Cultural heritage sites and their visitors: too many for too few?

Abstract

AbstractThis case study deals with cultural tourism in South East England, UK. Definitions of a tourism region and cultural heritage sites are first reviewed. The tourism market and the development of cultural tourism in the South East are then examined. The pattern of visiting and visitor management is also discussed with reference to several visitor surveys, including the European Association for Tourism and Leisure Education (ATLAS) Cultural Tourism Project. The questionnaires for the ATLAS research were distributed at Scotney Castle and at Batemans; and 273 questionnaires were collected and analysed. The ATLAS survey showed that the majority of the repeat visitors are not regular visitors and this is one of the issues that cultural sites in the South East have to cope with. It is concluded that the majority of cultural heritage sites in the South East are becoming more businesslike in their approach to attracting and managing visitors. It is suggested that not until managers understand the visitors who come and the latent demand will they cope with the fact that they now appear to be in a saturated market for the product as it is at the moment.