Estimating Visitor Preferences for Different Art Gallery Layouts Using a Choice Experiment

This article details the application of the microeconomic appraisal technique, Choice Experiment (CE), to an art gallery setting to investigate and estimate the value visitors place on various attributes of galleries. A questionnaire requiring visitors to make choices between scenarios containing various predetermined options for the layout and content of two art galleries in northeast England was administered. This allowed the tradeoffs that respondents were prepared to make between different gallery options to be estimated, and subsequently the utility visitors derived from these different elements. The results show that CE can be used to obtain estimates for visitor utility and satisfaction from various gallery layouts. The methodology thus has a potential use in the management of galleries and museums. The tailoring of art galleries and museums to improve visitor experience and provide increased visitor satisfaction is becoming increasingly important, as these cultural resources are essential components of leisure and tourism markets.