Complete Story
01/20/2023
Updates 01/20/2023: Ohio's Travel Industry and Current Travel Research
VISITORS WHO FEEL WELCOMED ARE WILLING TO PAY HIGHER ADMISSIONS
Key findings from IMPACTS, published Jan. 18:
- Exhibit-based organizations like zoos, aquariums, museums, historic sites, etc., are not currently reaching new audiences fast enough to sustain long-term audience growth.
- Though welcoming perceptions are increasing, many are still not reaching racially diverse audiences at representative rates.
- People are willing to pay higher admission fees when they feel the experience is welcoming.
- On a welcoming perception scale from 0-100, people who rate their attraction experience as an 80 on this scale were willing to pay a higher admission price.
- What exactly does feeling welcome mean to audiences?
- Seeing themselves represented by staff members in terms of race, age, etc.
- Seeing their language represented
- Special programs or exhibits representing diverse experts or stories
- Having a positive, personal interaction with a kind staff member
- Specifically looking at those who self-identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) compared to those who self-identify as white or non-Hispanic, the trend still shows the higher the welcoming perception, the more each group is willing to pay in admission.
