(2002). Toward a theory of quality in cruise-based interpretive guiding. Journal of Interpretation Research, 7 (2), 29–49.

17.

Hargrove

(2002). Heritage tourism. Cultural Resource Management, 25 (3), 10–11.

18.

Haywood

(1989). Managing word-of-mouth communications. The Journal of Services Marketing, 3 (2), 55–67.

19.

Huh

(2002). Tourist satisfaction with cultural heritage sites, Blacksburg Virginia Historic Triangle. Unpublished master's thesis, Virginia Polytechnic & State University

Blacksburg, Virginia.

20.

Khaki

, & Sahaf

(2011). Satisfaction of visiting tourists to Kashmir division. South Asian Journal of Tourism and Heritage, 4, 63–71.

21.

Knapp

, & Benton

(2004). Elements to successful interpretation: A multiple case study of five national parks. Journal of Interpretation Research, 9 (2), 9–25.

22.

Knudson

, Cable

, & Beck

(2003). Interpretation of cultural and natural resources (2nd ed.). State College, PA: Venture Publishing, Inc.

23.

Larsen

(2003). Meaningful interpretation. Ft. Washington, PA: Eastern National.

24.

Lee

C-K.

(2000). A comparative study of Caucasian and Asian visitors to a cultural expo in an Asian setting. Tourism Management, 21, 169–176.

25.

Lin

H-N.

, Chou

, & Morgan

(2012). Interpretation in Taiwan: A public involvement perspective. Legacy, 23 (3), 32–35.

26.

Lindberg-Repo

(1999). Word-of-mouth communication in the hospitality industry (Research Rep. No. 47). Helsinki, Finland: Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration, Center for Relationship Marketing and Service Management.

27.

Lindsey

(2011). South Korea and MU have a long history. College of Arts and Science, University of Missouri. Retrieved February 17, 2014, from http://coas.missouri.edu/news/2011/korea.shtml

28.

Littlejohn

, & Hollenhorst

(2005). Manzanar National Historic Site Visitor Study (Report No. 161). Moscow, ID: Park Studies Unit. Retrieved February 17, 2014, from http://psu.uidaho.edu/files/vsp/reports/161_MANZ_rept.pdf

29.

Manni

, Gramann

, Le

, & Hollenhorst

(2013). Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Visitor Study (Report No. NPS/NRSS/EQD/NRR-2013/661). Moscow, ID: Visitor Services Project. Retrieved February 17, 2014, from http://psu.uidaho.edu/files/vsp/reports/256_JEFF_rept.pdf

30.

McDonnell

(2001). The role of the tour guide in transferring cultural understanding (Paper No. 3). Sydney, Australia: School of Leisure, Sport and Tourism, University of Technology. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/research/bitstream/handle/10453/19812/lstwp3.pdf?sequence=1

31.

Missouri Census Data Center. (2014). Retrieved February 17, 2014, from http://mcdc.missouri.edu/

32.

Morgan

, & Dong

(2006). Measuring passenger satisfaction of interpretive programming on two Amtrak trains in the Midwest. Journal of Interpretation Research, 13 (2), 43–58.

33.

Murray

K. B.

(1991). A test of services marketing theory: Consumer information acquisition activities. Journal of Marketing, 55, 10–25.

34.

National Trust for Historic Preservation (2011). Cultural heritage tourism 2011 fact sheet. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from http://culturalheritagetourism.org/documents/2011CHTFactSheet6-11.pdf

35.

Roggenbuck

, Loomis

, & Dagastino

(1990). The learning benefits of leisure. Journal of Leisure Research, 22 (2), 112–124.

36.

Shadish

, & Cook

(2009). The renaissance of field experimentation in evaluating interventions. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 607–629.

37.

Snelson

(2008). Web-based video in education: Possibilities and pitfalls. TCC 2008 Proceedings, 214–221.

38.

Tarlton

, & Ward

(2006). The effect of thematic interpretation on a child's knowledge of an interpretive program. Journal of Interpretation Research, 11, 7–28.

39.

Taylor

, Grandjean

, & Gramann

(2011). National Park Service comprehensive survey of the American public 2008–2009: Racial and ethnic diversity of national park system visitors and non-visitors (Natural Resource Report NPS/NRSS/SSD/NRR-2011/432). Retrieved February 17, 2014, from http://www.nature.nps.gov/socialscience/docs/CompSurvey2008_2009RaceEthnicity.pdf

40.

Thaothampitak

, & Weerakit

(2008). Tourist motivation and satisfaction: The case study of Trang Province, Thailand. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from http://www.scribd.com/doc/53002828/TOURIST-MOTIVATION-AND-SATISFACTION-THE-CASE-STUDY-OF-TRANG-PROVINCE-THAILAND\

41.

Thorndyke

(1977). Cognitive structures in comprehension and memory of narrative discourse. Cognitive Psychology, 9 (1), 77–110.

42.

Tian-Cole

, & Crompton

(2003). A conceptualization of the relationships between service quality and visitor satisfaction, and their links to destination selection. Leisure Studies, 22 (1), 65–80.

43.

Tilden

(1957). Interpreting our heritage. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.

44.

Tsekleves

, & Cosmas

(2003). Cultural heritage multimedia broadcast services: CISMUNDUS extended cultural heritage sites & cultural tourism service scenario. Paper presented at the Dinis M. Santos: 4th Conference on Telecommunications, Aveiro, Portugal. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from http://dea.brunel.ac.uk/project/cismundus/chimbs-final.pdf

45.

U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries. (2009). International visitation to the United States: A statistical summary of U.S. arrivals. Retrieved February 22, 2014, from http://travel.trade.gov/outreachpages/download_data_table/2009_Visitation_Report.pdf

46.

U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service. (2014). Jefferson National Expansion Memorial website. Retrieved February 17, 2014, from http://www.nps.gov/jeff/planyourvisit/park-purpose-and-significance.htm

47.

U.S. Dept. of Interior, National Park Service. (2009). Final General Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. Retrieved February 17, 2014, from http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkId=143&projectId=21706&documentID=30183

48.

U.S. Travel Association. (2010). Travel and tourism spending grows in 2010. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from http://www.ustravel.org/sites/default/files/page/2009/09/EconomicImpactofTravelandTourism2010.pdf

49.

Uzzell

(1989). Heritage interpretation volume 1: The natural and built environment. London: Belhaven Press.