Are you for real?! Tourists' reactions to four replica cave sites in Europe

Abstract

Creating authentic, non-invasive visitor experiences at fragile heritage sites is challenging. This paper explores the potential of replicas to address the negative impacts associated with over-tourism by examining tourists' reactions to four replica cave sites in Europe. Data were compiled from 1369 TripAdvisor reviews, and revealed that tourists were generally receptive to the notion of replication. Responses ranged from deep appreciation of the effort taken to create immersive replica experiences to a reluctant acceptance that replicas are necessary to protect fragile sites. Not all reviews were positive, however, with some tourists being quite dismissive of the replica experience. Thematic coding was used to create five tourist typologies – the pragmatists, the converts, the believers, the purists and the conservationists. Characteristics of each group are described. Managerial implications for designing experiences at replica sites are outlined, and the contribution replica sites could play in addressing the challenges posed by over-tourism discussed.