Characteristics Analysis of Visitors Satisfaction and Revisit Intention on Horticulture Exhibition at a University Campus

Abstract

As the interest in and demand for urban agriculture have recently increased, more and more people want to be engaged in urban agriculture. In this respect, horticultural exhibitions held on university campuses can be utilized as a space to share knowledge on and experience urban agriculture. Against this backdrop, this study was conducted to evaluate the satisfaction of visitors with horticultural exhibitions, and to develop strategies to plan a horticultural exhibition based on the results of the evaluation. A survey was conducted in an horticultural exhibition held on the campus of G University in J city in South Gyeongsang Province for three days (May 2-4, 2016). In this survey, a self-administered questionnaire was used, and statistical analysis was performed on a total of 275 collected questionnaires. The satisfaction of visitors with the exhibition was analyzed by content sections and items of information and services. As a result, the level of satisfaction with the section of flower plants (83.7%) and the level of satisfaction with the docent service (78.2%) were the highest respectively. A correlation analysis was conducted between the satisfaction of visitors and their intention to revisit, which can affect the action of the visitors. The correlation of all of the content, information and services of the exhibition with the overall satisfaction and the intention to revisit were positive (+). In particular, among the items of information and services, the satisfaction with activity experience showed the highest correlation with the overall satisfaction (0.659, p<.001) and the intention to revisit (0.519, p<.001). This indicates that activity experience is a very important factor in promoting the overall satisfaction of visitors and their intention to revisit. Therefore, if the demand for the experience and instructive benefits is met by horticultural exhibitions, they can be utilized not just as an event held on a university campus, but also as a means to promote urban agriculture by providing basic information and knowledge about it for local residents. By doing so, it will be also possible to encourage the participation of local residents as well as university students.