environmental learning of first-time travelers

Annals of Toururn Research, Vol. 17, pp. 419-431, 1990 0160-7383/90 $3.00 + .OO Printed in the USA. All rights reserved. CopyrIght 0 1990 Pergamon Press plc and J. Jafari

ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING OF FIRST-TIME TRAVELERS

Bonnie S. Guy, Appalachian State University, USA

William W. Curtis, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA

John C. Crotts, University of Florida-Gainesville, USA

Abstract: A major objective in the marketing tourism services is to increase the activities and commerce of tourists within an area or location. The extent of environmental learning and knowledge exerts a significant influence on such an objective. This study addressed the factors influenc- ing the rate and degree of environmental learning of first-time visitors to an international destination. The relative contributions of direct experience, and direct and indirect sources of information to tourists learning of a new environment, were examined in this empirical study of visitors to a European city. Implications for increasing visitors’ learnmg of and commerce with tourist attractions and retail elements in an area through marketing and promotion are discussed. Keywords: cognitive mapping, environmental learning, mental maps, geographic learning, travel destinations.

R&umC: L’apprentissage du milieu par les nouveaux visiteurs. Un but important de la promotion du tourisme est l’augmentation des activit& et des ddpenses des touristes dans une rdgion ou localit&. L’dtude du milieu local par les touristes et leur connaissance de ce milieu influencent ce but. Ce texte concerne les facteurs qui influencent l’initiation au milieu local de touristes &rangers qui visitent un pays pour la premi&e vois. Baske sur les visiteurs d’une ville europkenne, l’analyse d&ermine empiriquement lcs effets de l’experience directe et des sources directes et indirectes d’information pour des touristes qui s’initient i un nouvel environnement. Les conclusions portent sur les moyens commerciaux et publicitaircs qui doi- vent &re mis en oeuvre pour amkliorer les connaissances des visiteurs ct pour augmenter leurs dipenses dans les attractions touristiques et les commerces d’une r&$on. Mots-cl&: application cognitive, apprentissage environnemental, plans mentaux, apprentissage gkographique, destinations de voyage.

INTRODUCTION

The World Tourism Organization (WTO) estimated that in 1988 world spending for domestic and international travel to places more than 25 miles from home totaled approximately $2 trillion. To put this

Bonnie Guy’s (Walker College of Business, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28608, U.S.A.) research focus is in the areas of cognitive information processing and dimensions of social marketing. William Curtis’ research centers on computer apphcatlons m marketmg education and research. John Crotts’ research takes a consumer behavior approach to travel decision making.

419

420 ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING OF TRAVELERS

amount in perspective, the United Nations estimates that on an annual basis the combined amount spent by the world’s military establishments was $900 billion, or less than one-half that of travel spending. The two trillion dollars spent annually make the travel industry the largest sin- gle economic activity in the world (Waters 1989).

The U.S. Travel Data Center monitors domestic and international travel that exceeds 100 miles. Approximately 1.24 billion person-trips were taken by US citizens in 1988 for all purposes, a 6.2% increase over 1987. Sixty-eight percent or 840 million of these person-trips reflected vacation travel (Waters 1989).

Travelers have a major influence on employment, trade, and commerce in the international marketplace. Expenditures of international travelers represents approximately 7 % of the world’s international trade in goods and services. In the United States, total spending for tourism services was estimated to have reached $562 billion in 1988. Fourteen percent of the US labor force, or 16.7 million jobs, are direct- ly or indirectly supported by tourism spending. Receipts from international tourists in 1988, excluding international fares for transportation, increased 27% to $24.6 billion. International tourist arrivals worldwide reached 390 million, an increase of 8.7 % over 1987 (Waters 1989).

Official tourism agencies have been created and elevated to high statuses within the governments of a large number of countries. This relatively recent phenomena has been due in part to the high international unemployment rates, falling commodity prices, and desire by countries to use tourism as a way of earning much needed foreign exchange. The primary emphasis of these tourism agencies has been to increase the influx of tourists to specific locales and attractions, assum- ing that the mere presence of visitors acts to maximize tourist-related revenues. Yet the crux of the environmental and cognitive mapping research suggest more study of tourists-environmental interactions.

Many tourists arrive at their destination with vague to nonexistent cognitive maps of its environmental construction, content, pathways, and borders. To take advantage of available tourist attractions, entertainment, and retail facilities, these visitors must engage in some mini- mal level of environmental learning. To the extent that this level of learning can be increased or maximized, the degree of tourist interactions and consumption should also be increased or maximized. Thus, a knowledge of how to influence cognitive representations of travel destinations would appear useful in increasing tourist related expenditures.

Fisher (1975) suggested that perceptual or cognitive maps are significantly more effective than cartographic maps with regard to the speed and accuracy with which tourists identify landmarks and find their way in the destination environment. However, a greater quantity of system- atic research is needed to substantiate such notions. Along these lines, Pearce (1982) d ocumented the need for more attention to the cognitive maps of tourists and how these maps are developed.

An understanding of the nature and influences on the formation of cognitive maps through environmental learning is important to the traSe1 industry because of the limited time period that this process can be affected. Often the duration of a vacation will range from only a few days to no more than a few weeks. The limited time available for

GUY, CURTIS AND CROTTS 421

developing an environmental schema increases the significance of any abilities to accelerate the learning process. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the nature of the environmental learning process of international travelers. Two questions served as the focal point for examination. How quickly does environmental learning take place for first time visitors to an international destination? What factors influence both the rate and degree of environmental learning?

Cognitive Maps

Cognitive mapping is the process of collecting, organizing, storing, remembering, and utilizing information about the surrounding environment (Downs and Stea 1977). 0 ne uses individually stored “maps” to organize information, to find things oi* people, and to determine the paths to and locations of basic activities.

Downs and Stea (1977) distinguish between cognitive mapping as a process and cognitive maps as products. The process of cognitive maps involves the selection, encoding, storage, and subsequent retrieval of environmental information, and is an ongoing and dynamic learning state. As a product, cognitive maps are mental representations of large- scale environments formed by integrating observations and information over time and used to determine the contents, their relative posi- tions, and the encompassing nature of places (Kuipers 1982). Such maps are more functionally useful than objectively valid. While some criticize the “map in the head” metaphor as unable to provide a com- mon basis for different types of information or to account for partial knowledge states (Kuipers 1982), the cognitive map remains a viable means for studying human conceptions of spatial environments (Evans 1980).

Consumer cognitive maps are of interest to marketers as research supports the notion that such representations of cities may substantially influence consumer’s commerce or interactions with environments (Golledge, R’ IVIZ~ no and Spector 1976; Grossbart and Rammohan . ‘g 1980). In fact, Holahan and Dobrowolyn (1978) found significant relationships between emphasis of items in cognitive maps and categories of collective behavior. Given this, marketing researchers have proposed that important relationships exist between the nature of consumer cognitive maps and behavioral aspects of exploring, touring, shopping, purchasing, and patronage.

Cognitive map research in consumer behavior has addressed several aspects of the mapping process’ cognitive component. MacKay and Olshavsky (1975) examined the advantages of using cognitive measures to describe physical separation of retail locations. Curtis and Grossbart (1973) attended to structural-functional configurations and their subsequent relationships with map uncertainties and distortions.

Consumer cognitive maps also encompass affective and behavioral dimensions. In addition to traditional image dimensions such as convenience, variety of goods, helpfulness of salespeople, and so on, the affective component of retail settings may also include environmental or milieu descriptor measures such as spatial intensity, level of activity, and locus of meaning. Little work has been done from an evaluative


standpoint; however, Grossbart and Rammohan (1980) explored the relationship between consumers’ maps and beliefs about several types of convenience. Behavioral aspects related to shopping in the past have included shopping frequency, duration, and number of stores visited (Mittelstaedt, Grossbart, Curtis and Rogers 1975). Mazze (1974) utilized cognitive maps to gain insight into shopper movement patterns.

Early research on cognitive maps emphasized implications for environmental planning and design (Curtis and Grossbart 1973; Mittel- staedt, Grossbart, Curtis and Rogers 1975; Mittelstaedt, Grossbart and Curtis 1977). The basic premise of such studies was that knowledge and understanding of persons’ cognitive maps of an environment could provide clues to altering or renovating, or to designing new, commer- cially-oriented urban areas. Design features would be planned to substantially enhance such aspects as customer mobility, convenience, and environmental imagibility.

However, altering existing environments or creating new ones is not always feasible or desirable. Consumer cognitive maps and spatial be- haviors must more often be influenced through less direct and drastic means. Thus, Grossbart and Rammohan (1980) posited that the provi- sion of more adequate information to users of the environment would alter perceptions of environmental characteristics and be a more effi- cient alternative than costly physical change. This suggests adaptation through environmental learning rather than through physical redesign.

Although researchers make continuous use of the cognitive mapping ability, a full understanding of it has not been developed (Downs and Stea 1977). Understanding the processes involved in formation, inter- pretation, and retrieval of cognitive maps should aid in environmental cue design (Downs and Stea 1977) and promotion (Grossbart and Rammohan 1980).

How Quickly Learning Ekes Place

Few studies provided insight on the speed of cognitive map formation. Devlin’s (1976) study of military wives moving to a new city revealed some information about the rate of environmental learning. She administered an unstructured mapping task to the women after 2.5 weeks and again after 3 months of residence. Within the first 2.5 weeks, relatively coherent and detailed maps were elicited, suggesting that the learning process is a rapid one. After three more months, the women’s maps were more filled in, have many more street names, some additional landmarks, and a few additional areas.

In a tourist-based context, three studies examined the environmental learning process via cognitive maps. Beck and Wood (1976) elicited daily maps from 31 adolescents touring London, Rome, and Paris in an educational setting. No specific results were given on information acquisition speed, though city residents generally had much more detailed maps than recent arrivals or tourists. Tourists maps were the least detailed or accurate. A second study collected sketch maps from young tourists visiting Oxford (Pearce 1977). The study compared

GUY, CURTIS AND CRCVrTS 423

maps made after two-days stay to those made after six-days stay and concluded that the same elements of the city were being used for tourist orientation regardless of the length of stay. Perhaps the six-day stay was not sufficiently long for the tourists to begin developing paths between landmarks. In a later study, college student newcomers to Bordeaux, France, provided cognitive maps after one week and again after one year (Evans, Marrero and Butler 1981). These were examined for changes in mapping accuracy with learning. Not surprisingly, the maps drawn after one year of residence reflected significantly more environmental knowledge in both detail and accuracy. Unfortunately, such a study reveals little about the actual learning process, since measure- ments were taken at too widely-spaced intervals, in contrast to the too short interval of the Pearce study.

In general, it may be concluded that subjects’ cognitive maps reflect a relatively rapid pace of environmental learning. While additional elements are added with time, the degree of accuracy and detail is most affected as time passes. This tentative conclusion is comforting in light of a tourism application since it suggests that tourists may become acquainted with a visited area within a fairly short time span.

Factors InJuencing The Enuironmmtul Learning Process

To effectively influence the nature and rate of environmental learning and cognitive map formation, it is necessary to have some knowledge of its underlying mechanisms. Three basic sources of mapped information are typically recognized (Downs and Stea 1977; Grossbart and Rammohan 1980). The first are direct sources of information. The most powerful direct source is actual experience or interaction with elements in the environment, such as shopping in a store, touring a museum, or eating at a restaurant. Other direct sources which influence learning include cues such as displays, signs, and directional indi- cations. These sources provide occasion to integrate sensory information about the environment. With a specific focus on tourists, Lynch (1960) argued that visitors to a location, in contrast to residents, initially rely on landmarks as direct sources for orientation and then later develop more detailed maps including pathway elements.

A second source of environmental information may be classified as indirect or vicarious sources. Examples of this type of source include cues obtained through brochures, advertisements, maps, friends, salespeople, or native residents. The final source of information is internal to the individual and consists of inferences made through mental ma- nipulation of existing impressions. These inferential processes are the least accessible to direct control by marketers and therefore, interest will focus only on direct and indirect information sources.

Through some combination of information sources, an individual develops a cognitive representation of the environment. Golledge, Rivizzigno and Spector (1976) hypothesize that a person’s environmental perceptions are constantly evolving with the most significant places as primary nodes or anchors. Modifications to the cognitive map occur as information is continuously received (about the external surround-


ings) and added to what is stored until some relatively objective transformation of reality is finally obtained.

At least initially, it appears the most powerful source of environmental learning is personal interaction with functional elements of the environment. Devlin’s (1976) map results show that the greatest number of elements could be regarded as “personal functional landmarks,” and that the best teacher is actual experience. Behavior patterns and frequency of element use have been found to exhibit statistically significant relationships with map emphases (Holahan and Dobrowolny 1978). Other studies support the notion that as direct experience and interaction increases, knowledge of novel environments becomes more detailed and accurate (Evans and Pezdek 1980; Evans, Marerro and Butler 1981).

For other direct sources of information such as displays, directional indicators, or signs, Heft (1979) reports that performance errors in environmental learning are inversely related to use of such features. In a travel application, Beck and Wood (1976) noted that such information sources, including in-tour information, are related to progressive development of respondents’ cognitive maps.

Finally, indirect sources of information may complement or augment learning through more direct means. The most commonly investigated indirect source is map usage (Beck and Wood 1976; Devlin 1976; Evans 1980). Effectiveness of maps as sources of learning may be mod- erated somewhat by individual map reading abilities, but overall map reading enhances environmental learning and cognitive map formation. The study by Beck and Wood (1976) stands as the only compre- hensive discussion of other indirect sources which included guide information, oral accounts from personal sources, and written accounts such as brochures. Performance on maps of London, Paris, and Rome appeared positively influenced as more of these information sources were utilized.

In summary, initial learning seems to be impacted most by direct interactions, followed by other direct information sources, and to a lesser degree by indirect information sources. Due to the sketchy nature of research in this area, it is unclear what the relative contributions of each source are over time, as learning progresses and becomes more a matter of “filling in.” Devlin (1976) hypothesizes that the amount of initial knowledge one needs to make one’s way in a new environment is more a function of experience than external cues, but that patterns of subsequent exploration may show greater relation to such cues. Later maps become elaborations of the basic element and path structure rather than a structural change as a whole.

Reflecting on such propositions, tentative expectations may be formed as to the role of experience, and direct and indirect information sources as learning progresses. In the earliest stages, it is expected that experience will account for most, if not all, of the variance in map formation. Direct information sources should follow experience, and indirect sources should manifest their effects the latest. As time passes, direct and indirect sources would likely exert a greater impact in the form of adding detail to the initial map.


METHOD

The geographical focus for this study was the town of Wurzburg, Federal Repubic of Germany. The city as a whole was of interest from the standpoint of tourist sites and attractions. Additionally, in terms of retail shopping and consumption, the downtown central business district (CBD) encompassed the majority of available retail establishments.

The study subjects comprised 55 persons affiliated with a summer educational program. Tour members were provided with living quar- ters around Wurzburg for four weeks. Eight tour members were dis- qualified for study participation due to prior visits to or residence in the city. The remaining 47 tour members used in the sample had no pre- vious knowledge of the surroundings, and hence were appropriate subjects for a study of environmental learning.

The first part of the data collection consisted of two mapping tasks in which respondents gave individual drawings of elements in Wurzburg as a whole and of the central business area. For the Wurzburg map, subjects were asked to indicate major tourists sites and landmarks of interest including, but not limited to, churches, museums, city build- ings, universities, and so forth. For the map of the central business and shopping district, items requested included retail shopping outlets, res- taurants, entertainment establishments, banks, and other centers of exchange.

Base maps given to the respondents contained two or three landmarks to indicate the scale, boundaries, and direction-orientation of the maps to be drawn. All other map items were then provided by the subjects. Respondents indicated, to the best of their abilities, both the name and function of each item placed on the maps. Further, respondents indicated any direct experience with each of the items (i.e., had visited, had shopped in, etc.).

The second phase of the data collection consisted of a set of self- administered scales measuring tour members’ use of direct and indirect sources of information about the city. For each source of interest, respondents indicated both frequency of use and helpfulness, measured on five-point scales ranging from “never used” to “used very frequently” and from “not helpful” to “very helpful.”

Sources of direct information used for tourist site items included directional signs and use of in-tour/guide information. Indirect sources of information related to tourist sites included maps, brochures, other tour members, and citizens of Wurzburg. With regard to CBD elements, related sources of direct information included directional signs and informational displays, and indirect sources of information included maps, print advertising, and conversations with other tour members and citizens of Wurzburg.

Subjects were asked to give maps and survey information after 10 days and again after 24 days. At time one, subjects were not aware that a second map would be requested.

The maps were coded to reflect three dimensions. First, the number of items for both maps was recorded. Second, all items listed were


coded for correct identification by name. The number of correctly named elements produced a respondent’s absolute identity score for tourist sites, retail area elements, and off-map items. Third, all items were coded for correct function association. The number of items which assigned correct functions was summed to produce an individual’s absolute function score. These three dimensions comprise the dependent variables reflecting the degree of environmental learning.

The independent variables are direct experience and the use of direct and indirect information sources. Direct experience was measured by the number of places actually visited by each respondent. To assess each information source’s overall influence on the learning process, a contribution index derived from the product of frequency of use and degree of helpfulness was calculated. Subsequently, these indices were used as independent variables in regression analyses.

The purpose of this exploratory research was to examine the relationships of direct experience, and the use of direct and indirect information sources with the number, identification, and functional association of tourist and retail sites. Additionally, these relationships were compared over the two collection times to examine any differences as learning progressed. Hierarchical multiple regression was used (Cohen and Cohen 1983) for data analysis.

RESULTS

Mean scores at times one and two were calculated for all dependent variables, and t tests were computed between time one and two aver- ages to examine significant differences in map formation. These results are reported in Table 1.

After the first 10 days, tourists were able to place approximately 5 tourist sites on their maps, identifying just over half of them correctly by name and almost all of them by function. In comparison, tour members’ maps of the central business district contained an average of 9 items at this time. Correct identification of CBD elements by name and function was about 50% and approaching 100%) respectively, which was very similar to the results for tourists sites.

Significant increases in learning (p < .07) were exhibited 14 days later for all dependent variables. In the current study, significance levels up to p = .10 were examined in light of the preliminary and

Table 1. Summary of Mean Scores of Dependent Variables at Time 1 and Time 2, and t Tests of Difference

Variable

Mean at Mean at Mean2 Problem of

Time 1 Time 2 Meall1 t-value t>o

Towiet Sites Number of Items Correctly Named Function Correct

Central Business District Number of Items Correctly Named Function Correct

4.9 6.8 + .olJ 1.93 ,031 2.fi 2.9 + .40 1.66 ,066 4.6 6.2 + .70 1.73 ,046

9.0 11.7 c2.70 3.23 .002 4.2 6.0 +I.80 3.16 ,002 8.7 11.0 +2.30 2.66 .008


Table 2. Regression Analysis: Tourist Sites at Time 1 (N = 44)

Dependent Variablea

Correct Name Comect Function

Beta R21A R2 Beta &A R2

exploratory nature of the research. Smaller increases in number, identity, and functional association of map items were found for tourist sites than for CBD locations. Increases for tourist sites ranged from 10% to 15 %, while increases for business items spanned 21% to 30%. As before, correct names were given for approximately half the items on each map and virtually all items were identified by function.

Hierarchical regression was performed using three sets of independent variables: direct experience, direct sources (in-tour information, directional signs and indicators, display information), and indirect sources (maps, brochures, other tour members, city residents). These were regressed against each of the dependent variables. These results are presented in Tables 2, 3, 4, and 5.

In terms of tourist sites at time one, very large R2 values, significant at p < ,001, were obtained between direct experience and number of map items, name identification, and functional association (. 75, .57, .70). No impact on the dependent variables was exhibited by either direct or indirect sources of information. At time two (after partialling out time one values as is appropriate when examining change scores), increases in R2 (. 3 1 , .12 .42;p < .OOl) in the dependent variables may

Table 3. Regression Analysis: Tourist Sites at Time 2 (N = 44)

Independent Variablee

Corvariate ITime 1) No. of Items Correct Name Correct Function

Direct Experience Direct Sources

In-tour Information Directional Markers

Indirect Sources Maps Brochures Tour Members Citizens

ap>.lo b/<.o6 cp<.ol

No. of Item

Beta I&AR2

Dependent Variables

Correct Name Correct Function

Beta R21AR2 Beta RZIA R2

.28P ,498 .66d

.89od :;9d/.3Id :393d .aod/.oII

,038 .096C ,030

.azd/.oI6 ,004

,021 ,041 -.049 -.081 ,611 -.033 ,023 .05ba

dp<.ooI

. .64d

.16 :;$ d .16d/.lzd

.19d/.o39d .9o3d

:::d;::;o .02!2

.83d/.o31 ,060

.66d/.oIo -.008 -.o14 ,031

..021

42% ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING OF TRAVELERS

Table 4. Regression Analysis: Central Business District at Time 1 (N = 44)

Independent Varinbleu

Drp~nclenl Vwiablrs

No. of Items Corwet Name Corrert Funrtion

Beta R&A R2 Beta R2IAIG B&l R21AR2

Direct Experience Direct Sourre~

Displavs Direr&ml Merkers

Indirect Sources Maps Print Ads Tour Members Citizens

1.d

.014 ,011

,001 -.oo3 ,011

-.024

.89d

.89”/.001 .39d .38d

.42”1.037 l.lh” .7d

.76”/.002 -.063 ,013 .030

.bO”l.079 ,004

.89”f.o02 .7G”/.lJ13 ,014 ..002

-.fJ69a ,007 .OFO -.OIO ,030 ,027

ap>.lo b/<.ob Cp<.ul dp<.OUl

be attributed to experience. A significant (p < .05) but very small impact on tourist site name identification is attributable to the direct source of in-tour information.

Highly similar result patterns emerge for the central business district maps. At time one, significant R* values (p < .OOl) between experience and number of map items, name identification, and functional association are .89, .38, and .75, respectively. Neither direct nor indirect sources exert any influence at time one. For time two, experience once again claims the major portion of explained correlation, However, significant relationships are found between name identification and both direct and indirect information sources. Display information, as well as information from other tour members exhibited a negative correlation with the ability to correctly name business map items, while information from local citizens was associated with increased name identification.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the results of the exploratory research parallel expected patterns. First, it appears that environmental learning takes place relatively quickly. Since fewer tourist sites were added to maps over time

Table 5. Regression Analysis: Central Business District at Time 2 (N = 44)

Independent Variables No. of Items

Bets R2iAR2

Dependent Vahbles

Correct Name Correct Function

Brtn R21AR2 Beta R2iAR2

Con&ate (Time 1) No. of Items Correct Nanw Correct Funrtion

Direct Experience Direct Sources

Displays Directional Markers

Indirect Sources

,034

1.04d

-.014 ,039

.ufi3 .UUH .081 ,017 .uua .w3 ,048 -.122a .fJIO ,023 .1G7a .UlU

21”

.89”l.G8d

.9O”/.WJb

,063

.607d

-.137b ,096

.91”/.014

.lUfi~

.41”1.304”

.b3”/.1’23c

-.049 ,996”

.d

.84”/.722

.86”/.006

.80”/.014

BP>.10 b/<.ob ‘p<.oI “p<.UOl


than business or retail items, this suggests perhaps that most touring activities occurred early in the visit. Shopping and retail commerce activities evidently remained stable or increased as the tourists’ stays lengthened.

Experience did indeed function as the primary correlate of environmental learning in terms of scope, accuracy, and detail. This finding emphasizes the importance of getting individuals into an area as well as into interaction with area elements. This is not to suggest that other direct and indirect sources play a role at all during this phase. Perhaps indirect effects are exerted when such sources are the primary influence inducing exploration or interaction with particular elements. However, direct effects on environmental learning and map formation are not exerted by these sources until the initial map network is established. Thus, as Devlin hypothesized, these sources appear to be related to subsequent “filling out” of map details.

Yet the directions of such relationships are difficult to interpret. For example, reasons for the negative relationships between name identification of items and the use of display information and information from other tour members are not clear. A positive relationship was exhibited, however, between ability to name business items and the use of information from local citizens.

Some of the relationships associated with direct and indirect sources also appear quite small, perhaps negligible. Nonetheless, they may give some indication of direction or trend in relationships as time progresses. A study designed to take additional measures at later time intervals may reveal more substantial relationships. Additionally, a language factor may have had some bearing on these results, as tour members had varying of abilities to read, speak, or understand Ger- man. Perhaps the impact of other direct and indirect sources would have been greater given equal, fluent abilities, as Taft (1977) proposed that language differences serve to separate the tourist from the host community. As such, locals catering to tourists with reasonable language fluency may find such sources more effective. Sources of information using the host-country’s language and symbols may not be used by tourists who are not language fluent, but who would otherwise utilize these sources when their language competency enabled them to do so. Future research may be directed towards the use of language competency as a covariate or a blocking variable.

In general, increasing experience and exploration will have a major impact on the rate and degree of learning. For marketing, this suggests the use of special events or other incentives to induce interaction with an area and its individual elements. As length of stay increases, other direct sources of information and indirect sources such as advertising or word-of-mouth will aid in map elaboration and more detailed learning.

Future studies should address some of the limitations of the present research. Where possible, longer time intervals of learning should be examined. Moreover, a larger sample size would be desirable. Finally, other methods of examining the learning process might augment the mapping and scale approach. Diaries, protocols, and naturalistic ob- servation are some potential methods for studying this phenome- non.00


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environmental learning of first-time travelers

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