Evaluating heritage: tourists and holiday visits to heritage sites |
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Authors: | Thu Thi Trinh Jenny Cave |
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Affiliation: | 1. Danang College of Economics and Planning, No. 143 Nguyen Luong Bang, Da Nang, Vietnam;2. Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management, University of Waikato Management School, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand |
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Abstract: | This paper analyses ‘top of the mind’ evaluations of respondents who had visited three cultural heritage sites in New Zealand. Unlike many studies, this paper reports data derived from answers written to open-ended questions. The research sought to assess to what extent respondents are purposeful seekers of knowledge, or alternatively are simply seeking experiences that contribute to an overall satisfying visit and to their holiday experiences. While it may be suggested that the needs for relaxation, social bonding and knowledge lead to an evaluation of sites via the importance tourists attributed to factors such as uniqueness, it is found that, for the majority of tourists, uniqueness is either given little importance or is engaged with in shallow ways. The visit to the site is hence evaluated by the contribution it makes to enjoyable holiday-taking, rather than holidaymaking. |
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Keywords: | heritage holiday purpose tourism New Zealand |
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