Destination Marketing Organization Visitor Information and the Representation of Parks

The relationship between the marketing efforts of destination management organizations and the accuracy and efficiency of the marketing efforts with respect to parks are a tedious and inconsistent one. This study extended the work of Masberg and Jamieson by reporting the results of a quantitative analysis of the representation of parks in visitor information. In a study of the representation of parks in tourism collateral materials, it was found that information about parks is inconsistently addressed. A quantitative analysis of park roles and scope showed that approximately 10 out of 324 packets represented parks thoroughly and accurately. An effectiveness guide was applied to these materials to reveal what factors contributed to the effectiveness of the marketing message

Visitor Experiences at Heritage Sites: A Phenomenological Approach

There is a surprising lack of understanding of visitors' perspective on the experience of visiting a heritage site. Previous studies used quantitative approaches that did not shed light on visitors' perspectives, terms, and meanings. Drawing upon the tradition of phenomenology, this exploratory study used qualitative research methods to examine college student visitors' perspectives on heritage sites they had visited. Respondents' experience was multidimensional: they emphasized activities in which they had engaged, their companions, site personnel they had encountered, and information learned during their visits. The results suggest a need for more careful site management (including the physical environment and site personnel) and changes in marketing, advertising, programming, and site missions. Further research on visitor experiences using phenomenological and qualitative approaches is needed

Partnering for skill development: park and recreation agencies and university programs

Park and recreation administrators indicated that the skills they desire in entry-level professionals were ‘soft skills’; not skills per se, but personality characteristics and traits that seem to reflect professionalism and the ability to meet challenges well. The desirable personality would have strong verbal and written communication skills, a people orientation, and be enthusiastic, patient, and fun. Some basic professional parks and recreation skills such as budgeting and programming appear desirable, but of more interest is a person who can multi-task, solve problems, be flexible, be creative, and be passionate about the job. From the university recreation program\u27s viewpoint, there is a notable gap between skills and competencies identified by this research, and current accreditation and certification standards. Compatibility in standards and partnerships between universities, and park and recreation agencies, can help meet quantity and quality human resource needs. With university and agency partnerships, a more formal feedback loop could be formulated in order to articulate deficiencies in skills of interns. Academia is tasked with training future staff, and mechanisms need to be in place to ensure needed talent is available to agencies

A Delphi Study of Tourism Training and Education Needs in Washington State

A needs assessment of tourism industry education and training in Washington State was directed at managers and directors, supervised personnel, and general workers. The research used a Delphi methodology to access key informants in the Washington State tourism industry. Results showed that individuals working in the general tourism industry need customer serviceand interpersonalskills. Supervised personnel require customer serviceskills and researchskills. Managers and directors require managementskills and community tourism developmentskills. Managementskills were oriented toward human resource or personnel related skills and knowledge. Recommendations included: training managers to develop their own training skills; developing customer service skills and interpersonal skills in their supervised employees; and developing the practice of community tourism development. Managers are encouraged to utilize educational and training resources available to train their supervised employees in generic service, sales, and marketing; and domestic and international tourism marketing trends. Desired training formats include half-day time frames at organization\u27s locales for basic skills training; and utilization of tourism organization\u27s resources, especially via the Internet