Dr. Kirsten Holmes
Management School, University of Sheffield, UK

Memory and visual culture: visitors' recollections and repeat visiting intentions

The role of memory in a museum or heritage visit is a growing concern for heritage practitioners and theorists (Hein, 1998). As the heritage sector faces growing competition from other leisure activities, attracting both first-time and repeat visitors is increasingly important. Since word-of-mouth recommendation is the main impetus behind first-time visitors' decision to visit, the impact of previous visits and visitors' memories of them is implicit. Stevenson found that visitors retained their memories over considerable time, interviewing them six months after their visit (Stevenson, 1991). Moreover, 99% of respondents stated that they had mentioned their visit to friends of family.
     Further research has found that visitors could remember their mental and emotional state during the visit (Falk & Dierking, 1995) and that visitors' memories contain an emotional response to the whole visit, an holistic character (Prentice, 1998). So visitors would be expected to recall, even after some length of time, who they visited with, the time and place of the visit, elements of the whole visit, including whether they visited the cafÈ and if they purchased anything from the gift shop.
     For this study, visitors at 13 museums and heritage sites across England and Wales were given a questionnaire asking for their perceptions of their visit, as they arrived at the attraction and asked to return this by post after their visit. Respondents were asked to give a contact telephone number. 119 respondents were then contacted by telephone 6 weeks after their visit and further questioned about their memories of their visit, any social contact they had during their visit and whether they had visited since or recommended the attraction to anyone, that is has their visit had any impact on future visiting at the museum or heritage visitor attraction. The responses were analysed using content analysis.
     The responses show that respondents have detailed recollections of their visits. In particular, peripheral elements stand out, such as the weather and the visual elements. In addition, respondents seemed to have clear memories of any social contact they had while visiting. These responses demonstrate the holistic nature of the visitor experience and provide useful information for managers.

References
Falk John H& Dierking, Lynn D, 1995, Recalling the Museum Experience Journal of Museum Education 20(2)10-13
Hein, George, 1998, Learning in the Museum London: Routledge
Prentice, Richard, 1998, Recollections of Museum Visits: a case study of remembered cultural attraction visiting on the Isle of Man Museum Management and Curatorship 17(1) 41-64
Stevenson, John, 1991, The Long-term Impact of Interactive Exhibits International Journal of Science Education 13(5) 521-531