Made available by Ohio Sea Grant as OHSU-RS-436 as a result of project number R/ME-029-PD·\ •. 1.

PERCEPTUAL MAPPING: A CASE STUDY

BY

, . . .

DR. DAVID L. GROVES, PROFESSOR

DIVISION OF SPORT MANAGEMENT, RECREATION, AND TOURISMSCHOOL OF HUMAN MOVEMENT, SPORT, AND LEISURE STUDIES

210 EPPLER NORTHBOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY

BOWLING GREEN, OHIO 43403

INTRODUCTION

A study was conducted in the five countiesalong the Maumee River in Northwest Ohio:Lucas, Wood, Paulding, Henry, and Defi­ance. The pmpose of this study was to con­duct a needs assessment in relation to eachof the counties to determine the status oftourism as an economic, social, and envi­ronmental impact factor within each of thecounties (3). Moreover, the aim of the studywas to determine if a regional effort in tour­ism would be possible. The primary focuswas to make recommendations on how toaccomplish tourism development, assumingthe needs assessment indicated that tourismis a viable option, especially for economicdevelopment (6). Sustainable developmentand its positive contribution to the commu­nity was an important part of the study (14).A perceptual mapping approach was testedto determine its effectiveness, especially inrelation to a systems development approachfor tourism.

Perceptual mapping, defined as the under­standing of different positions in relation toone another, is not a new phenomenon (1,9). This study developed perceptual map­ping methodology by allowing the viewingof perceptions not in a linear, static position,but in dynamic positions that are layered and

17

more complex (2). Another important as­pect was the understanding of how theseperceptions were formulated. This providedsome indication about conflict resolutiontechniques to help resolve problems (5, 8).It allowed individuals to understand com­mon themes and to negotiate new positionsin the planning process.

METHODOLOGY

This study was conducted in three phases.Phase I was a content analysis of the currentliterature, both present and historical, toprovide a background on the various per­spectives being analyzed (4). Phase II con­sisted of interviews with opinion leaders toobtain their perceptual positions on tourismdevelopment and the types of developmentthat should occur in their area (7). Phase IIIwas a mapping methodology to chart theperceptual positions based upon a dynamicmapping system that layers the perceptionsof the opinion leaders (11, 12). As a part ofthis Phase III, once the positions weremapped, content professionals were asked toreview the perceptual map as to where thereare common and different dimensions, andwhere there might be common themes fordevelopment of a negotiation process for theconflict resolution. This provided individu-

Made available by Ohio Sea Grant as OHSU-RS-436 as a result of project number R/ME-029-PD.......'~

als who are designers of conflict resolutionprograms an effective basis of data for re­solving conflicts and interactions that willbring commonality and cooperation on de­velopmental projects.

Phase I, a thematic content analysis of pre­sent and historical materials, was used toidentify positions and groups as well as thehistorical perspective of how these positionshave been formed. The Thurstonian systemof judgment was used where three individu­als read the materials and common judgingfrom two out of the three experts was usedto develop consensus on the positions.

In Phase II, opinion leaders were surveyedusing an instrument as the basis of commu­nity planning exercises. These interviewswere from general to specific in obtainingthe individual's perspective on commercialand industrial developments and the rela­tionship with tourism and future develop­ment ideas based upon a tourism model.Information was also sought about the statusof tourism, its future, and barriers to the im­plementation of a plan. Questions were alsoasked in regard to a regional approach and totourism planning and how each of the coun­ties would contribute to a regional approach.The Convention and Visitors Bureau Direc­tor was the primary interview and opinionleaders were developed from a list identifiedby the Convention and Visitors Bureau Di­rectors. Additional individuals were identi­fied based upon the leaders who were ini­tially interviewed. Opinions sought re­flected economic, social, cultural, and envi­ronmental issues. Only three people wereinterviewed per county with the interviewsbeing very intense and lasting over an hourin length. There were three individuals whoconducted the interviews. The interviewwas conducted in a mini focus group formatwith the three individuals asking questions.Informational notes were taken to ensure the

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consistency of each interview. A mini re­port was wrinen to review the facts given bythe individual and each of the interviewerswas given a report to ensure that the sum­mary of the interview was correct. The in­terviewers classified the data based on two­out-of-three criteria, and according to theirposition on issues that had been identified.In addition to interviewing the county or lo­cal level individuals, regional and state tour­ist specialists were interviewed using thesame format to obtain a perspective that rep­resented not only a local, but regional andstate positions.

In the third phase, three content experts useda Thurstonian system of judgment to placethe data collected from Phase I and Phase IIin a perceptual map. This perceptual mapwas structured like a cognitive map and lay­ered and included a time element that in­volves the evolution of the positions from ahistorical perspective. If additional informa­tion was needed during this particular phasefrom the participants, they were asked ifthey could be contacted so that their positioncould be clarified. A 2-out-of-3 criteria wasused among the judges to place the percep­tions on the map. Once the perceptual mapwas formulated, feedback was sought fromcontent experts on the structure and natureof the map, especially in regard to the com­mon elements that could be used to formu­late a short- and long-term plan for tourismdevelopment. Where there was conflict, theinformation was also sought on how to me­diate or negotiate this position. A positionstatement was developed based upon tour­ism that reflects these perceptual map situa­tions.

In addition to conducting the county inter­views, two intensive study areas were identi­fied: Grand Rapids, Ohio, and Toledo,Ohio, which have had successful tourismdevelopment. The reason these two areas

Made available by Ohio Sea Grant as OHSU-RS-436 as a result of project number R/ME-029-PD·" .' " '.' .' -" _.... , . , '. . "

were selected is that they are prime exam­ples of successful tourism developmentalong the Maumee River. In addition to theindividuals identified in the initial leadershipidentification survey, business and commu­nity representatives and key quasi-publicinstitutions representatives were interviewedfor more in-depth secondary and tertiary in­formation. In addition, interviews wereconducted at the Grand Rapids Apple ButterFestival to determine visitors' and non­visitors' perceptions about this type ofcommunity-based tourism. Also, 50 repre­sentatives from the general public from boththe Grand Rapids and Toledo area were in­terviewed.

STUDY AREA

The study area was the Great Black Swampin Northwest Ohio that extends from theGreat Lakes on the northwest edge to FortWayne, Indiana. Historically, this area wasa swamp, having much history in terms ofthe Native American and the revolutionaryperiods of the United States. The MaumeeRiver basin, as well as the Great Lakes area,played significant roles in opening up theNorthwest Territory of the United States.The purpose of this project was to develop aperceptual map of the Great Black Swamparea and to focus in particular on a casestudy on two areas: Grand Rapids, Ohio, andToledo, Ohio.

The individuals interviewed were CVB Di­rectors. The CVB Directors, especially onthe regional and local levels, identified addi­tional important opinion leaders in thecommunity who have industrial, social, cul­tural, and environmental importance fortheir area or for the locality. Individualswere then interviewed and, at the regionallevel, only the primary level of opinionleaders were sampled, but at the local level

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in Grand Rapids and Toledo, the variouslayers representing primary, secondary, andtertiary individuals were interviewed to de­velop a more consistent perceptual map ofthe area.

CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS

The first observation from the individualsdoing the interviews indicated that the mostimportant resource in the five counties alongthe Maumee is the people. The people werevery cordial and helpful and were very en­gaged in their communities through partici­pation in a number of efforts and programs,Individuals were very gracious about shar­ing information and stories and resourcesabout their community, Each of the com­munities seemed to have a piece of the puz­zle for regional development and there aresignificant resources in each of the countiesthat could be developed to sustain a regionaltourism approach. In fact, many of thecounties are experiencing different types oftourism and many of the individuals withinthe counties do not know about or do notrecognize these visitors as tourists.

There were 10 issues identified as being im­portant to the five counties in relation totourism development. The most importantissue in each of the five counties was thedevelopment of Route 24 to open up the areato new visitors and get the necessary traffic,and have the necessary resources to imple­ment a tourism plan. This issue invokedmuch emotion and frustration in terms ofwanting the project completed and there be­ing a number of barriers to the actual com­pletion of this project. There were two othertypes of issues identified: one was eco­nomic development and the other one wasquality of life issues that are concerned withcultural, social, and environmental impacts.Different counties had different positions on

Made available by Ohio Sea Grant as OHSU-RS-436 as a result of project number R/ME-029-PD;. . ,

each of these issues. Some counties seemedto be more economic development based,and others seemed to be more quality of lifefocused. Even though there was this widedisparity of attitudes on development, all ofthe counties could identify the potential oftourism and its importance to the develop­ment of their areas. The other importantfactor was that each of these counties has atremendous amount of pride and wishes totell the story about their community and itscontribution to the historical development.The desire to tell their stories and showcasetheir uniqueness is the starting point of de­velopment of a regional approach and piec­ing together the picture of how the MaumeeRiver, the canal, and the unique location ofthese areas have contributed significantly tothe historical development of the state ofOhio, as well as the United States. The bar­rier to overcome is how to organize thesestories into a consistent package for a bundleof attractions. They could be utilized to tellthe story of this region of the Maumee andthe Great Black Swamp. The other issuesthat seem to be on everyone's mind are theinfrastructure that it will take to develop thisregional approach to tourism, how this willbe financed, and what impact this will haveupon the community in terms of economicdevelopment as well as quality of life issues.The solution to this problem may not lie inthe traditional planning approaches, but maylie in the development of Route 24, usingthis issue as a common bonding point to de­velop the highway and then to raise thequestion about the necessary infrastructurethat will be needed to support the highway,as well as the necessary resources to developthe infrastructure for tourism. It is auto­matically thought that money is the keystumbling block, but money, in this casedoesn't seem to be as big a barrier as inother areas. The barrier seems to be how toget the common story together, which piecesneed to be developed, and in which counties,

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to tell the fascinating stories that we haveheard in our interviews.The regional and state representatives indi­cated the importance of a regional approachto tourism. The primary attitude was thatthere are not any of these counties that coulddevelop a comprehensive tourism program,but all of the counties together could de­velop a formidable base for the wide eco­nomic expansion of Northwest Ohio. Whereindustry has been the primary base, the fo­cus with the necessary resources and attrac­tions could be developed into one of thepremier tourist attractions in the Midwest.The cornmon perception held at the regionaland state levels is that this part of Ohio, be­tween Toledo and the Indiana line, is often aforgotten part of the state of Ohio, especiallyin terms of the ability to develop sustainabletourism projects. As these individuals con­template the uniqueness of this area, it be­comes more apparent that this region has atremendous potential to be one of the pre­mier areas in Ohio for the development of asustainable tourism base, especially in eco­nomic development. The primary unique­ness of this area throughout, its history, hasbeen its location and the development of agood transportation system for the move­ment of people and products. Another ex­ceptional attribute of this area is its ecologi­cal base in terms of the Great Black Swampand the timber and agricultural efforts thathave been associated with this area. Thewater resources, in terms of the MaumeeRiver, the Great Lakes, as well as the devel­opment of the canal is another unique attrac­tion. The focus of this area is the people andtheir celebrations, such as the German Festand the Apple Butter Festival. There aresome examples of regional tourism. One isthe Ohio Scenic Byway that stretches acrossthe upper part of Lake Erie. This effortrepresents cooperation among counties todevelop a consistent theme for attractions.The primary difference between this area

Made available by Ohio Sea Grant as OHSU-RS-436 as a result of project number R/ME-029-PD

from the counties that we have studied isthat tourism was already a base of theireconomy and they understand tourism verywell. Some preparation work will need tobe completed in terms of educating thecounties, and the development of a first stepof understanding tourism and its economicdevelopment. In addition, there must besome success in these initial stages in orderto show the potential, and the growth thatoccurs must be done slowly. There must bea long-range plan developed, and the planmust be comprehensive and action-oriented.

When the leaders within the communities ofthe two were interviewed, there was a dis­parity of opinions between Grand Rapidsand Toledo. The difference may be thatGrand Rapids is more of a village andToledo is an urban center. Leadership inter­views in Grand Rapids indicated that busi­nesses were primarily concerned with thesmall town type of issues and cannot deter­mine all of the relationships in terms of thebusiness processes. Leaders in Toledo havemore of a systems perspective, that is, theability to see the bigger picture, and havemore of a dynamic perspective. The busi­ness community in Grand Rapids is polar­ized. This polarization focuses upon oldways versus new ways. A prime example ofthis is the controversy over the Apple ButterFestival, its future and what it has meant tothe city of Grand Rapids. There is very littledoubt that the Apple Butter Festival has hadmajor impact and has brought a perspectiveto some individuals in regard to planning asa basis for tourism. The business individu­als and leaders in Toledo were focused upontourism and more on some type of industrialbase of business that relates to the transpor­tation or distribution industry. The focuswas not upon service but upon products.

When the survey was analyzed in regard tothe general public for Grand Rapids and

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Toledo, it was found that both populationswere interested in tourism development.Both indicated that they were in favor offes­tivals, such as the "Apple Butter Festival"and "Rally by the River." One of the verynegative feelings about each of the festivalswas the operational problems. These issuesdid cause some dissentions but the opportu­nity to participate in the festival far out­weighed its operational problems. Therewas also a feeling among both client basesthat the festivals need diversification in pro­grams and quality.

When the interviews were conducted at theApple Butter Festival, the results indicatedthat the clients enjoyed the Apple ButlerFestival immensely and that it was a tradi­tional event for many of the clients. Manywanted the Apple Butter Festival extendedthrough the week, and there were somenegative comments about the operationalfactors such as parking, diversity of pro­gram, etc. There was one group of residentsthat had some negative comments about theApple Butter Festival but those negativecomments were related to the number ofpeople and the inconvenience on that week­end that disturbed their routine. There wasalso a contingent of residents that felt a greatdeal of pride about the Apple Butter Festivaland individuals coming to their communityin such large numbers. This gave the resi­dents a chance to showcase their communityand develop business relationships for non­Apple Butter Festival times of the year.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate that there is great poten­tial for tourism in Northwest Ohio in the fivecounties along the Maumee River. Thereare barriers and infrastructural questions thathave to be solved and there are educationalprograms that have to be developed so that

Made available by Ohio Sea Grant as OHSU-RS-436 as a result of project number R/ME-029-PD

there is a consistent basis for planning.There are also a tremendous number of re­sources, within these communities, that haveto be coordinated in order to achieve suc­cess. The starting place seems to be withcommunity festivals and Community Prideprograms in the historic sites and the devel­opment of pride within the communityaround these sites in order to elicit supportfor the uniqueness of each particular county.Tourism has also budded and developed, in

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a city like Grand Rapids, and has been a ba­sis of development for a tourism economywhich started with the Apple Butter Festival,and this seems to be a good model for theother communities along the Maumee corri­dor. The most unique asset in the fivecounty area is the people and their storiesand celebrations. If these can be broughttogether in a comprehensive package, thentourism has a chance to have a significanteconomic impact upon the area.

Made available by Ohio Sea Grant as OHSU-RS-436 as a result of project number R/ME-029-PD

REFERENCES

1. Bitoni, C. (1993). Cognitive mapping: A qualitative research method for social work. SocialWork Research & Abstracts, 29(1),9-16.

2. Clarke, I., Mackaness, W., Ball, B., & Horita, M. (2003). The devil is in the detail: Visualis­ing analogical thought in retail location decision making. Environment & PlanningB: Planning & Design, 30(1),15.

3. Helmy, E., & Cooper, C. (2002). An assessment of sustainable tourism planning for thearchaeological heritage: The case of Egypt. Journal ofSustainable Tourism, 10(6),514-535.

4. Herman, D. (2001). Spatial reference in narrative domains. Text, 21 (4), 515-542.

5. Jaakson, R. (1985). Recreation planning for a small urban lake: Conflict resolution ofinsti­tutiona1 and site constraints on Dow's Lake, Ottawa. Town Planning Review, 56(1),90-111.

6. Jackson, G.A. (1990). Tourism planning and the public/private sector relationship. Hospital­ity Research Journal, 14(2),475-484.

7. Khattri, N., & Miles, M.B. (1995). Mapping basic beliefs about learner centered schools.Theory Into Practice, 34(4),279-288.

8. Maikhuri, R.K., Nautiyal, S., Rao, K.S., & Saxena, K.G. (2001). Conservation policy-peopleconflicts: A case study from Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (a World Heritage Site),India. Forest Policy and Economics, 2(3/4), 355-365.

9. Pomson, A.D.M., & Hoz, R. (1998). Sought and found: Adolescents' 'ideal' historical con­ceptions as unveiled by concept mapping. Journal ofCurriculum Studies, 30(3), 319.

10. Reed, M.G. (1997). Power relations and community-based tourism planning. Annals ofTourism Research, 24(3), 566-591.

I!. Stoffie, R.W., & Traugott, M.W. (1991). Risk perception mapping: Using ethnography todefine the locally affected population for a ... American Anthropologist, 93(3), 611­636.

12. Zaralloni, M. (1975). Social identity and the recoding of reality: Its relevance for cross­cultural psychology. Journal ofPsychology, 10(3), 197-218.

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Made available by Ohio Sea Grant as OHSU-RS-436 as a result of project number R/ME-029-PD

ISBN 0277-5204

Editor: David 1. Groves

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Article

INTRODUCTION

VISIONS IN LEISURE AND BUSINESS

Vol. 2 Monograph, 2006

Managing Editor: Margaret E. Bobb

Page

Integration: The Primary Element to Successful Planning 3David 1. Groves

Perceptual Mapping: A Case Study 17David 1. Groves

Student Perceptions of Off-Campus Living Spaces 24John Wasinski and David 1. Groves

Web Site Evaluation: A Study of Collegiate Recreation Programs Web Sites 52Alan Frishman and David 1. Groves

Made available by Ohio Sea Grant as OHSU-RS-436 as a result of project number R/ME-029-PD

INTRODUCTION

Visions in Leisure and Business has been reformatted as a monograph series. The purpose ofthis series is to explore issues that are themed and outside the realm of other publications. Thefocus of the first few publications will be on projects that have been sponsored or funded by Vi­sions. The journal, even though it has made significant contributions, needed to be changed toreflect new journals that are filling niches that Visions covered in the past. A policy decisionwas made that the new format of the monograph may best serve the scholarly community.

The first of these monographs will focus upon a project that deals with planning and how,through the case study of the Maumee River Corridor in Ohio, that such a process may be initi­ated. This project was initially funded through SeaGrant of Ohio and the follow-up was fundedby Visions. This is a good example of where public seed money and the private sector can coop­erate to develop model projects.

The articles contained within the monograph are a collection of manuscripts based on qualitativeprocesses used to study the planning methods in communities that have potential where the re­sources are apparent but strategies have to be developed to increase cooperation among cities andmunicipal subdivisions.

The purpose of this monograph is not to suggest solutions, but to identify key issues or barriersto the planning process. Some of the manuscripts are more position papers and reflect a deduc­tive qualitative approach used in the humanities. The ability to identify the latent causality is theproblem that does not allow full cooperation. Symptoms are used as causal statements and theprescription is based not on cause but upon impacts or frustrations that do not lead to solving theproblem.

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