Whitehall Farm Roman Villa: visitor profile

Profile of the visitors attending the Annual Open Days in 2001 and 2002
at Whitehall Farm Roman Villa Landscape Project and Excavation
by Barbara Evans Rees
(Submitted for the degree of Master of Arts, Archaeology and Heritage University of Leicester September 2002)

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CONCLUSIONS

This dissertation set out to describe the research project centred around the Whitehall Farm Roman Villa and Landscape Project annual public Open Day, near Nether Heyford, Northamptonshire. The research was carried out over two years; with a pilot survey in 2001, and a refined survey in 2002.

The research aims were to discover: who is visiting a specific heritage special event in the West Midlands (the Open Day); what are their motivations; what value did they place on their visit; what was their level of satisfaction; what was the visitors' level of interest in archaeology; what was the media' s influence on the visitors' purchasing decision and on starting the visitors' interest in archaeology.

The method used was a quantitative visitor survey, in the form of a self-completion questionnaire, which was completed on the day by a random sample of the visitors. The distribution method, issuing the questionnaires at an event attraction with seating, resulted in less than the anticipated number of questionnaires being completed. Also, a certain amount of self-selection in the sample was inevitable, as the completion of the questionnaires relied on the good will of the visitors (Doswell 1997). A more effective and controlled method would have been face-to-face interviews at the exit to the venue. However, a shortage of personnel and time did not make this option viable. The choice of method was found to be appropriate from the results of the surveys and achieved the research aims.

147 questionnaires were completed in 2001, and 140 in 2002. This results in a sample size of about 7% of the total number of visitors, which was approximately 2,000 in both years.

The pilot survey and the 2002 survey produced very similar results. This validated the primary data from the pilot survey, and therefore it was able to be included and used as a comparison in the results. A summary of the results obtained from both years relating to each research aim are described below:

Who is visiting the event?

The first research aim was to discover who is visiting a specific heritage special event in the West Midlands. The results are as follows:

There were between 14% (2002) and 16% (2001) more females visiting the event than males. (Although this may indicate that there were more female respondents than males.)
In 2001 the largest number of adults were in the 35-44 age range.
In 2002 the largest number of adults were in the 45-54 age range.
Between 40-42% adults were accompanied by children.
45% of children attending were in the 6-11 age band in 2002.
The majority of visitors travelled up to 9 miles to the event, incorporating many of the local villages and towns.
25% of the visitors had attended another heritage special events before the Open Day in 2002.

What are the visitors' motivations?

The second research aim was to discover what are the motivations of the visitors. The results are as follows:

An "interest in local history" was the feature which encouraged most visitors to attend in 2001. (This feature was not included in 2002.)
The villa excavation was the feature which encouraged most visitors to attend in 2002.
Over three quarters of the 2002 visitors were first-time visitors to Whitehall Farm Roman Villa.

What value did visitors place on their visit, and what was their level of satisfaction?

The third research aim was to discover what value the visitors placed on their visit and what was their level of satisfaction. The results are:

The great majority of visitors enjoyed their visit.
The most of the visitors considered the entrance fee to be 'value for money' , at both £3.50 (2001) and £4.00 (2002).
Between 40% (2002) and 44% (2001) of respondents were prepared to pay £5.00 for an adult entrance fee to a heritage special event.

What was the visitors' level of interest in archaeology?

The fourth research aim was to discover what was the visitors' level of interest in archaeology. The results are:

Most respondents considered themselves to be interested in archaeology.
The majority of visitors who replied that they were interested in archaeology, are not actively members of national or local archaeological or historical organisations.
The organisation who had the largest number of respondents from those who are interested in archaeology and are members of an organisation, was the National Trust.
Just over two-thirds of all respondents had visited Whitehall or other excavations before.

The influence of the media

The fifth research aim was to show the media' s influence on the visitors' purchasing decision and on starting the visitor's interest in archaeology. The results are:

Local newspapers were where the largest number of respondents saw the event advertised.
Local television coverage in 2001 influenced more visitors than in 2002.
In 2002 the website was a more memorable influence than either the local television and radio.

Visitors influenced by local television coverage travelled up to 99 miles in 2002, with the majority in both years travelling up to 29 miles to the event.
Visitors influenced by local radio coverage travelled up to 29 miles in 2002, with the majority in both years travelling 5-9 miles to the event.
"Time Team?", followed by other television programmes, started an interest in archaeology for the highest number of respondents.
5% of the total visitors in 2002 stated that the Whitehall villa had started their interest in archaeology.

In conclusion, this dissertation has demonstrated that the method and process chosen to achieve the research aims produced valid and valuable results to the Whitehall Farm Roman Villa and Landscape Project concerning the profile of visitors to the heritage special event in the West Midlands. The most important of these results being that the great majority of visitors enjoyed their visit, as "ultimately all people visit attractions for enjoyment" (Swarbrooke 1995).