Cultural influences among theme park visitors in the United States and South Africa in terms of factors motivating the frequency of attendance

The problem. The failure to account for cultural differences has been a contributing factor to the mixed success in the export of theme park brands. The current trend is for theme park brands to expand into emerging markets including China, Mexico, South Asia, and South Africa. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of cultural and demographic differences in factors that motivate frequency of attendance at theme parks in the United States and South Africa.; Method. The author used a field survey research design to collect data from 455 theme park visitors in the United States and South Africa. Independent sample t-tests were used to determine differences between two subgroup means, while one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine differences between multiple subgroup means. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to determine relationships between variables.; Results. The study found that there were differences in the types of rides, park image, and type of media relied on between American and South African attendees. The study also found more differences in factors motivating attendance among different races and genders in South Africa than the United States. The youth and young adults under the age of 25 in both countries exhibited more similarities in factors motivating attendance than older respondents. Finally, while there was a distinct relationship between household income and frequency of attendance in South Africa, the study observed no such relationship among American attendees. Relationships and differences between variables were tested at a 0.01 statistical significance level.