THE FUNCTIONS, SOURCES AND TYPES OF EMOTIONAL DISPLAY RULES IN A ZOO-BASED TOURISM CONTEXT
Emotional display rules direct employee emotional expression in order to achieve organisational outcomes, such as sales and customer satisfaction. Understanding emotional display rules is important in the zoo context because the rules can help zoo staff to engage visitors in thinking, feeling and/or acting on issues related to conservation and threatened species.
Mr. Aaron Wijeratne, Dr. Pieter Van Dijk and Dr Liam Smith from the Monash University Tourism Research Unit investigated how emotional display rules can achieve these types of visitor outcomes in zoos.
AIMS
The aims of this study were to identify and examine:
This enables a better understanding of the role and impact of display rules on guides’ emotional expression and visitor experiences at Werribee Open Range Zoo.
METHODS
Interviews were conducted with visitors, interpretive guides and managers at Werribee Open Range Zoo. In the interview, the subjects were asked about their perceptions of Zoos Victoria's expectations of guides, how Zoos Victoria communicates these expectations to guides, and visitors' expectations of the safari experience.
RESULTS
The major organisational expectation was for guides to express positive and passionate emotions when discussing wildlife and conservation. In response to these expectations, guides referred to situational influences, occupational norms and individual differences. That is, the guides’ expressions of positive and passionate emotions were determined by the situation they were in, the requirements of their occupation as interpretive guides, and by their individual personalities.
PROJECT OUTCOMES
This study concluded that emotional display rules at Werribee Open Range Zoo enable safari guides to engage with visitors in order to achieve conservation and wildlife-related outcomes.
PROJECT PARTNERS
- on the Monash University Tourism Research Unit - click here.
