Urban heritage tourism alongside the bank of Hugli

Abstract

Giving a break from the homogenized tourism experience, the branch of cultural and heritage tourism has gained ground in recent times worldwide, with the Asia-Pacific region being the forerunner. The heritage circuit along the bank of Hugli River, India is known as “Little Europe in Bengal” comprising of Bandel – a Portuguese stronghold, Chinsurah – a Dutch trading post, Serampore – a Danish base, Chandernagore – a French bequest, and Kolkata – a British colony, bears the colonial as well as precolonial tangible and intangible architecture and lifestyle legacies. An empirical study was conducted in Serampore and Chandernagore highlighting the colonial legacy; to formulate a detailed inventory of urban heritage units of the two cities and to carry out a perception study about tourist satisfaction (n = 125) and local residents’ involvement (n = 80). A comprehensive inventory of urban heritage sites has been prepared. The positive relationship between tourist satisfaction and attributes of cultural heritage destinations is recognized using various descriptive statistical analyses. Principal Component Analysis shows that historical significance, architectural grandeur, value for money, and local festivals are the dominating factors that influence tourist satisfaction. The local residents were in favor of maintaining the cultural heritage, and many were interested in being a part of the growing heritage tourism sector too. These takeaways from the study will hopefully help to build a concise future roadmap of effective urban heritage tourism in the high potential region.