Investigating attraction compatibility in an East Texas city

The study was undertaken in Tyler, Texas, a city of 83 000 population in which the primary tourism attraction is the Caldwell Zoo. The focus was on the compatibility of ancillary attractions to the zoo and their role in adding to the city's cumulative attraction. A sample of 1559 zoo visitors were surveyed. The results revealed that (i) there was a high degree of compatibility between the zoo and other attractions within the city; (ii) tourism spending by those travelling more than 60 miles was significantly higher than those travelling fewer than 60 miles; (iii) expenditures increased as the number of additional attractions visited increased, but started to decrease when the number of attractions totalled to five or more; and (iv) the number of additional attractions visited decreased as the distance travelled increased.