Religion and identity in India’s heritage tourism

The growing worth of heritage in the renegotiation and dissemination of identities has intensified conflicts over whose voice dominates heritage tourism representations. Therefore, this study compares the way India’s heritage is represented by the Indian government, by the domestic tourism trade media and by the popular tourism media. The findings reveal that India is consistently represented as an ethnically diverse nation in which Hinduism preceded and prevailed over all other ethnicities/religions; a portrayal that consolidates the state’s secular nationalist narrative. Furthermore, the trade and popular media emphasize nostalgic experiences of a sanitized colonial history while the government emphasizes accounts of resistance against colonial powers and of suffering due to Muslim atrocities.     

Sport,heritage, and tourism

The relationship between sport, heritage, and tourism is strong, and the breadth and depth of research that explores this relationship is significant. This collection adds to the heritage sport tourism literature by considering several new perspectives. In particular, authors have examined sport heritage as a vehicle for understanding and memorializing conflict, as a tool for both celebrating achievement and marginalizing people, as a field of dissonance that often does not conform to tourism promotion and marketing, as a topic that generates, commends, commodifies, and (sometimes) discards “living” heritage, and as a means for discovering, or imagining, genealogical roots. Ultimately, sport heritage illuminates many of the issues, challenges, and debates in heritage and heritage tourism more broadly, while also demonstrating that, through its constant making remaking, sport heritage rarely fossilizes.     

Developing Mauritianness: National Identity,Cultural Heritage Values and Tourism

Mauritius is a nation of immigrants who have harmoniously come together, working to make their new homeland an economic success story. To continue this unprecedented economic growth Mauritius is consciously aware of the need for diversification in all its industries, including tourism. Known for being a quintessential beach vacation destination, Mauritius desires to expand the tourism sector to include aspects of cultural heritage tourism. To accomplish this task several questions must be answered about the meaning of Mauritianness and its relationship to tourism. Here it is argued that in order to further develop cultural heritage tourism in Mauritius, the understanding of Mauritian national identity must also be advanced.     

Chinese and international visitor perceptions of interpretation at Beijing built heritage sites

Research exploring visitor perceptions of heritage sites indicates that a site may hold different meanings for visitors depending on their cultural backgrounds. Little research has, however, identified visitor cultural preferences and so informed the development, delivery and management of on-site heritage interpretive experiences. This paper addresses this need by identifying cultural differences and similarities between Chinese and international visitors in relation to their interpretive motives, preferences and perceptions. Questionnaires were completed by 277 domestic Chinese visitors and 94 international visitors at five key Beijing built heritage sites. Differences between Chinese and international visitors’ conceptions of heritage; ratings of importance of facilities, services and interpretive content; and perceptions of the visitor experience are identified. Amongst many findings, Chinese respondents were more likely than international respondents to state that heritage sites should be an important part of the country's national heritage, convey the country's power and be famous. They sought built heritage sites visited by someone famous and that feature in well-known Chinese paintings and poetry. International visitors were more likely than Chinese visitors to state that heritage sites should have authentically old buildings and be relevant to contemporary life. Implications for interpretive and management practice at Chinese heritage sites are discussed.     

Diaspora tourists and the Scottish Homecoming 2009

Since devolution and the establishment of the Scottish Government, the country has increasingly sought to engage with its diaspora, as part of its tourism strategy. In recent years, many countries have welcomed home their diasporas through organised events and in 2009, the Scottish Government organised a Year of Homecoming. This paper describes the experiences of some of the diaspora Scots who returned ‘home’ that year, and explores how returning ‘home’ had an impact on their knowledge of contemporary Scotland and their continuing sense of a Scottish identity.     

A typology of memorable experience at Nelson Mandela heritage sites

This study examines cultural heritage tourism by identifying and segmenting heritage site visitors according to the aspects they define as necessary for a memorable heritage site experience. The research focusses on visitors to Nelson Mandela Heritage Sites and emphasises that the links between the attributes of a site and the visitors themselves are essential to understanding tourists’ willingness to pay to visit the mentioned sites. A typology of visitors that the authors labelled ‘auxiliary experience seekers, convenience experience seekers and comprehensive experience seekers’ (ACC) was used. The results revealed comprehensive experience seekers as the most critical market segment regarding the much significantly higher amount they are willing to pay when visiting Nelson Mandela Heritage Sites. This leads to a better understanding of aspects contributing towards a memorable heritage site experience as well as to visitors’ willingness to pay for such experiences. This study also provides further insight into cultural heritage tourism in general. Moreover, such segmentation was found as a useful research tool for producing a distinct visitor profile as well as how a memorable experiencing can be generated by suggesting diversified pricing at such sites.     

Soft power analysis in alienated borderline tourism

This study uses a combined content-semiotic analysis technique to identify visual representations of an alienated frontier between India and Pakistan. Additionally, narratives of tourism marketers, articles from leading newspapers, and online visitor reviews are analyzed to gain an insight into the manner the ‘closing of border gates’ ceremony is orchestrated and experienced. It is found that most tourism marketers offer distorted images of the border to some extent as most travel reviews flag aggressive orchestrations of war heritage at the border. A soft power analysis of content suggests that the tourism organizations can help foster peace relations between the two countries by actively working with the government agencies to tone down war/conflict memories and aggressive display of hard power.     

Authenticating a heritage hotel: co-creating a new identity

This study attempts to broaden understandings of co-creation by examining stakeholders who authenticate the meaning of a heritage hotel. It proposes that a heritage hotel is not only defined in terms of the provenance of material and non-material aspects of a culture, but also by subjective criteria as applied by various stakeholders. Using the case study of the Hotel Estoril, the first Western-style casino hotel built in the former Portuguese colony of Macau, it shows that government, community organizations, and residents endeavor to co-create a new identity for adaptive reuse. Under the circumstances, a heritage hotel is characterized by a polyvocality of interpretations, reflective of the array of stakeholders involved.     

The classification of heritage tourists: a case of Hue City,Vietnam

Heritage, especially with World Heritage status, is increasingly becoming the main attraction of many tourist destinations. Heritage tourism is also the major tourism product in Hue city, Vietnam. Hitherto, there are almost no official statistics and research pertaining to heritage tourism as well as heritage tourists in Hue. This study aims at providing a preliminary profile of heritage tourists to Hue city and identifying different categories of heritage tourists, with a special focus on package tourists. The international heritage tourists' profile seems to be similar to official statistics of international arrivals, indicating almost no difference in socio-demographic profile between heritage tourists and general tourists in the context of Hue. Various significant differences were found between international and domestic tourists in terms of tourist characteristics, trip profile and the perception of Hue. Adopting McKercher's [(2002) Towards a classification of cultural tourists. International Journal of Tourism Research, 4, 29–38] cultural tourist classification, five categories of heritage tourists were identified, including purposeful heritage tourists, sightseeing heritage tourists, casual heritage tourists, incidental heritage tourists and serendipitous heritage tourists. Among these, sightseeing heritage tourists and purposeful heritage tourists were dominant.     

The interpreter as researcher: ethical heritage interpretation in Indigenous contexts

ABSTRACT

This paper integrates Indigenous research and heritage interpretation scholarship by addressing how interpretation should be underpinned by research congruent with Indigenous expectations for research ethics and methods. Program research and delivery is a profound exercise of power, for interpreters mold public opinion. In a settler-colonial or Indigenous context, critically analyzing sources for one’s interpretative programs and media is particularly imperative, as Western researchers have historically been on colonialism’s front lines. The interpretation of Indigenous themes is fraught with difficulties, but existing interpretation literature myopically focuses on program delivery and evaluation methods. More attention must be paid by interpreters to the problems of relying on Western, positivist research in Indigenous contexts. This paper considers Indigenous research methods and ethics, provides an overview of the connection between Western knowledge and colonialism, and demonstrates the problems this poses for interpreters working with Indigenous content. I offer concrete suggestions for staff to improve their engagement with Indigenous peoples. Ultimately, I argue, interpreters must become more critical of themselves and their sources to successfully address Indigeneity.     

Effect of monumental heritage sites on hotel room pricing

This study measures the effect of historic monuments on hotel room pricing in Seville, Spain. A hedonic model including classic explanatory variables and the city’s heritage site was specified to explain hotel room rates. Variables related with heritage sites were determined to explain room rates and an iso-values map was obtained for the rates of a ‘standard hotel’ to show the impact of historic buildings on hotel rates. The maps display the area of influence of the heritage site. These results may be of interest to entrepreneurs, consumers, or the administration, among others, due to it permits them to determine which location maximizes rates.     

Tourism experiences,visitability and heritage resources in Saint Louis,Senegal

This paper studies heritage tourism experiences in the postcolonial World Heritage Site of Saint Louis, Senegal. Based on fieldwork and archival research, it shows the complexity and discrepancy linked with heritage presentation and design from the experiential realities encountered on the ground. The argument put forward is that colonial heritage, although it is simplified and controlled to meet specific tourist expectations by official authorities, appears to be dynamic, performative and subject to multiple interpretations from visitors, tourist guides and local residents. It further suggests that social and economic conditions of the communities living in the site affect the heritage space and shape vicariously or directly tourists’ experiences, despite professionals’ efforts of keeping the heritage visible in certain ways. The article extends its discussion to adjacent topics of power and gender issues, demonstrating how heritage tourism in postcolonial African context is intimately intertwined with the changing everyday realities of the communities.     

Crowding standards at Petra Archaeological Park: a comparative study of McKercher's five types of heritage tourists

To achieve sustainability in heritage tourism, tourists should be placed at the heart of the management and planning processes. Indicators and standards-based frameworks were developed in the field of outdoor recreation management to manage and measure crowding and other problematic issues in parks and related areas. Using normative theory and visual research methods, this article aims to examine crowding standards of tourists at Petra Archaeological Park, and compare these standards between the types of heritage tourists suggested by a model developed by Bob McKercher. Results showed that tourists’ acceptability levels go down with an increasing number of tourists, and tourists who are highly motivated to visit heritage sites (i.e. purposeful and sightseeing heritage tourists) had the most restrictive acceptable number of tourists at the park. The normative standards formulated in this article provided a guidance to manage crowding at Petra.     

Tourism and nostalgia for the pastoral on the island of Fyn,Denmark

Constructions of home are powerful from both heritage and tourism perspectives, as ‘home’ suggests a certain type of heritage precedence while also providing a competitive tourism advantage over rival locations. Sport tourism sites also disseminate notions of home as part of their narrative, both to create and solidify particular heritage claims as well as to enhance the tourism potential of a location. Home narratives are used, in particular, during stadium tours, where tourists go ‘behind the scenes’ at a famous sports venue. Tour narratives at Twickenham Stadium were examined in this study. At Twickenham, it was found that the stadium was represented as ‘home’ during tours in three different ways: as the literal home of the English National Rugby team; as the spiritual home of the sport of rugby; and as the home of particular notions of English identity. These representations were created as a means of claiming cultural propriety, particularly with regard to the sport and its heritage, as well as in recognition of the venue's role as an international tourism destination. However, the employment of home narratives, which espouse notions of stability and continuity, also mask wider heritage and tourism anxieties, in particular competition from rival sites.     

Development of intangible cultural heritage as a sustainable tourism resource: the intangible cultural heritage practitioners’ perspectives

ABSTRACT

Authentic intangible cultural heritage (ICH) provides a community with a unique selling point in the globally competitive tourism industry. The process of commodification of ICH, however, has threatened its authenticity and thus sustainable tourism approaches are required to achieve successful transmission and promotion of ICH as a sustainable tourism resource. This paper explores the priorities of ICH practitioners in relation to the development of ICH as a sustainable tourism resource, by utilising South Korea as a case study. The results revealed that from the ICH practitioners’ perspectives, authenticity is a holistic notion integrating the transmitted customs, inherited meanings and the practitioners’ identities. ICH practitioners agree with the potential positive symbiotic relationship between transmission of authentic ICH and promotion of ICH as a tourism resource. To achieve the positive symbiotic relationship, locals’ awareness of ICH, ICH practitioner empowerment and parallel development between tourism development and transmission of ICH are necessary. To date, the practitioner approach to the authenticity of ICH and ICH as a sustainable tourism resource is little explored in the literature, thus this paper makes a valuable addition to the area of sustainable heritage tourism.     

The network of Spanish Jewries: in praise of connecting and sharing heritage

This article presents the case study of the Network of Spanish Jewries (‘Red de Juderías de España’ – Caminos de Sefarad) and discusses the implications of networking between heritage sites linked through thematic routes. Although the impact on the performances of the different sites can hardly be measured, the value of the Spanish Jewries is attributed especially to its potential to redress regional imbalances in tourism activity (one of the main concerns for Spanish tourism) and to be packaged as a more integral, economically viable, and enticing experience than stand-alone heritage-based products. Evidence from the case study gives rise to more general considerations on the value of heritage networks for a more sustainable tourist activity, knowledge-sharing, and coordination in management. The article also looks beyond tourism impacts to regional cohesion and economic development opportunities that could be reaped from the extension of the network across national borders.     

Factors affecting the willingness of tourists to visit cultural heritage sites in Jordan

This study examined the factors affecting the willingness of tourists to visit the cultural heritage sites (CHS) located in the Northern Badia of Jordan, and estimated expenditures for their visit to the CHS. A questionnaire was developed to collect demographic and economic information about tourists during their visit to Jordan. Three hundred tourists were included in the survey at nine different sites during the summer of 2010. A logistic regression model was employed in the analyses. Factors that affected tourism at CHS included: education, variety of sites, multiple destinations, cost, and reasons for the visit. These factors had a significant impact on tourists' willingness to travel to CHS in the Northern Badia. This study recommends improving CHS and working closely with local communities to expand training and funding.     

Negotiating identity at religious sites: a management perspective

Travel to religious sites has increased in the past few decades. In the eyes of some scholars, this increased visitation adds to the already prevalent view of religious sites as contested spaces and places. This paper adds to the literature on religious tourism and contested places by looking at the ways in which religious sites act as a nexus for modernist/post-modernist tensions surrounding personal and group identity formation. After briefly discussing travel as an identity-building exercise, the case study of Temple Square in Salt Lake City, UT, is used to examine the ways in which religious site managers at Temple Square negotiate these modernist/post-modernist identity tensions.     

New interests of urban heritage and tourism research in Chinese cities

ABSTRACT

Towns and cities have been one of the key areas where Chinese civilization is embodied. China has a history of urban development reaching back over 5000 years. However, cities in China in the past century are also places which have experienced modernization and rapid progress. As a result, the conservation and reuse of the built heritage in China’s cities confronts great challenges. This paper stresses these challenges as well as a few other institutional, cultural, social and economic issues related to urban heritage conservation and utilization. It raises some new interests of urban heritage and tourism research in Chinese cities, and calls for more research on this topic, especially in less researched areas such as industrial heritage in medium-sized cities and cities in peripheral areas.