Heritage Attractions Research Articles

Towards the development of cultural tourism as an alternative for tourism growth in Northern Zimbabwe

PurposeZimbabwean tourism, whose draw-card is wildlife, has been on the decline since land invasions that occurred in 2000. Due to the farm invasions, wildlife-based tourism is no longer a viable option. In cases where traditional industries are declining, cultural tourism has been found to be an effective alternative source of revenue. Cultural and heritage tourism represents a growing special interest market whose demand is very high; however, this sector is yet to be sufficiently explored in the empirical context of Northern Zimbabwe. The purpose of this paper is to explore the development potential of the sector.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative methodology was applied in this study. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire that was distributed to 500 international tourists who visited Northern Zimbabwe’s cultural and heritage attractions between October 2013 and February 2014. Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 19.0 was employed in data coding and analysis. Descriptive statistics, independent t-tests and one way analysis of variance were used in this study.FindingsOn the whole, the study found that there is potential to develop cultural tourism as an alternative for tourism growth in Northern Zimbabwe. Results showed that there exists a certain demand for cultural and heritage tourism in Northern Zimbabwe and should be developed. Cultural and heritage tourists’ spending is high per visit, despite the fact that Zimbabwe is an expensive destination. The intention to repeat visitation was found to be significant with the age, level of qualification and nationality of respondents.Originality/valueThe findings provides insights for cultural and heritage tourism managers in Northern Zimbabwe and similar places around the country to invest in this special interest tourism. The development of cultural and heritage tourism will contribute towards the diversification of the seasonal and threatened nature-based tourism in Zimbabwe. With a better understanding of the motivations, trip behaviour characteristics and perceptions of Northern region, this paper presents insights that are important in developing the cultural and heritage tourism sector. Research on tourism growth in Zimbabwe has predominantly focused on nature-based tourism, suggesting a clear relegation of the contribution that cultural and heritage resources can make towards tourism growth; thus, this study provides a significant contribution in the Zimbabwean context with regards to literature.

Management Challenges at Film-Induced Tourism Heritage Attractions

ABSTRACTIn response to an increasingly competitive environment, a number of heritage visitor attractions (HVAs) have encouraged filming, as well as subsequent film-induced tourism, in order to raise their profile, generate revenue and differentiate themselves from other attractions. However, while film-induced tourism may bring benefits, it can also be problematic, especially at HVAs which have conservation at their core. This article identifies a variety of challenges that film-induced tourism has created at Rosslyn Chapel and Alnwick Castle, both UK-based HVAs popular among film-induced tourists. The findings show that film-induced tourism resulted in a number of challenges at both sites not solely related to an increase in visitor numbers but also changes in visitor profile and behavior. Film-induced tourism at both sites has not only influenced visitors’ expectations but also preferences for heritage interpretation resulting in management tensions. This article concludes with a discussion of possible heritage management responses to these challenges.

Key Problems and Gaps in the EU Funds Absorption for Heritage Attractions Development: the Case of Bulgaria

Heritage tourism has always been considered an important part of Bulgarian tourism portfolio and a significant regional development driver. It is officially set as a priority in a number of strategic documents at a national, regional and local level. Substantial financial resources for heritage socialization have been allocated after the accession of the country to the EU in 2007. A special scheme for tourism attractions development was implemented within the Operational Program “Regional Development” (OPRD) 2007-2013, with approved funding for a total of 120 heritage sites throughout the country. Yet, the EU funded projects have raised a fierce public debate regarding the delicate balance between heritage commodification and conservation as well as the disputable costs and benefits in terms of heritage protection, tourism development and its regional impacts. Based on the understanding that attractions are the core element of a competitive tourism product, the paper presents a brief review of the OPRD 2007-2013 supported projects and analyzes the experience gained in the process of projects’ selection and implementation.

The heritage tourist: an understanding of the visitor experience at heritage attractions

This study seeks to explore the visitor experience at heritage sites pre, during and post visit. A conceptual model depicting the heritage visitor experience was proposed. A self-administered survey (n = 195) was completed by visitors at six heritage sites across Northern Ireland. Visitor characteristics and pre-experience were analysed and results showed that heritage visitors are primarily motivated by recreation and base their visitation decision on advice from friends and family. Results from the exploratory factor analysis showed that audio and visual communication, atmospherics, on-site engagement, information and heritage preservation were the most influential factors during a visit. Post-experience results indicate that 54% of the sample was satisfied with their visit and 85% would revisit the heritage site. The final model suggests a range of factors which positively contribute to the visitor experience at heritage sites though this requires further testing.

FQFD framework for prioritising authenticity and heritage design requirements

Understanding the perceptions of the authenticity attributes of heritage attractions is important for tourism management because heritage attractions have traditionally been divided between those with a primary aim of providing entertainment and others for which conservation and issues of authenticity are pre-eminent. This study establishes a systematic relationship among the concepts of staged authenticity, authenticity attributes, and heritage design requirements based on domestic visitors’ experiences in historical streets. Fuzzy judgement is used to determine the vague cognition of authenticity attributes, and fuzzy quality function deployment and the fuzzy expert system are used to determine the intensity of authenticity attributes to develop heritage design requirements. The results contribute to a better understanding of visitors’ perceptions and valuations of heritage design requirements in the historical streets of Taiwan’s tourist attractions. The study’s findings provide prioritised heritage design requirements, including the requirements of a unique experience, substantial feeling, a pleasant experience, and spiritual characteristics, which can be used to determine interesting directions for heritage design.

Tourist motivations for visiting heritage attractions: new insights from a large US study

This article describes the results of a large study measuring tourist motivations for visiting heritage-related attractions in a major state in the US. The study used a quantitative survey method with a sample size of more than 3,500 collected at dozens of diverse heritage tourism attractions in a geography spanning hundreds of miles. The methodology used a blended paper and online technique using QR image technology to assist respondents in completing surveys on any mobile device. The study also used GIS software to map survey data points. 'Seeing heritage attractions' was the top motivation cited by respondents for their visit (39%) followed by 'outdoor recreation' (22%), 'visiting friends and family' (13%) and 'just passing through' (8%). Eighteen percent of visitors reported that they visited because the lived nearby. Conclusions and limitations of the study as well as implications for future research are also discussed.

Rural Tourism and New Township Development: A Study of Jiuzhou, Guizhou Province, China

Peasantry is symbolic of China’s rural poverty, especially in mountainous provinces such as Guizhou. Recent public campaigns in China to modernize rural regions have much focused on organizing peasants to be urbanized, and engaged in higher value services, one of which is tourism. The paper has used Jiuzhou, a small township in Guizhou to examine its rural urbanization process through land value enhancement and human resource redeployment of local workforce. Jiuzhou’s proximity to the famous tourist site, Huangguoshu, and its easy access to a trans-province highway and its own heritage attractions have been an enabling power to raise its economic status. The study has found a close relationship between the urban-based tourism development and the pace of urbanization, and local tourism development has held back local residents to some extent from migrating out. Growth has generated greater demand for goods and services which in turn has stimulated higher levels of consumption pattern. Nevertheless, many state-run travel agencies were reported to be more dedicated to “image engineering” than market competition, and environmental conservation, the key for eco-tourism, has been somehow overlooked.

The survey of hydraulic facilities of the cascade of ponds of “Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy” landscape park

The artificial urban landscape of the exhibition complex type is being created on the territory of the modern complex of Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy “VDNKh” of the city of Moscow. It includes the hydraulic system based on the ponds of the Kamenka river with fountains and decorative pools. The purpose of the survey (inspection) is the assessment of the technical conditions of the hydraulic facilities of the cascade of ponds to determine the possibility of their further operation or the need of their rebuilding or fortifying of the constructions. There is also given a brief historical summary of the park complex formation and the operation of the ponds, the analysis of archival projects during 75 years of operation activity of the cascade of ponds and hydraulic structures. The article includes the conclusion formed on the results of the inspection of hydraulic structures of the cascade of ponds of the object of cultural heritage and tourist attraction of “VSKhV-VDNKh-VVTs” - “The VDNKh landscape park” zone.

Tourist motivations for visiting heritage attractions: new insights from a large US study

Tourist motivations for visiting heritage attractions: new insights from a large US study

Graffiti Revelations and the Changing Meanings of Kilmainham Gaol in (Post)Colonial Ireland

Kilmainham Gaol (1796–1924) became the de facto holding center for political prisoners in Ireland by the mid-nineteenth century. Officially closing in 1910, it reopened a number of times for “emergencies” before its final closure after the Irish Civil War (1922–23). After 1924 it lay abandoned until reopening as a heritage attraction in the early 1960s. It was taken into state protection in 1986. Using a range of graffiti assemblages predominantly dating from 1910 onwards this paper will explore the “imperial debris” of contested narratives of meaning, ownership, and identity that the prison walls continue to materialize.

Tourism donations in sacred settings: an exploratory study of visitor donations in an English cathedral

Cathedrals have become important visitor attractions, but sacred buildings are typically ancient structures with high conservation and maintenance running costs that their managers struggle to fund. Cathedrals remain underfunded visitor attractions due to the limited opportunities for revenue generation they present. Visitor donations can be an appropriate way to raise much-needed funding, but any commercial activity in a sacred setting must allow the site to maintain its spiritual character. This paper explored visitor attitudes towards donations in Chichester Cathedral through the use of a self-administered questionnaire. It found that 94% of respondents were aware of the donation appeals and that 71% of them went on to make a donation, with the visitors aged 50 to 69 and living within 25 miles of the Cathedral being the most frequent and generous donors. When asked to suggest what they would consider an appropriate donation, 44% of respondents gave a figure between £1 and £2. This paper suggest measures that Chichester Cathedral managers can implement to increase visitor donations and makes recommendations on how other similar heritage attractions and sacred sites can increase visitor donations. Among these recommendations, the most significant is the identification and targeting of donors’ personal meanings to give a donation and in the case of Chichester Cathedral, to specifically target these on their local, middle-aged visitors.

Heritage sites and schoolchildren: insights from the Battle of the Boyne

ABSTRACTChildren are very much under-represented in heritage tourism studies, particularly in terms of their own perspectives. This exploratory study begins to redress this imbalance by investigating how 34 primary school-going children experience and make sense of the Battle of the Boyne Visitor Centre, an Irish heritage site. Among the research questions posed are: How does the group make sense of heritage? Where do they get their ideas about heritage attractions? What appeals to them about heritage attractions? The research adopted an interpretivist approach and employed a variety of innovative data collection tools, gathering ideas from the children through discussions, writing, drawings and observations, both in their classroom and on a heritage site visit. The findings pointed to how the children’s preconceptions of a heritage site are informed by their perceptions of the location, and images formed from television. Their enjoyment of a site was found to be relative to their enjoyment of other places that they have visited. The findings also indicated the importance of interaction with media, technology and visuals. Finally, the study indicated the importance of social interaction, both with their peers and with their Tour Guide. A number of policy implications are drawn.

Value orientations and heritage tourism management at Petra Archaeological Park, Jordan

Involving different stakeholders, including tourists, in managing tourism and understanding their value orientations are key concepts to achieve sustainability of heritage tourism. However, tourists have been mostly ignored in managing heritage attractions. Given the importance of values in heritage tourism management, and the different tourists' preferences toward management actions, this article aims to explore the value orientations of different types of tourists at Petra Archaeological Park, and how these values influence their management actions preferences. Majority of the tourists were preservation value oriented, and they preferred direct management actions rather than indirect actions. Results indicated that whenever the level of the importance of heritage tourism increases in tourists' trip motivations, tourists tend to be more preservation value oriented and support direct management actions.

The young generations’ conceptualisation of cultural tourism: colonial heritage attractions in South Korea

ABSTRACTThis study investigates how the younger generation conceptualise cultural tourism attractions associated with modern history in contemporary South Korea. Particular attention in this study is given to heritage attractions built in the Japanese colonising past. By analysing data obtained through a Multiple Sorting Procedure, this study identifies the underlying facets of heritage attractions the younger generation consider to be important when appreciating the heritage attractions. This study examines the socio-psychological properties and meanings that the heritage attractions communicate with respect to young Koreans’ sense of national identity. This study found that a range of constructs emerged in understanding heritage attractions. Social and political meanings embedded in the heritage attractions become a key determinant in appreciating heritage attractions with respect to a sense of national identity. These findings from South Korea suggest invaluable messages that can inform our understanding of, and planning regenerating negative-natured heritage attractions for tourism in contemporary society.

Bundling attractions for rural tourism development

ABSTRACTTourism is often regarded as a viable solution to economic crisis, especially for remote areas without many development options. While many tourism destinations have strong cultural or heritage assets, not all destinations have primary attractions that can bring visitors to the region. Rather than developing special interest “themes”, rural areas that do not have enough of any one type of tourism resource to act as a primary draw may consider bundling different attraction types to increase visitation. The purpose of this study is to investigate the preferences of visitors to secondary heritage sites and explore the relationship between heritage tourism and alternative, non-heritage activities in rural areas. Findings revealed that motivation to visit small-scale heritage sites consisted of two dimensions: learning and recreation. The two motivational dimensions influenced visitors’ interest in different heritage attractions and likelihood of visiting heritage tourism “scenarios”. As for alternative activities, there was a cluster of “popular” activities that were enjoyed by both learning-oriented and recreation-oriented respondents, but recreation-oriented visitors were more interested in nature-based activities and sport-related activities than learning-oriented visitors. Findings can help rural communities improve secondary attractions and diversify their tourism product by bundling heritage attractions with non-heritage activities.

Virtual Reality: A Technological Tool for Preserving Built Heritage

Due to the natural degradation as well as the overcrowding effect, heritage preservation efforts are becoming very crucial to support the sustainability of heritage sites. In response to the problems, Virtual Reality (VR) can offer useful applications for heritage preservation. However, VR may provide an alternative form of accessing heritage sites that lessen the impacts of visitors’ overcrowding effect, while heightening the overall experience. The research was applied five point Likert scale to explore the tourists’ acceptance of the usage of VR technology. The study aims to investigate the perception of heritage conservation as well as the acceptance of virtualizing heritage sites for both domestic and international tourists, as heritage attractions need to be sustainable because they have significance value and lack duplication. The study explored the factors that may affect the tourists’ acceptance of using VR technology. The sample consisted of two hundred and fifty tourists (domestic tourists = 107; international tourists = 143), questionnaires were distributed in four tourism destinations in Egypt; these destinations contain heritage sites that were designated at the World Heritage list by UNESCO. The results showed a significant difference by demographic characteristics concerning their overall acceptance of virtualizing heritage sites. Frequencies of visitation, VR experience and tourist perception of heritage conservation were influencing the degree of their acceptance.

Conceptual Framework for Experiences’ Quality Based on Senses’ Perception with Behaviour as a Mediator: In the Context of Cultural Heritage Attractions

Sensory experience gives an impact on the quality of visitors’ experience and their behaviours during the experiential consumption of designated attractions. Numerous studies had been conducted on the importance of sensory experience, and it was found that sensory experience provides unique opportunities in the context of the study in cultural heritage tourism. However, previous studies that were conducted using sensory modes were more focused on tourism’s marketing strategy by improving its service quality, but only a few looked at the emotional influences of visitors to improve their quality of experience. Therefore, this paper discusses the conceptual framework of the relationship between sensory perception and quality of experience, while behaviour is seen as a mediating effect on this relationship.

Heritage tourist experience, nostalgia, and behavioural intentions

Heritage tourism is fast becoming a popular tourism sector which presents product-led development of heritage attractions with a focus on exhibits and education (Apostolakis & Jaffry, 2005). Since ...

Cultural tourism: new opportunities for diversifying the tourism industry in Botswana

Abstract Botswana is known as a wilderness and safari-tourism destination, which attracts high-end overseas visitors to the country. Since the 1990s the country’s tourism policy has been based on a so called ‘High Value - Low Volume’ (HVLV) strategy referring to the aim of attracting limited numbers of tourists with high expenditure patterns. However, while such tourism operations have contributed to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country and offered investment opportunities for international companies, the position of Botswana as a HVLV destination is increasingly criticised. It is seen as offering too narrow prospects for the growth of the industry and for the local participation and benefit sharing in tourism in future. Hence, there is a need for diversification of the product with deeper involvement of local people to tourism. Therefore, communities and Botswana’s cultural and heritage attractions are increasingly seen as one of the future cornerstones of tourism development. This paper provides an overview of cultural tourism with specific reference to existing cultural and heritage attractions and the potential thereof for tourism in Botswana. The paper concludes that while the role of culture is still underutilised in tourism, the cultural tourism in Botswana has the potential to contribute to a more equitable distribution of tourism-based development and the related benefits for local communities.

Visitors' engagement and authenticity: Japanese heritage consumption

Understanding the sense of authenticity of heritage attractions is important for tourism management and marketing because presentation, interpretation and verification has a direct bearing on motivations to visit and engage with heritage tourism sites. This paper establishes relationships among the concepts of culturally specific motivation, perception of authenticity, engagement and attendant behavioral consequences based on domestic visitors' experiences at Japanese heritage sites. It further extends Kolar and Zabkar's (2010) model of authenticity by including concepts of serious leisure, heritage related behaviors, self-connection and their effects over engagement using Partial Least Square, whereby both formative and reflective scales are included. The structural model is tested with a sample of 768 visitors in a culturally specific setting of Japanese heritage sites. The empirical validation of the conceptual model supports the research hypotheses. These findings contribute to a better understanding of visitors' perceptions and valuation of authenticity in Japanese tourist attractions. Several implications can be drawn from the study findings and interesting directions for future research are provided.