Appendix 5

Recent Visitor Surveys - Summary of Findings

Studies of visitor use, experiences and perceptions of the Gardens, and opinions about management options for the future were undertaken in 1987, 1992 and 1998. The 1998 survey of visitors (over 16 years of age) revealed the following visitor profile:

About 57 per cent of visitors are from the Canberra-Queanbeyan area, 31 per cent of visitors were resident in other parts of Australia, and 12 per cent were visiting from overseas.
About 57 per cent of all visitors are female and more than half (60 per cent) of all visitors are over 40 years of age. Over a quarter of the visitors (28 per cent) reported visiting the Gardens with children.
About 58 per cent of visitors had a university degree with a further 15 per cent having TAFE, technical or business college qualifications.
About 61 per cent of visitors were Australian born; of those born overseas, almost two thirds (66 per cent) were born in an English speaking country.
During the period of the survey, 31 per cent of visitors were at the Gardens for the first time (but only 8 per cent of the locals were visiting for the first time). Almost four out of every ten visitors (39 per cent) could be classified as frequent visitors, having been to the Gardens at least once in the previous month.
Most visitors (85 per cent) arrived at the Gardens by car; even among overseas visitors 58 per cent arrived by car with only 15 per cent using public buses.
About 18 per cent of visitors spent less than one hour in the Gardens, but over half (52 per cent) stayed between one and two hours.

Updated 6 May, 2004 , webmaster, ANBG (anbg-info@anbg.gov.au)