Accompanied Visits as a Tool to Understand Visitors’ Experiences: A Critical Reflection and Proposed Typology

Abstract

Abstract Accompanied visits are commonly used to capture visitors’ spontaneously occurring activities, conversations, and views. However, there is limited reflection on how to implement and analyze accompanied visits, and their use is under-theorized. This article draws on three uses of accompanied visits: in a small gallery, a botanic garden, and a science museum. It describes and critically reflects on the methods used for these visits. Overall, it is argued that although accompanied visits can offer valuable insights into visitors’ views and experiences, it is important to conceptualize them to shape academic discussions and longer-term improvements to museum practice and visitor experience. The article provides a typology of accompanied visits that is based on an ethnographic approach and that shows the benefits and drawbacks of different types of accompanied visits. The typology provides the necessary structure for accompanied visits to understand current audiences and possibly to increase the number and diversity of future audiences.