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.     

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.     

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.     

User experience model for augmented reality applications in urban heritage tourism

While Augmented Reality (AR) is increasingly being implemented across a number of industry sectors, an open issue remains over the emotional as well as experiential impacts of this new technology within urban cultural heritage tourism. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to create a tourist experience model for AR tourism applications in the context of urban heritage tourism. The data were collected through five focus groups with a total of 49 participants. A theoretical tourist experience model was generated using Hassenzahl’s [(2003). The thing and I: understanding the relationship between user and product. In M. A. Blythe, K. Overbeeke, A. F. Monk & P. C. Wright (Eds.), Funology (pp. 31–42). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers] model of user experience. Hassenzahl's (2003) model relies on the basic idea that product characteristics and features have an effect on the actual consequences. The data were analysed using thematic analysis in order to examine the alignment of themes according to previously identified themes from the literature as well as investigate new emergent themes from the focus groups. This study extends the theoretical aspect of the user experience model by Hassenzahl (2003) through empirical confirmation. The findings reveal that the user experience is formed by the correlation of product features and the perceptions and experiences of tourists. Due to the fact that successful implementation use cases of mobile AR applications is still limited, particularly within the tourism industry, the establishment of a comprehensive set of factors has been considered to be crucial for successful implementation.     

The link between travel motivation and satisfaction towards a heritage destination: The role of visitor engagement,visitor experience and heritage destination image

There are shortcomings in studying tourist satisfaction from the direct effect of travel motivation. The current study constructed an integrated model of motivation-satisfaction towards a heritage destination with the addition of experience-related factors and destination image. Unlike previous studies mainly focusing on pre or after the experience, this research employed a survey aiming at tourists during their on-site experiences. By using Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling, the proposed structural model was tested with a sample of 352 visitors at Hoi An UNESCO World Heritage Site, Vietnam. Motivation had significant effects on visitor engagement, visitor experience, and heritage destination image, which in turn led to heritage tourists' satisfaction. The indirect link between motivation and satisfaction was also confirmed, contributing to a better understanding of the formation of satisfaction in the context of heritage tourism. Practical implications are provided for Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) of heritage sites.     

Experience quality,perceived value,satisfaction and behavioral intentions for heritage tourists

This paper examines the visitor experience of heritage tourism and investigates the relationships between the quality of those experiences, perceived value, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. A total of 447 respondents completed a survey conducted at four main heritage sites in Tainan, Taiwan. Using structural equation modeling (SEM) technique, the results reveal the direct effects of the quality of experience on perceived value and satisfaction. However, it is the indirect and not direct effects of the quality of experience that impact on behavioral intentions when mediated by perceived value and satisfaction. Overall, the relationship “experience quality → perceived value → satisfaction → behavioral intentions” appears to be evident.     

Roles of intangible cultural heritage in tourism in natural protected areas

The ‘new paradigm’ for protected areas emphasizes communities and their cultural assets, including intangible cultural heritage, as critical and inseparable parts of these areas. As tourism can be a significant factor in the economic framework of natural protected areas (NPAs), the prominent role of the community can have important implications. This paper reports on one of the first empirical studies on the interaction between intangible cultural heritage and tourism in an NPA with a special focus on the role of intangible cultural heritage. It is based on six months of qualitative ethnographic fieldwork in Qeshm Geopark, in the South of Iran. Local intangible cultural heritage is found to manifest and be used in tourism in three distinct ways: First, as a source of attraction and addition to any tourism offerings; second, as conservation tool, especially where the natural environment has strong cultural meanings for the local community; and third, as a driver for facilitating culturally and naturally sensitive behaviour by visitors. Concluding statements address any conceptual and practical implications.     

Assessing the Tourism Potential of Smaller Cultural and Heritage Attractions

This paper reports on the development and application of a mechanism to assess the tourism potential of cultural and heritage assets. The assessment tool considers cultural, physical, product and experiential values. It was tested on a sample of 16 secondary museums, historic sites and temples in Hong Kong that are currently being promoted by the local destination management organisation. While their cultural and physical values were rated strongly, their tourism and experiential values were low. Indeed, a number of fatal flaws were identified that effectively precluded most of them from ever functioning as viable attractions. Remoteness, isolation from other attractions, small scale, a lack of uniqueness and poor setting exacerbated their weaknesses.     

Sights of sites: picturing heritage,power and exclusion

This paper explores the visual representations used to illustrate, promote and communicate a particular idea of heritage in the tourism literature, which provides an instance within which to examine the material consequences of a dominant discourse. This examination takes place within the context of current New Labour policy initiatives, which have put forward a new role for heritage, both in terms of the touristic experiences it can provide and as an instrumental tool for social inclusion and civic engagement. It is argued in this paper that these consciously designed objectives have also opened up a conceptual space within which images of heritage are drawn upon to undertake a course of ideological work that affectively reaffirms and legitimizes the cultural symbols of an elite social group as a consensual representation of national heritage.     

An application of tourism carrying capacity assessment at two Italian cultural heritage sites

If not properly managed or organized, tourist flows can constitute a risk for conserving cultural heritage sites. It may therefore be important to estimate the maximum capacity a visitor site can receive without compromising its heritage integrity or visitors’ experiences. This research note formulates a comprehensive methodology to assess the carrying capacity of cultural heritage sites as a way of providing technical support for cultural development and tourism management policies. This approach proposes a combination of qualitative and quantitative indicators to assess tourist flows at a site, how tourists affect conservation and how the property itself shapes and conditions the visitor experience. This how-to study underscores the management system and suggests guidelines to improve the tourism product without generating negative impacts on the built heritage. Two museum case studies are highlighted – the National Museum of the arts of the XXI Century, in Rome and the National Gallery of Marche (Palazzo Ducale, in Urbino).     

Efficacy of public awareness strategies for promoting existing cultural heritage tourism assets in Dar es Salaam

Although Dar es Salaam City is endowed with numerous cultural heritage resources, it fails to exploit such potentials. While there were some initiatives to boost cultural heritage tourism in the city, their efficacy was unknown and they remain undocumented. This study was designed to assess public awareness means and their effectiveness in promoting cultural heritage tourism in Dar es Salaam City. Data collection was through questionnaires, focus group discussions, observations, and key informant interviews. Findings indicated that most of the existing potential sites were not known as cultural heritage tourism sites such that they were regarded like any other normal places in the city. Available public awareness strategies (except a few) were ineffective and inaccessible. One could then wonder how available cultural heritage assets may be made known and attract others to take part. The study calls for public awareness strategies to improve knowledge on available cultural heritage assets to the general public, a measure, which will positively enhance accessibility to cultural heritage assets, improve goodwill as well as cooperation to tourists and improve ethics of their care. Such undertakings eventually will lead to sustainable cultural heritage tourism growth.     

Heritage Buildings and Tourism: An Experiential View

There has been a lack of attention in previous heritage tourism studies to the experiential relationship between heritage buildings and tourism. The aim of this paper is to explore the experiences gained by international tourists from heritage buildings in a particular region of New Zealand: Hawke's Bay. Specifically, the paper seeks insight into the specific attributes of heritage buildings that influenced the experiences of international tourists in the region. An increased understanding of the experiential relationship between heritage buildings and tourism is essential in strengthening support for preservation, for product development and promotion. Fifty semi-structured, and 66 photograph-supported, interviews conducted with international tourists visiting Hawke's Bay elicited three key experiential themes that emerged from respondents' narratives. These are ‘visual appeal’, ‘personal reflections’ and ‘engaging experiences’. Specifically, it was found that a tourism townscape is not a passive space. Heritage buildings render the townscape an experiential space filled with emotion, mindfulness, engagement and personal meaning. The paper concludes that this finding has important implications for destination promotion and product development and stresses the need for future research into the relationship between heritage buildings and tourism.     

Negotiating authenticity: Cathar heritage tourism

This paper explores the negotiation of authenticity with the case of Cathar heritage tourism in southern France. Also known as the Albigensians, the Cathars were a medieval sect practicing in the Languedoc Region of southern France from the tenth to the fourteenth century. Cathar heritage tourism is based upon various museums, heritage centers, castles, and seasonal trading fairs or markets supplemented by the activities of Cathar re-enactment or ‘living history’ societies. This interest in Cathar heritage has led to a highly saturated calendar of events. In 2010, for example, the total number of all varieties of these events in France was 36, with over 4000 people actively participating and the events attracting upwards of about 3 million visitors annually.

Based on a case-study approach, the geographical breadth of Cathar heritage tourism in France is outlined, giving brief case studies of each of the main types of tourist experiences. This is followed with a discussion on how notions of authenticity and commodification are constructed by key participants through the staging of particular types of Cathar heritage tourism.     

The impacts of world cultural heritage site designation and heritage tourism on community livelihoods: A Chinese case study

This article examines how cultural heritage conservation, often reflective of Western values, impacts local sustainable livelihoods (SL) in a living cultural heritage site. The article argues for the modification of the SL framework for analysing cultural heritage tourism through including an explicit focus on the transforming structures and processes of local livelihoods in Fujian tulou, China, a World Cultural Heritage Site. Drawing on data collected through in-depth interviews, non-participatory observations, and secondary sources, findings show that changes related to tourism development and heritage conservation can reduce the sustainability of livelihoods in living heritage sites. Tulou clusters tend to be regarded as tourist attractions and cultural relics rather than lived-in places. Traditional livelihoods have been affected as residents are forced to adapt to the demands of tourism. This research helps to expand the SL theory by incorporating cultural heritage capital and community self-organisation, and highlighting residents' self-controlled capacity toward assets.     

Community engagement and heritage tourism at Geneva Estate,Dominica

Community and heritage tourism can be developed alongside the promotion of Dominica as the ‘Nature Island of the Caribbean’, in which the island's natural resources are commodified as an ecotourism destination. The development of Dominica's tourism product to include heritage tourism through the presentation of plantation sites allows tourists to experience the island's culture and history. A direction for the advance of community and heritage tourism is demonstrated with a case study of the Geneva Heritage Project, begun in 2011 at Geneva Estate near the village of Grand Bay. Through a partnership between professional researchers and a community group, the Grand Bay Tourism and Environmental Committee (GTEC), the Geneva Heritage Project demonstrates an avenue for community groups to define and to interpret the community's history. Members of GTEC collaborated with professional archaeologists and students to conduct archaeological and historical research, which included the collection of data used to create interpretive signs and to compile documentary sources to be made available to community members and tourists. Such collaborative efforts promote the value of resource preservation in a nation lacking legislation to protect its cultural and archaeological resources.     

The convergence process in heritage tourism

The theoretical background behind heritage tourism is conventionally categorized in terms of two stages: the demand and supply side approaches. This has resulted in a fragmented and usually conflicting framework. The purpose of this paper is to devise a model, which will substantiate the existence of both a continuum and a lateral relationship between the contrasting theoretical approaches to heritage tourism. The value added proffered here stems from the incorporation of authenticity as a linking device in each of the two approaches, unifying them into a single theoretical paradigm. The role of authenticity as a contemporary marketing tool, on tourism motivation and the image of the attraction is shown to be pivotal.     

The impacts of local arts agencies on community placemaking and heritage tourism

The arts and culture have been shown to foster economic development by attracting workers and businesses in the knowledge industry, spurring tourism, and improving the housing market. However, beyond financial capital, they significantly impact other forms of capital in the community, as well. The Community Capital Framework (CCF) is an analytical tool widely used to observe and critique the relationships among various types of community assets: social, human, financial, creative, built, natural, and political. This study used the CCF to assess the impacts of community-based arts centers on their communities, particularly on heritage tourism. The results demonstrated effects on social, environmental, and business assets, primarily in the financial, social, cultural, and human capitals. The results can be used by community leaders as a starting point when discussing the costs and benefits of investing in a new local arts agency.     

A construal level view of contemporary heritage tourism

Psychological distance is “a subjective experience that something is close or far away from the self, here, and now” (Trope & Liberman 2010, p. 440). This research investigates heritage tourism from the perspective of Construal Level theory, which postulates that individuals mentally represent objects and events by adopting either low or high construal levels. We show that heritage tourism leads tourists to adopt a higher psychological distance and therefore a higher construal level. In turn, this higher construal negatively affects destination loyalty and perceived uniqueness. However, authenticity and engagement moderate the heritage–construal relationship, counterbalancing the higher psychological distance induced by heritage. We explore these relationships in two studies focusing on contemporary heritage sites. This further allows to compare visitors’ mental representations of the experience, based on their memory type. The paper concludes by addressing implications for theory and practice.     

Exploring factors determining the attractiveness of railway tourism

This study explored experts' opinions on the determinants of railway tourism attractiveness (RTA). The results showed the provision of heritage railway attractions, both on-board and off-board, constitutes an essential and important component of railway tourism experience, whereas the smoothness and comfort of a rail journey play a supporting role in enhancing RTA. It is concluded that Taiwan has long history with railroads and the historical values connected to rail infrastructure represent a unique part of railway tourism experience. The integration of those assets would diversify its tourism offerings and enhance its profile as one of Asia's leading tourism destinations.     

Post-colonial heritage,post-colonial tourism: culture,politics and development at Angkor

This conceptual article represents an endeavor to create a typology of the various tourist experiences at heritage sites, based on tourists' sense of obligation to see or visit a heritage site, and to experience it in a certain way. In this article references are made to the visitors' expected impact of the visit, their perception of the site in relation to their own heritage, as well as their preferences of the onsite interpretation. It is argued here that this typology is crucial to the understanding of the tourists' experiences at heritage sites and to the actual management of such sites.