The search for World Heritage brand awareness beyond the iconic heritage: a case study of the Historic Centre of Macao

The Historic Centre of Macao was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS) in 2005. The question arises regarding the value of the designation ‘WHS’ and what it means to tourists who visit. The researchers used intercept surveys and participant observation to determine brand awareness among visitors. Regardless of how much the tourism industry and UNESCO promote the ‘brand’, if visitors are unaware of it and do not respond, the economic and cultural values may be negatively affected.

The results showed the average visitor had only a vague understanding of WHS and it was not a major motivator for their visit. However, the general theme of culture was of high interest, as was a visit to the must-see icon attraction of St Paul's Ruins (the highlight of the Historic Centre of Macao). That is, there appears to be a good level of cultural and heritage awareness but minimal WHS awareness.     

Book Review

World Heritage Sites (WHSs) are motivated by such diverse reasons as heritage celebration, alarm calls, tourism branding and marketing and place making. Irrespective of the primary motivation for their creation, WHSs are often used to develop tourism based on cultural and natural resources of international significance. Heritage conservation may or may not be in agreement with what local populations perceive as desirable development paths. We conducted a survey among the island community of Vega in Norway that received WHS status in 2004 motivated by conservation alarm, tourism marketing and place making. We examined the local population's views of the key aspects of future development and how this related to WHS status. The islanders placed high value on social and community conditions as well as heritage linked to cultural and natural resources. While a majority supported tourism based on sustainable use of heritage they also felt that WH listing should not limit development opportunities. There were differences between younger people and adults. WHS may be an effective agent of sustainable tourism development if the main goals and strategies of the WHS are clearly understood and prioritized in the local community, leave room and perhaps link to other development opportunities.     

供需双方对景区文化偏好的差异性研究——以天柱山风景区为例

山岳型景区文化内涵的挖掘是提升景区质量的重要途径,但景区提供的文化旅游产品容易偏离旅游者的需求.文章以天柱山风景区为例,运用因子分析法、两独立样本t检验等方法,分析了供需双方对景区文化旅游资源偏好的差异,同时借助IPA模型帮助旅游经营管理者制定了景区文化旅游产品的开发方向.结果表明:(1)供需双方对天柱山风景区的整体印象差异不显著;而对文化印象具有显著差异,其中,旅游经营管理者对天柱山风景区文化印象较好,而旅游者对其印象较为一般;从文化资源要素上来看,供需双方对绝大部分文化旅游资源具有显著差异,且旅游经营管理者对其偏好的程度总体强于旅游者.(2)采用IPA模型,通过对比供需双方对天柱山风景区文化旅游资源的偏好差异,得出继续努力、过度表现、低优先改进、重点改进4个区域,并针对不同区域提出不同的解决方案.     

The Bigger They Are,the Harder They Fall! Sustainable Tourism Planning at Naracoorte Caves World Heritage Site,Australia

The Australian National Heritage and Tourism Thematic Interpretation Framework (NHTTIF) is an interpretive framework methodology that can be used to develop an enhanced visitor experience by integrating heritage more effectively in tourism. It was developed for the Australian Department for the Environment and Heritage in response to the ‘telling the story’ opportunity identified by the National Tourism and Heritage Taskforce. The NHTTIF is used to identify a site-specific interpretive theme through to a national or international interpretive theme, as part of an interconnected web of ‘stories’ about Australia. Sites used during the development of the NHTTIF included the World Heritage Australian Fossil Mammal Site at Naracoorte, South Australia, the Port Arthur Historic Site in Tasmania and the Brambuk Aboriginal Cultural Centre in Victoria. This paper demonstrates the development and application of the NHTTIF at the Naracoorte Caves World Heritage Site, with a site-specific story theme of ‘the bigger they are, the harder they fall!’, referring to the fossilised extinct Australian mega-fauna. Other themes are demonstrated at a local, regional, state, and national level with implications at the international level as a World Heritage Site. The integration of heritage more effectively in tourism planning, development and management, and the interpretation of heritage sites fosters an understanding and appreciation of heritage, resulting in conservation.     

生态旅游影响下女性居民社会网络的规模、连接与结构——以武陵源世界自然遗产地为例

以武陵源世界遗产地社区女性居民社会网络作为研究对象,通过问卷调查法和半结构访谈法,对武陵源区袁家界村、龙尾巴村和马儿山村女性居民采取抽样问卷、滚雪球式访谈等方法,进行定量数据与定性分析相结合的研究,对网络规模、网络中心性和网络密度的数据进行分析发现,武陵源世界自然遗产地不同位置社区女性居民的社会网络规模、社会网络连接和社会网络结构均存在明显差异,表明生态旅游的参与程度与女性居民的社会网络存在高度相关性,直接影响社会网络规模、连接和结构。生态旅游影响下女性居民的社会网络存在以下特征：（1）女性居民社会交往范围逐步扩大,社会网路规模明显增加;（2）女性居民社会关系逐渐多元化,社会网络关系连接日益丰富;（3）女性居民获得了异质性信息和资源,社会网络结构渐趋稳定;（4）女性居民旅游增权权益明显,推动女性社会网络不断优化。