Location Attractiveness as a Major Factor in Museum Visitors’ Choice and Satisfaction

This paper is intended to give a contribution to the debate on the functional relationship between the museum and the local territory; more specifically, the aim of this study is to understand the role of a museum location in attracting visitors and influencing their processes of choice and satisfaction. The study follows, in particular, a previous study conducted by Mariani and Mussini (2013) based on Fondazione di Venezia data, with a view to better contextualization level. Previous studies have examined the role of museums in enhancing the image of a destination and in attracting and conveying additional tourists’ fluxes, arguing that although not all museums are a destination of choice for visitors, a great museum or a strong exhibition program still does represent a national and international attraction. This paper overturns this argument investigating whereas an appealing location (such as a tourist destination) can influence prospective visitors about the level of attractiveness of a pay cultural event taking place therein. A questionnaire was developed and data were collected at the Palazzo Ducale in Venice, Italy, in 2007, during the art exhibition “Venezia e l’Islam 829-1797”, via 501 face-to-face visitors interviews. The research model analyzes data through the conjoint analysis and the descriptive statistics. Results show that the exhibition location has been a relevant factor in influencing the visitors’ decision process linked to the attendance of the event. Data show that, for the majority of visitors, the exhibition had been located elsewhere, they would not have visited it. Thus, an appealing location or a structured tourist destination may function as an attractive platform that may contribute to enforce the overall visitor’s satisfaction with regard to his or her attendance to a cultural event. Furthermore, such a fact depends on specific objective variables (e.g., level of education, age), although no significant differences were reported between segments based on other socio-demographic characteristics such as sex. To conclude, arts and cultural managers should market and position cultural events in locations that can function as attractive, thus as emotionally driven experience consumption sites. Furthermore, they should consider both the cognitive and the emotional aspects of visitor’s experience when designing and planning their events, as well as when assessing visitor’s satisfaction. Cognitive and emotional aspects should be considered simultaneously when measuring visitors’ satisfaction. In shaping visitors’ satisfaction, emotions, such as the pleasure to be in a particular location, are more significant than cognitive aspects, such as the theme of the exhibition