Biodiv Sci ›› 2011, Vol. 19 ›› Issue (5): 589-596.  DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1003.2011.08033

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Visiting motivation and satisfaction of visitors to Chinese botanical gardens

He He1,2, Chen Jin1,*()   

  1. 1Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan 666303
    2Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049
  • Received:2011-02-28 Accepted:2011-05-06 Online:2011-09-20 Published:2011-10-08
  • Contact: Chen Jin

Abstract:

Botanical gardens (BGs) have attracted millions of visitors worldwide; therefore, BGs have become important sites for displaying and education for biodiversity. Understanding garden visitors’ motivations and their traveling satisfactory degree is crucial for BG management and its role in public education. In this study, we conducted survey in five Chinese BGs, i.e., Xiamen BG, Wuhan BG of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing BG, Kunming BG of CAS and Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of CAS. We aimed to understand visitors’ traveling motivation and the degree of satisfaction after they visited the gardens by questionnaire survey. The main results are as follows: (1) The motivations for visitors differed among the five BGs. “To get close to nature” was the most common motivation, followed by “To get relax” and “To enjoy the beautiful scenery”. In Xiamen BG, “To be together with friends or relatives” was also one of the motivations. (2) “To gain relative knowledge” as the motivation did not get significant support. (3) The visitors were satisfied by the visit to the five BGs. The authors also discussed how BGs could adjust their management in order to fit visitors’ motivation meanwhile play a better role in scientific and environmental education.

Key words: botanical garden, traveling motivation, satisfactory degree, biodiversity conservation, questionnaire survey, public education