Visitor Characteristics, Activities and Satisfaction at Two Industrial Tourism Sites in the Ruhr Area: A Quantitative Descriptive Study

Abstract

The touristic valorisation of the industrial history is part of the lasting economic transformation in the Ruhr area. This quantitative descriptive study aimed to identify the main visitor characteristics, activities and satisfaction with the touristic offer at two important industrial tourism sites, the German Mining Museum in Bochum and the Duisburg-Nord Landscape Park. In addition, our goal was to determine the awareness of the Route of Industrial Culture as a touristic theme route. We conducted a visitor survey with a convenience sample (n=211) in 2015 using a self-developed bilingual partially standardised questionnaire. The results show that both tourist destinations attract visitors from outside the Ruhr area and even beyond the borders of North Rhine-Westphalia. The majority of the visitors are day-trippers. Nevertheless, a considerable proportion of visitors said their visit was part of a short vacation (˂ 4 days) or a longer stay in the region. Important reasons for the visit are a keen interest in the mining and industrial history and the architecture of the buildings. The overall satisfaction with the two tourist attractions is high. The Route of Industrial Culture is well known, even among around 39 % of the visitors surveyed from other German federal states. Other anchor points visited include the Zollverein colliery and the Gasometer in Oberhausen. The majority of the visitors are interested in visiting other industrial heritage sites. Based on our findings, we recommend a strong strategic marketing of the Route of Industrial Culture in major tourism source areas outside of North Rhine-Westfalia.