How much time do visitors spend in a museum? An empirical investigation

Purpose of the study: This paper examines the length of stay of visitors in a museum. Visitors’ characteristics and attitudes regarding their decision to spend a part of their vacation visiting a museum is analysed. Specifically, visitors’ behavior to the Iceman museum in Bolzano (Italy) is investigated through survey data. Design/methodology/approach: A fundamental role is played by length of stay at a site influenced by tourists’ budget, time constraint and preferences (Lancaster, 1966; Rosen, 1974). To this aim, a survey was conducted at the museum from June to August 2010, via face-to-fa ce interviews. Empirically, a zero-truncated negative binomial specification is estimated as the dependent is a count variab le that cannot assume a zero value. Findings: The econometric findings suggest that the model is well-specified and the coefficients are statistically significant at least at the 10% level. From the empirical findings it has emerged, that length of stay in the museum is positively influenced by age, having a vacation in the Alto Adige Province, the importance visitors attribute to the museum, and adverse weather conditions. However, length of stay at the site is negatively affected by visiting the museum in groups and belonging to a family with multiple income. Originality/value: The contribution of the present study consists of applying an under-researched empirical approach into the investigation of length of stay at a museum in a mountain destination. Empirically, given the specific characteristics of the time spent at the site (expressed in minutes), a zero-truncated Negative Binomial has been estimated. Research limitations/implications: Future research will involve the administration of surveys at other cultural sites in the region, as well as other destinations, in order to fi nd regularities and further test the economic theory. Practical implications: The findings provide a tool to understand consumers’ behavior and which factors do affect length of stay at a specific site. Also, museum managers ma y use the results for deciding on policies for the future.