Schofield, PS 2000, 'Evaluating Castlefield Urban Heritage Park from the consumer perspective: destination attribute importance, visitor perception and satisfaction' , Tourism Analysis, 5 (2-4) , pp. 183-189.

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Abstract

The objective of the research was to evaluate, from the consumer perspective, Castlefield Urban Heritage Park--a day trip destination in Manchester--in order to inform the destination's product development strategy. An attitude scale comprising attributes considered by consumers to be important for day trip destination choice was developed and used to determine the strengths and weaknesses of Castlefield by analyzing subjects' ratings of each attribute's importance and how much of each one the destination was thought to have. The results from both quantitative analysis of importance versus perception, principal components and visitor satisfaction and associated variables, and qualitative analysis consisting of a comparison of two a posteriori segments based on satisfaction levels showed that although Castlefield was perceived to have may strengths, it has weaknesses in key areas that are important for day trip destination choice. Satisfied visitors (approximately 30% of the sample) particularly liked the heritage and educational value of the destination, but these features were not considered to be important by the majority of subjects. It is recommended that Castlefield's product development strategy should address the perceived weaknesses while attempting to retain the interests of the segment that the destination is currently satisfying.

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