Gregory M. Benton, University of Arkansas assistant professor of recreation, presented results Nov. 17 in Las Vegas of a survey taken earlier this year that found high visitor satisfaction with the largest state park in Arkansas.

Benton, who joined the faculty of the College of Education and Health Professions in 2007, has conducted extensive research into park interpretation and has presented his findings both nationally and internationally. The survey done this year at Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area in Benton County illustrated the benefits of a collaborative effort between academia and state park employees to help park managers in better meeting the needs of visitors while upholding the mission of the park, according to Benton's presentation to the National Association for Interpretation.

The Hobbs site added a LEED-certified sustainable-design visitor center less than two years ago to provide a gateway to the park's extensive resources and environment, Benton wrote, and managers were seeking feedback about facilities, interpretive programs and staff. The survey examined satisfaction with facilities and sites, asked about locations explored by visitors, sought information about specific activities in which visitors participated and collected demographic data. The survey also asked visitors how they learned about the park and their motivation for visiting.

A total of 68 surveys was collected across two months of late spring and summer between the times of 1 and 5 p.m. at the park. The findings indicated that visitors were extremely satisfied with the park overall and with park facilities and park staff. The visitor center was the most frequently visited and highly rated site with the Van Winkle Homestead second in the ratings.

Visitors spent the most time exploring the visitor center, which includes an exhibit hall, followed by viewing scenery by car, attending a program, walking a trail, cycling on a trail and horseback riding on a trail. The survey also found that word-of-mouth was the most frequent source of publicizing the park followed by the websites of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, the Hobbs park itself and, last, a park brochure.

In addition to designing the survey with input from state officials and distributing surveys at the visitor center and five secondary recreation sites at the park, Benton advised park managers at the outset to consider assessing satisfaction of visitors rather than asking them whether the park met their expectations.

"Expectations are a fluid attitude people hold based on previous information and experiences," according to Benton. "Expectations can change quickly even as visitors begin experiencing the park. It was suggested that satisfaction would be a more robust and useful attitude to 'measure' with a descriptive survey than expectations. Satisfaction is understood to mean a positive valuation of the park's facilities, activities and staff as experienced firsthand by visitors. Therefore, one of the first decisions made between the university and the park was to ask visitors questions about satisfaction."

Last year, Benton studied the effectiveness of a boat tour at Lake Fort Smith State Park.