Authenticity and place attachment of major visitor attractions

This paper aims to explore the relationships between place attachment and perceived authenticity of major visitor attractions. The empirical study was conducted with a sample of international tourists to major visitor attractions in two capital cities, Helsinki, Finland and Jerusalem, Israel. The results indicate a positive correlation between place attachment and authenticity. Major visitor attractions located in places with considerable heritage experience value are considered more authentic, and that authenticity of visitor attractions is influenced by place attachment moderated by iconicity and heritage value of the destination region. These findings provide insight to the ways tourists perceive authenticity of visitor attractions and highlight the importance of the heritage value of tourism destinations for strategic planning and marketing purposes.     

Equity restoration,the Holocaust and tourism of sacred sites

Distressing events perpetrated against specific ethnic and religious groups frequently have implications that stretch well beyond the cessation of violent activities. Many times the victims and their descendants manifest their animosity in the realm of tourism and consumption related activity. This paper, utilizing netnographic data, examines the reactions of some global Jewish citizens in relation to tourism activity surrounding historic Holocaust sites located in Eastern Europe. Related to the emergent themes of equity restoration, controllability, and discounting, this research examines why many tourists decide to avoid tourism to historic heritage sites, leading to an examination of the link between physical location, remembrance and relational work. Additionally, data indicate some Jewish tourists may avoid travel because of the paucity of Jewish life in the areas surrounding sacred sites, thereby creating the perception that anti-Semitism is still present. Our research calls to question the value of visual and physical evidence in relation to maintaining identity and facilitating remembrance.     

海外移民返乡家庭旅游的集体记忆和国家认同建构

对于海外移民返乡的研究,学者们往往聚焦于解析其返乡动机、探访祖国家园的行为,以及返乡旅游对国家认同的影响,而对其返乡旅游过程中形成的集体记忆及其对国家认同的建构的作用却鲜有涉及。该研究选择10个北美华侨家庭就返乡家庭旅游开展联合访谈,运用叙事研究方法,解析其返乡家庭旅游的集体记忆和国家认同建构。研究发现,海外移民返乡家庭旅游集体记忆的信息遵循"地点""活动""感受"三者之间互动影响的逻辑进行建构,通过分享行为来维系;而国家认同随着集体记忆的形成而建构,并通过日常实践体现出代际差异性、传承性和垂直传播性。该研究对海外移民的返乡研究、集体记忆和国家认同研究具有一定的理论和实践指导意义。     

Elucidating the relationships among destination images,recreation experience,and authenticity of the Shengxing Heritage Recreation Area in Taiwan

A destination's image and on-site recreation experience can be regarded as precedents of the authenticity perceived by heritage tourists. Historic images attract tourists to experience the authenticity of a heritage destination. This study examines the linear relationships among destination images, recreation experience, and the perceived authenticity experienced by tourists at the Shengxing Heritage Recreation Area in central Taiwan. In total, 536 usable questionnaires were collected. Analytical results indicate that the cognitive and affective images of a destination directly and significantly affect the recreation experience of tourists at a heritage recreation area. Additionally, recreation experience directly and significantly affects perceived authenticity. Moreover, recreation experience has a significant mediating effect on the relationship between cognitive image and perceived authenticity. We conclude that when tourists visit a heritage-based tourism destination, such as the destination under consideration, these tourists gain tourism image and recreation experiences, which strengthens their perceived authenticity of heritage tourism; as a result, these tourists are more likely to contribute to the development of heritage tourism. Applying this theoretical framework to research on heritage tourism further extends our understanding of the behavioural model of heritage tourists. Finally, this study provides a valuable reference for managers striving to develop heritage tourism.     

Legacy tourism: the search for personal meaning in heritage travel

In recent years, the existence and nature of the heritage tourism market has attracted substantial attention in the tourism industry. There appears to be a sub-segment of the heritage market that consists of tourists who have a personal connection with their heritage beyond a general relationship of collective ancestry. Those that travel to engage in genealogical endeavors, to search for information on or to simply feel connected to ancestors and ancestral roots are categorized as legacy tourists. This paper describes the heritage tourism market, discusses distinguishing characteristics that identify legacy tourists, and emphasizes to tourism managers the importance of recognizing and responding to this segment.     

Industrial Heritage Attractions: Types and Tourists

Abstract

Heritage tourism has become an important sector in the tourism industry. In fact, interest in heritage tourism among the American public increased 16% from 1991 to 1995. In spite of this surge in demand for heritage tourism little is known about tourists' visitation to “types” of heritage attractions and if their travel behavior characteristics are related to their patterns of visitation. This study examined both issues in the context of industrial heritage tourism. The results indicated that tourists were visiting “types” of industrial heritage attractions. In addition, there was a relationship between the type of trip they were on, the number of people in their travel party, when they made their decision to visit, and the total number of trips they had taken in the last 12 months and the “type” of industrial heritage attraction they visited.     

Deconstructing the internal structure of perceived authenticity for heritage tourism

Abstract

Although modern society is more inclined to view authenticity from a postmodernist perspective, few quantitative studies on heritage tourism explored existential authenticity in detail. This study deconstructs authenticity into three components – object-related, intra-personal, and inter-personal – and then constructs a complete model by exploring each component’s internal structures, asking to what extent travel motivation is an antecedent and loyalty, a consequence. Data were obtained from 1,088 valid survey questionnaires distributed in Pingxi, Taiwan. Study findings confirmed the reliability and validity of the items used to measure the construct of authenticity. Regarding the internal structure of authenticity, intra-personal authenticity plays a mediating role between object-related authenticity and inter-personal authenticity, and this inter-personal authenticity may be the final value that tourists perceive. Compared with recent related studies, this model more comprehensively explains the degree of variation in loyalty, reflecting its importance for heritage tourism management and marketing. If a destination remains authentic, tourists are willing make a return visit. Authenticity may enable tourism managers to strike a balance between preservation and development when achieving the long-term goal of sustainable development.     

Knowledge transfer processes in the authenticity of the intangible cultural heritage in tourism destination competitiveness

ABSTRACT

As tourism based on intangible cultural heritage usually encompasses a knowledge transfer process, the authenticity of the heritage (or its perception) can be affected by knowledge transfer. These knowledge transfers occur to present the heritage to the tourists (courses, tour guiding, etc.), but also in the destination itself when the heritage knowledge is codified in museums, tour guides are trained, or the heritage is transferred to newer generations. These situations present potential challenges where authenticity is distorted or even lost, and it affects the competitiveness of the destination. The work attempts to analyse those knowledge transfers and their challenges regarding authenticity to sustain the competitiveness of the destination.     

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.     

Domestic tourists to Elmina Castle,Ghana: motivation,tourism impacts,place attachment,and satisfaction

Abstract

Current research on dark tourism lacks an in-depth investigation of the relationships between the various psychological factors that influence tourist satisfaction. Using the cognitive-affective-behavior system, this paper evaluates a theoretical model that postulates relationships between four constructs, namely: motivation, perceptions of tourism impacts, place attachment, and satisfaction. The study extends the tourism literature on cultural sustainability by showing the psychological connections of domestic tourists to a dark heritage site, and the implications for perceptions of tourism impacts on this heritage. Based on a sample of 414 domestic tourists at a dark heritage site in Elmina, Ghana, PLS-SEM confirmed several inter-relationships among the four constructs. Motivation had a positive relationship with perceptions of positive and negative tourism impacts, suggesting that the tourists who were more motivated to visit the site for cultural/learning experiences were also more inclined to perceive both positive and negative tourism impacts. Implications for dark tourism and how heritage site management can influence tourists’ perceptions of impacts are offered.     

Developing a typology of diaspora tourists: Return travel by Chinese immigrants in North America

This paper examines the role played by tourism in affecting cultural identity and place attachment among members of the North American Chinese diaspora who travel to China. Previous literature portrays diaspora tourists as homogeneous and suggests that home return travel engenders broadly similar impacts on the individual. This study reveals diasporic communities are quite diverse and complex. Five types of diaspora tourist are identified, each having distinct travel motives, experiences, migration backgrounds, cultural identities and place attachments. The consequences of diaspora tourism particularly in terms of place attachment and cultural identity are further discussed, as home return travel induces positive, neutral and negative reactions.     

Fairytale authenticity: historic city tourism,Harry Potter,medievalism and the magical gaze

ABSTRACT

This article makes an original contribution to debates about authenticity by asking how tourist experiences of the medieval historic environment are linked to fairytales, providing a new way for tourists to imaginatively authenticate heritage. The architecture of some historic cities is preponderantly medieval, an era which is strongly associated with fairytales. Magical-historical double affectiveness has been compounded in the collective imagination by modern fairytales such as the fantasy Harry Potter and Game of Thrones which employ historic city locations and faux-medieval settings, establishing a fluid magi-heritage simulacrum. This is concretised by the appearance in many historic cities of evidence of magical placemaking and staged magical authenticity, such as wizarding shops. The study used a visual methodology to examine 14 historic cities including Oxford, Cambridge, Bath, York, and Canterbury, demonstrating how the magical gaze employs fairytale schemata to imaginatively authenticate places. The findings illustrated how heritage tourists serendipitously encountered the medieval-fairytalesque, unfolding the agency of monumental cathedrals and castles and discovering stories and the historicisation of mythology within the extraordinary-ordinary streetscape. The research findings imply that in an era when the fantasy genre is increasingly popular, the experiential authenticity of heritage tourists may be enhanced by the ‘heritage marvellous.’     

The value of souvenirs: Endowment effect and religion

Souvenir purchases has emerged as an important area of research in tourism studies. We investigate tourists’ attachment to souvenirs based on religion, type, and place of purchase, and analyze the endowment effect. We asked 3325 Jewish and Christian tourists visiting Israel to estimate the price they would pay/accept for three types of souvenir: Jewish, Christian, and general souvenirs. Overall, we found an endowment effect toward most of the souvenirs. The results demonstrated that religion, type, and place of purchase affected the valuation of the items. The endowment effect was higher for the Jewish group than for their non-Jewish counterparts. These results demonstrate that tourists’ perceptions of souvenirs are shaped not only by their utility, but also by their meaningfulness.     

Value orientations and heritage tourism management at Petra Archaeological Park,Jordan

Involving different stakeholders, including tourists, in managing tourism and understanding their value orientations are key concepts to achieve sustainability of heritage tourism. However, tourists have been mostly ignored in managing heritage attractions. Given the importance of values in heritage tourism management, and the different tourists' preferences toward management actions, this article aims to explore the value orientations of different types of tourists at Petra Archaeological Park, and how these values influence their management actions preferences. Majority of the tourists were preservation value oriented, and they preferred direct management actions rather than indirect actions. Results indicated that whenever the level of the importance of heritage tourism increases in tourists' trip motivations, tourists tend to be more preservation value oriented and support direct management actions.     

Ethnic Tourism and Minority Identity: Lugu Lake,Yunnan, China

Ethnic tourism has been employed as a development strategy in many minority communities where options for development are often limited. This research explores the impacts of ethnic tourism development on minority people and their identities in an ethnic community in Lugu Lake, Yunnan, China. Findings reveal that active involvement in tourism and commercialization of Mosuo cultural traditions have resulted in the consolidation of a collective Mosuo identity for economic, social and cultural purposes. Local villagers actively express their identity and re-create their dress, dances and religion to satisfy tourists' desires for authenticity. Tourism has reinforced elements of Mosuo culture, giving it new prestige in the Han-dominated society, but it has also brought numerous changes to Mosuo communities. It is argued that the preservation of minority culture and identity should be enhanced if long-term sustainable development of tourism is to occur and the evolving nature of ethnic identity is to be recognized.     

A nostalgic Peranakan journey in Melaka: Duo-ethnographic conversations between a Nyonya and Baba

A UNESCO World Heritage Listed historic city, Melaka embodies a vibrant multi-ethnic Asian heritage, straits-colonial legacy and cultural landscape that has been attracting tourists from within Asia and the wider world. In particular, Melaka is renowned for its rich Peranakan (Straits Chinese) cultural heritage and history. This work presents the divergent narratives of two Peranakan Chinese on a nostalgic, ancestral tourism journey in Melaka. Specifically, it explores the dimensions of nostalgia, authenticity and diaspora in cultural heritage tourism, framed within the affecting gaze of cultural, diasporic and reminiscent lenses through which we consume tourism experiences. Through our tourism lived experience and duo-ethnographic conversations, we explore our shared Southeast Asian ancestry, reflect on past traditions and question representations of our Peranakan Chinese heritage within four main themes: (1) reflective nostalgia, (2) the imagined past, (3) objective authenticity, and (4) existential authenticity.     

回望“真实性”(authenticity)(上)——一个旅游研究的热点

麦坎内尔(MacCannell)掀起的"真实性"研究热已逾30年,其间,研究视角逐渐从"客观"转向"主观"。这既反映出真实性内涵的延展与变迁,亦凸显旅游主体—游客体验的重要性。然而,就研究者日渐褊狭的视域来看,旅游客体真实性对旅游体验真实性的影响从松散到几近断裂,旅游主体甚至以"悦纳万物"的信仰姿态视一切"存在"为真,从而收获真实的体验。客观真实与主观真实,究竟是谁决定或影响了谁?对此问题的探寻导致学界对旅游客体之"虚假"的重新界定和对旅游体验之"真实"的再度好奇,并因此形成旅游真实性研究的纷争局面。有鉴于此,对国内外真实性研究做一番缘起、视角、界定等方面的梳理和反思,或将对国内相关研究与应用有所裨益。     

Connecting Visitors to People and Place: Visitors’ Perceptions of Authenticity at Canyon de Chelly National Monument,Arizona

This study examines the effect of visitors’ characteristics, motivations and sense of place attachment on perceptions of authenticity at a cultural heritage site. Data were collected in summer and fall 2006 through an on-site survey questionnaire administered to a random sample of visitors to Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona ( n = 379; 76% response rate). The most important motives for visiting were ‘To enjoy nature’ and ‘To experience Navajo culture’. Additionally, visitors perceived a strong sense of place identity but a weaker sense of place dependence. Preservation of the archaeological resources was the most important contributor towards an authentic experience, followed by learning about customs and values of local people, meeting local people and visiting with an authorised Navajo guide. Attending interpretive programmes contributed the least. Results show that motivation to experience Navajo culture, the place identity dimension of place attachment, educational attainment, age and past experience at the monument had significant effects on the perception of an authentic experience at the monument. Place identity emerged as the strongest predictor of perceptions of authenticity, suggesting that a strong emotional bond is an important factor in visitors perceiving a site to be authentic. As visitor motivations for learning about the Navajo culture increased, so did perceptions of authenticity. Higher age also led to increased feelings of authenticity. As education levels and prior experience increased, perceptions of authenticity decreased.     

Performing Traditional Dances for Modern Tourists in the Amazon

Summary

This study focused on four indigenous tribes in the Peruvian Amazon that entertain tourists by donning traditional costumes and performing traditional dances. Those who oppose the development of tourism in indigenous communities argue that this type of tourism is demeaning to the locals and leads to cultural imperialism, foreign dependency, revenue leakages, cultural change, change in socioeconomic levels, and loss of authenticity. Those who support controlled tourism in indigenous communities suggest that tourism may offer community members a chance to increase their household income and aid in the preservation of traditional cultures. In the communities in this study, tourism entertainment brings in much needed capital, while at the same time offering an opportunity for locals to embrace their own cultural identity.