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An Evaluation of Visitor Movement Patterns at a Business to Consumer Exhibition: a Case Study 
of The Country Living Magazine Christmas Fair 2014. 
Introduction 
This research is important and relevant as it 
identifies visitor movement patterns at the Fair, 
which in turn gives an insight in what direction is 
most popular and enables the fair to consider 
this for upcoming events. 
Objectives: 
1) To discover circulation patterns and see if 
they support Bitgood’s theory. 
2) To establish whether busy stalls influence 
other visitors to follow. 
3) To see if any observations link to Poullson 
and Kale’s 5 elements of a successful 
experience. 
4) To identify any possible recommendations for 
the Country Living Fair to consider for future 
fairs. 
References 
Bitgood, S. (2006) ‘An Analysis of Visitor Circulation: 
Movement Patterns and the General Value Principle’, 
Curator: The Museum Journal, 49(4), pp. 463–475. 
Fox D. Gouthro M, Morakabati Y. and Brackstone J. (2014 
Doing Events Research: from theory to practice. Oxon 
Routledge. 
Poulsson, S, & Kale, S 2004, 'The Experience Economy 
and Commercial Experiences', Marketing Review, 4, 3, 267-277, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 
19 November 2014. 
Smith, C. (2014). Why do people walk on the left or right?. 
Available 
at:http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/questions/stion/1000314/ (Accessed:19th November 2014). 
Upper Street Events Ltd. (2014). Christmas Country Living 
Fair. Available at: 
http://www.countrylivingfair.com/xmas/page.cfm/Link=0/m/goSection=23 (Accessed: 12th November 2014). 
Contact 
Lauren Thackeray 
Laurenthackeray_@outlook.com 
Method 
- Three choice points were observed every 
30mins for three hours. 
- An interpretivist approach was used and 
data was collected in a naturalistic setting - 
an interpretation of the data was produced 
(Fox, 2014). 
- The direction each visitor went in was 
noted down. Also, the side of the path 
visitors walked in were observed. 
- The data was used to create a graph and a 
table. 
Results Conclusion 
The results suggest that visitors may have 
stopped at the entrance as there was the 
Father Christmas and reindeers made of 
various fruit to the right, and the Christmas tree 
decorations and the products with the scent of 
cinnamon as main centerpieces to the left that 
caught visitors eyes as they entered. It was 
also evident that most visitors that walked down 
the staircase on the left hand side, turned left 
once they reached the bottom. This may have 
been due to One Sided Viewing as Bitgood 
(2006) suggested, where visitors tend to stay 
on one side of the path to save steps. A reason 
for visitors going to the busier stalls may have 
been because people tend to copy and follow 
each other once people notice what others are 
doing (Smith, 2014). 
The Circulation of Visitors in Hourly Slots 
200 
150 
100 
50 
0 
Left 
Middle 
Right 
Choice Points 
Number of People 
Recommendations To consider adapting the design of the show to make 
an equal amount of visitors go in all directions. This could be done by having key 
attractions in all directions. 
Figure 1: The circles show the points that 
were observed. 
Results 
It is clear that the vast amount of visitors observed turned to their left with 
126 (50%) of visitors at Point 2 and 139 (57%) at Point3. 
The least amount of people went straight ahead, with a total of only 159 
visitors doing so. 
However, the total number of visitors observed turning left and right at the 
entrance (Point 1) are similar with 40% turning left and 45% turning right. 
It was found that visitors often went to the stalls that were most busy. This 
could be because they were eager to find out why they were so busy. 
Another observation found is that the fair can be linked to aspects of 
Poulsson and Kale (2004) and their theory of the 5 elements of a 
successful experience. Aspects of the fair related to these elements; 
Personal Relevance - Visitors attended as they had an interest in the fair. 
Novelty - There were 87 new exhibitors this year (Upper Street Events Ltd, 
2014) and Poulsson and Kale (2004, p.272) state that ‘people are attentive 
and attracted to something that is new and different’. 
Surprise - Although the show is held annually, there are differences to the 
show each year. 
Learning - visitors learnt and experienced something new and therefore 
were engaged in the fair. 
Engagement - visitors were engaged in the stalls available that had an 
effective design. 
Point 1- 
Point 2 - Entrance 
Staircase 
Point 3 – 
Staircase by 
Christmas Tree

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  • 1. An Evaluation of Visitor Movement Patterns at a Business to Consumer Exhibition: a Case Study of The Country Living Magazine Christmas Fair 2014. Introduction This research is important and relevant as it identifies visitor movement patterns at the Fair, which in turn gives an insight in what direction is most popular and enables the fair to consider this for upcoming events. Objectives: 1) To discover circulation patterns and see if they support Bitgood’s theory. 2) To establish whether busy stalls influence other visitors to follow. 3) To see if any observations link to Poullson and Kale’s 5 elements of a successful experience. 4) To identify any possible recommendations for the Country Living Fair to consider for future fairs. References Bitgood, S. (2006) ‘An Analysis of Visitor Circulation: Movement Patterns and the General Value Principle’, Curator: The Museum Journal, 49(4), pp. 463–475. Fox D. Gouthro M, Morakabati Y. and Brackstone J. (2014 Doing Events Research: from theory to practice. Oxon Routledge. Poulsson, S, & Kale, S 2004, 'The Experience Economy and Commercial Experiences', Marketing Review, 4, 3, 267-277, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 19 November 2014. Smith, C. (2014). Why do people walk on the left or right?. Available at:http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/questions/stion/1000314/ (Accessed:19th November 2014). Upper Street Events Ltd. (2014). Christmas Country Living Fair. Available at: http://www.countrylivingfair.com/xmas/page.cfm/Link=0/m/goSection=23 (Accessed: 12th November 2014). Contact Lauren Thackeray Laurenthackeray_@outlook.com Method - Three choice points were observed every 30mins for three hours. - An interpretivist approach was used and data was collected in a naturalistic setting - an interpretation of the data was produced (Fox, 2014). - The direction each visitor went in was noted down. Also, the side of the path visitors walked in were observed. - The data was used to create a graph and a table. Results Conclusion The results suggest that visitors may have stopped at the entrance as there was the Father Christmas and reindeers made of various fruit to the right, and the Christmas tree decorations and the products with the scent of cinnamon as main centerpieces to the left that caught visitors eyes as they entered. It was also evident that most visitors that walked down the staircase on the left hand side, turned left once they reached the bottom. This may have been due to One Sided Viewing as Bitgood (2006) suggested, where visitors tend to stay on one side of the path to save steps. A reason for visitors going to the busier stalls may have been because people tend to copy and follow each other once people notice what others are doing (Smith, 2014). The Circulation of Visitors in Hourly Slots 200 150 100 50 0 Left Middle Right Choice Points Number of People Recommendations To consider adapting the design of the show to make an equal amount of visitors go in all directions. This could be done by having key attractions in all directions. Figure 1: The circles show the points that were observed. Results It is clear that the vast amount of visitors observed turned to their left with 126 (50%) of visitors at Point 2 and 139 (57%) at Point3. The least amount of people went straight ahead, with a total of only 159 visitors doing so. However, the total number of visitors observed turning left and right at the entrance (Point 1) are similar with 40% turning left and 45% turning right. It was found that visitors often went to the stalls that were most busy. This could be because they were eager to find out why they were so busy. Another observation found is that the fair can be linked to aspects of Poulsson and Kale (2004) and their theory of the 5 elements of a successful experience. Aspects of the fair related to these elements; Personal Relevance - Visitors attended as they had an interest in the fair. Novelty - There were 87 new exhibitors this year (Upper Street Events Ltd, 2014) and Poulsson and Kale (2004, p.272) state that ‘people are attentive and attracted to something that is new and different’. Surprise - Although the show is held annually, there are differences to the show each year. Learning - visitors learnt and experienced something new and therefore were engaged in the fair. Engagement - visitors were engaged in the stalls available that had an effective design. Point 1- Point 2 - Entrance Staircase Point 3 – Staircase by Christmas Tree