Heritage Tourism Research Articles

Peran Industri Perhotelan dalam Mendukung Pariwisata Heritage di Candi Tebing Tegalinggah Gianyar, Bali

This study aims to explore the role of the hospitality industry in supporting the development of heritage tourism at Candi Tebing Tegalinggah, Gianyar, Bali. The research employs a qualitative approach with data collection techniques including in-depth interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGD) with hotel managers, hotel staff, heritage site managers, and tourists. Additionally, secondary data was obtained from documents, literature, and relevant reports. Data analysis was performed descriptively, focusing on identifying key themes from the discussions and interviews. The results indicate that the role of the hospitality industry in supporting heritage tourism at Candi Tebing Tegalinggah is still suboptimal. Despite the awareness of the heritage site's potential, hotels around the site have not fully leveraged this opportunity through integrated cultural tourism programs. Information about the site provided by hotels is also limited, reducing tourists' interest in visiting. Some hotels have demonstrated initiatives in supporting cultural preservation, but this involvement has not been formally coordinated. The study recommends enhancing collaboration between the hospitality sector and heritage site managers and developing more structured tourism programs to maximize the potential of Candi Tebing Tegalinggah as a sustainable heritage tourism destination.

A roadmap for a Metaverse-based digital governance: A case of the Gambia.

This paper explores the integration of Metaverse technologies into the digital governance framework of The Gambia, in order to identify the sectors where these innovations can be implemented most effectively. Driven by the pursuit of cutting-edge solutions to improve governance, improve public service delivery, and promote citizen engagement, the study uses qualitative analysis methodologies, including interviews with Information Technology (IT) professionals and an examination of government reports. Through the application of NVivo software for data analysis, essential themes and areas suitable for Metaverse applications were uncovered. These include the potential of the Metaverse to fundamentally transform sectors such as education, public service, infrastructure development, urban planning, and cultural heritage tourism. Despite recognizing the capacity of the Metaverse for transformative impact, this research identifies significant obstacles, including technical infrastructure readiness, ethical issues, and the need for policy reform. The findings highlight the need to address these challenges through substantial improvements in digital infrastructure, literacy, ethical guidelines, and policy frameworks. The study calls for a multistakeholder collaboration model, which incorporates government, the private sector, academia, and international bodies, to ensure the successful integration of the Metaverse into the digital governance of The Gambia. Offering comprehensive insights and strategic recommendations, this research underscores the collective effort required of all stakeholders to harness the full potential of the Metaverse, thus facilitating an inclusive and efficient digital governance ecosystem in the Gambia.

When ‘Antiquity’ Meets ‘Modernity’ in Postcolonial Africa: Misrepresentation at Cultural Heritage Tourist Sites along East African Coastlines

Abstract Recent widely received claims about postcolonial Africa do not reflect any clear-cut connection between contemporary society and indigenous black African cultures as they prevailed before the colonial era, nor do they capture accurately the ways that European culture influenced – or failed to impact altogether – Africans during colonialism. Nor do proclamations about postcolonial reality present very well the hybrid linguistic cultures emerging after colonialism in contemporary settings where Africans interact with foreigners at high levels of intensity. Representation of the historical contribution of indigenous black African cultures to the hybridity of postcolonial settings is woefully incomplete. Further, there is a total absence of proper signage appropriate for those individuals whose heritage is the focus of foreigners gazing in situ at black African historical cultures. The evidence provided here is gathered from three linguistic landscapes along the East African coastline: Bagamoyo and Zanzibar in Tanzania, Mombasa in Kenya, and from West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea coast at Ouidah in Benin.

Pengaruh Setting kawasan Tamansari terhadap Temperature Humidity Index

Title: The Effect of Environmental Setting of Tamansari on Temperature Humidity Index Geometric shape, land cover type, and density impact increasing global temperature and microclimate comfort. Tamansari was originally a park, garden, and bathhouse for the King and his family. Today, Tamansari is a heritage tourism area surrounded by dense residential areas in the middle of Yogyakarta City. This study aims to determine how the setting of the Tamansari area affects changes in temperature and relative humidity, which impact changes in the Temperature Humidity Index (THI) on the micro-scale of the Tamansari area. The method used is descriptive quantitative analysis, and calculation analysis was performed using the (THI) equation. The study results showed that the THI value in the Tamansari area was uncomfortable, with a THI value of 27.77-32.52°C. Building coverage ratio, population, and human activities affect the THI value. The THI value can also change due to weather factors that affect the physical condition of the area, especially in open areas.

Cultural heritage tourism and urban regeneration: The case of Fez Medina in Morocco

After Morocco gained independence in 1956, the country's historic cities, including Fez, Marrakesh, and Meknes, experienced rapid urban growth, decay, and the destruction of their rich cultural and architectural heritage. The rise in urbanisation, redevelopment projects, and tourism has raised concerns related to the urban gentrification and social sustainability of local communities. In addition, the influx of large-scale foreign investments and the conversion of traditional Moroccan houses into riad hotels have sparked tensions over land use, economic shifts, and the ongoing exploitation of historic cities. This research presents a case study of the world heritage city of Fez in Morocco, where these dynamics are particularly significant, as efforts are made to balance conservation and modern needs. The main question to be addressed is how can the surviving historic centres be regenerated while ensuring social sustainability for their inhabitants? The primary objective of this study is to explore the multifaceted urban regeneration strategies in Fez, focusing on urban planning, conservation efforts, economic revitalisation, and social development. Employing a mixed-method approach, this study draws on desk research, content analysis, fieldwork, observations, and qualitative interviews with key stakeholders. The findings suggest that the previous strategies focused on physical development and riad hotels to boost cultural tourism and tourist accommodation, exacerbating the gentrification and socioeconomic stratification of the local community. This study emphasises the “Ziyarates Fez” project, which provides an innovative approach to rehabilitating and reusing traditional houses for tourism accommodation without displacing local occupants. Furthermore, this project represents a holistic strategy for balancing economic and social sustainability in urban regeneration. This paper contributes to the expanding body of research on sustainable urban regeneration in historic cities. These results are anticipated to benefit academic research and the implementation of regeneration strategies in historic cities in Morocco and worldwide.

These Were the Days of Our Lives! A Self-Enhancement Model of Revisit Intention for Warfare Heritage Tourism

These Were the Days of Our Lives! A Self-Enhancement Model of Revisit Intention for Warfare Heritage Tourism

Obstructive factors encountered when using immersive technology in tourism heritage: the moderating effect of the personal capability via SEM-PLS process

Purpose There is a void in systematically assessing obstructive factors as antecedents in the technology acceptance model (TAM). Three obstructive factors are investigated, namely, discomfort, insecurity and risk. Besides, this study aims to propose the moderator – personal capability (PC) and tested its effects on the relationship between perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEU) and behavioral intention (BI). Design/methodology/approach Quantitative data analysis was used to verify the adapted model by using Smart PLS4. The data from 327 valid respondents are analyzed. Findings Discomfort is a significant antecedent impacting both PU and PEU. Insecurity and risk are inhibitors of PEU and PU, respectively. This study contributes to the scarce literature on the moderating effects of PC that moderates the influence between PU and BI positively. Originality/value This study contributes a new TAM extension by incorporating obstructive factors and exploring the moderating role of personal capability about AR Glasses. This research also enables innovation companies to enhance the design of their products and services via users’ feedback.

Cultural and Heritage Tourism, Urban Resilience, and Sustainable Development. Comparative Analysis of the Strategies of Athens and Rome

Cultural and Heritage Tourism, Urban Resilience, and Sustainable Development. Comparative Analysis of the Strategies of Athens and Rome

Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships in the Development of Cultural Heritage Tourism in Binjai City

The cultural heritage buildings in Binjai City hold significant potential for cultural tourism, which can enhance the local economy and requires institutional support for development. Efforts to preserve cultural heritage while simultaneously improving the economic welfare of the community through tourism can be achieved through partnerships among involved stakeholders. Using a qualitative approach, this study analyzes the dynamics of partnerships between government, community members, business actors, academics, and the media in preserving and promoting the city’s cultural heritage. The findings indicate that multi-stakeholder partnerships are crucial for the successful development of cultural heritage tourism. Strong collaboration among various parties makes Binjai City's heritage sites attractive and sustainable tourism destinations. This research highlights the importance of cross-sector partnerships in cultural-based tourism development and provides policy recommendations for future development.

Die Rolle des Spanischen in der Linguistic Landscape von Metro Manila (Intramuros)

Abstract This article examines the presence of language(s) in the public space of the Intramuros district in the Philippine capital, Manila, connecting Linguistic Landscape research with heritage tourism and language ideologies. The aim is to analyze the visibility of languages both top-down and bottom-up in the super-diverse, post-colonial context of the Philippine capital, based on a combination of different types of data and methods. The focus is on the former colonial language, Spanish.

Cultural Identity, Experience Quality and Revisit Intention to Mount Tai as A Heritage Tourism Destinations: Mediation Roles of Perceived Value, Perceived Destination Image and Satisfaction

Cultural Identity, Experience Quality and Revisit Intention to Mount Tai as A Heritage Tourism Destinations: Mediation Roles of Perceived Value, Perceived Destination Image and Satisfaction

Collision of tradition and visual perception: aesthetic evaluation and conservation intent in adapting traditional Chinese gates within architectural heritage

ABSTRACT The sustainable conservation of architectural heritage has attracted significant attention, especially with the rapid development of heritage tourism. Adaptation is a compromise to allow heritage to meet modern development demands; however, unregulated adaptations pose significant risks to sustainable conservation. This study involved 60 participants in a quasi-experimental investigation, using eye-tracking technology combined with evaluation questionnaires. The aim was to explore how material, ornament, and generational age differences impact aesthetic evaluation, visual attention, and conservation intention toward traditional Chinese architectural gates. The results show a general preference for traditional materials (wood) and intricate ornament (Ice Crack), with participants displaying a stronger conservation intention toward these elements. Notably, generational differences were evident, with older participants showing longer visual engagement with architectural heritage design elements. This study extends aesthetic response theory into the heritage domain, emphasizing material authenticity and design complexity in shaping conservation attitudes. It offers valuable insights for heritage adaptation strategies, emphasizing the need to balance historical authenticity with aesthetic appeal to enhance public engagement.

Sustainable Strategy toward Community Life Satisfaction in Heritage Tourism

This research aims to form a model strategy for community life satisfaction by developing sustainable tourism in cultural heritage sites. This research used mixed method: qualitative method by in-depth interviews with four respondents from local communities, MSMEs, Kawasan Cagar Budaya Nasional (KCBN) Muaro Jambi, government involved in heritage site tourism activities and analyzed using QDA Miner. The quantitative method was by distributing questionnaires using purposive sampling to 200 respondents, and data were processed using SmartPLS to build a holistic model of community life satisfaction in heritage sites. The results of this research are: firstly, social culture and urban landscapes contribute to community satisfaction; secondly, social culture and urban landscape have a significant positive influence on sustainable tourism; thirdly, through sustainable tourism, community life satisfaction will be formed. This research has relevant implications for providing a deeper understanding of the impact of sustainable tourism in improving community life satisfaction in heritage sites by integrating natural values and urban landscape and empowering the local community.

Revealing the pattern of causality between tourist experience and the perception of sacredness at shamanic heritage destinations in Northeast China

For religious heritage tourism, the key to a destination’s reputation lies in enabling visitors to fully experience the sacredness or a unique spiritual experience offered by the site. The authenticity of the tourism experience and perception is the most significant factor influencing visitors’ perception of the sacredness of religious or holy sites. However, there is currently a lack of sufficient references and evidence to explore the relationship between tourists’ authentic experiences and their perception of sacredness in religious heritage tourism. The aim of this study is to elucidate the causal relationship between the characteristics or attributes of tourists’ authentic experiences and their perception of the sacredness of the destination. Furthermore, it seeks to explore resource development and site creation strategies for religious tourism destinations to continuously enhance the sense of sacredness of these places. The Shamanic cultural traditions in the traditional settlements of Northeast China provide a subtly different context for this study. However, the topics discussed have broad applicability in constructing the network of relationships between the characteristics of tourists’ experiences and their perception of sacredness in religious heritage tourism. This study applied the causal decision analysis model based on data mining (RSA-DEMATEL) and established a causal network diagram between core attributes based on clarifying the behavioral rule knowledge (i.e., If…Then… rules) between tourists’ travel experience (conditional attributes) and the perception of place sacredness (decision-making attributes). The study finds that enhancing tourists’ perception of the sacredness of a destination is related to authentic tourism experiences, the ability to observe believers and participate in the religious activities of local residents, landscapes that reflect local traditions and historical culture, as well as the number of tourists and the extent of commercial activities. This research offers further insights into the sustainable development of religious tourism, providing a critical conceptual framework and data analysis model for subsequent related studies, contributing significantly to both theory and practice.

Exploring tourist perceptions of calligraphic landscapes: Insights from social media text analysis

Calligraphic landscapes, as distinctive cultural symbols and landscapes with Chinese characteristics, are widely used in urban design, placemaking, and tourism promotion. In cultural heritage tourism, tourists’ perceptions of the symbolic meanings of landscapes significantly influence their travel experiences. This study primarily utilizes social media text analysis to explore the perceptual characteristics and symbolic meanings of calligraphic landscapes in different touristic contexts. Using Python tools, user-generated content was extracted from the Xiaohongshu app and analyzed with ROST CM6, VOSviewer, and NVivo 20 to conduct systematic quantitative and qualitative analyses, including content analysis, semantic network analysis, and co-occurrence clustering. The findings indicate that cultural exchanges on social media significantly enhance public perception of the symbolic meanings of touristic spaces. As online check-in behavior becomes increasingly popular, calligraphic landscapes have gained new esthetic-symbolic meanings among young tourists, becoming part of fashion culture and reflecting the digitalization of a sense of place. In addition, user-generated content reveals that tourists’ perceptions of calligraphic landscapes are intricately linked to place recognition, cultural symbolism, calligraphic appreciation, heritage value, and esthetic experiences. As a significant cultural symbol, calligraphic landscapes are frequently encountered during travel, with their symbolic meanings varying according to the surrounding environment, thereby influencing tourists’ preferences in diverse settings. Furthermore, this study proposes several innovative strategies for designing calligraphic landscapes. This research not only validates the feasibility of web text analysis for exploring the symbolic meanings of cultural landscapes but also enhances theoretical perspectives on how symbolic landscapes shape tourists’ psychological and behavioral responses.

Exploring Collective Identity and Community Connections: An Interpersonal Analysis of Online Visitor Reviews at the Overseas Chinese Museum (2012–2023)

The Overseas Chinese Museum in Xiamen, Fujian, is a cultural historical museum in China that promotes heritage tourism and strengthens the community connection among the overseas Chinese diaspora, international and local visitors. The museum has become a platform for interpreting the immigration experience of overseas Chinese communities around the world. In this study, we examine visitors’ feedback to the Overseas Chinese Museum through a linguistic analysis of their reviews. The visitors’ reviews, 207 English-language online reviews, were collected from various travel forums between 2012 and 2023, totaling 11,584 words. We divided the data evenly into two distinct time periods, Stage I (2012–2017) and Stage II (2018–2023) and used statistical corpus log-likelihood analysis to quantify and understand if there were significant linguistic differences over time. Some of the key differences emerging from the linguistic analysis were related to conjunctions, e.g., also, while, after, and so, evaluative language and how identity was construed through language. Findings adopting an appraisal analysis suggested an increase in visitor satisfaction, possibly due to enhanced exhibits and changes in visitor expectations. The findings from analysing the reviews also showed that visitors shared similar values, developed a social bond with overseas Chinese, and engaged with this cultural historical community. The study contributes to a wider discussion on language in digital communication and cultural heritage. In addition, the visitors’ feedback and preferences could be used to improve communication and promotional strategies that ultimately increase the number of visitors to the museum.

Exploring the Tourist Perceptions of Destination Components at the Sigiriya World Heritage Site: A Tripadvisor-Based Study

ABSTRACT This study explores tourists’ perceptions of the Sigiriya UNESCO World Heritage Site in Sri Lanka. The study has used TripAdvisor reviews and analysed using content analysis employing the 5’A’s framework for destinations (Attractions, Accessibility, Amenities, Activities, Accommodation). The results indicate that tourists perceive the attraction based on scenery, historical significance, features, cost, and crowd levels. Their perception highlighted the availability of accommodation, facilities and amenities. The activities including rock climbing, garden visits, photography, and artefact observation along with the accessibility considerations, such as fitness requirements, were also highlighted in their perceptions. The study revealed a key finding that ‘authentic experience’ is a crucial component of heritage tourism. Accordingly, this study proposes expanding 5’A’s framework incorporating ‘authentic experiences’ to understand tourists’ perceptions and their recommendation behaviour. Practical implications include preserving the site’s natural and historical value, improving accessibility and amenities, and offering authentic experiences in heritage destinations to enhance tourists’ perceptions

The Influence of Environmental Factors, Perception, and Participation on Industrial Heritage Tourism Satisfaction—A Study Based on Multiple Heritages in Shanghai

With the increasing public awareness and strength of industrial heritage protection, industrial heritage plays an increasingly important role in tourism after transformation and upgrading. The influence of built environment factors and visitors’ participation on satisfaction has been fully confirmed, but the primary and secondary relationships between the two variables remain unclear. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationships between the built environment, tourist participation, and tourism satisfaction, and compare the actual loads of different routes to find the dominant variable. The data of this study came from three industrial heritage renovation projects in Shanghai with remarkable transformation results. Field investigations and questionnaire surveys were conducted on them, and a total of 362 valid samples were received. Descriptive statistical analysis and structural equation models were used to analyze the data. Two paths of “built environment–tourism satisfaction” and “tourist participation–tourism satisfaction” are compared and demonstrated. The path coefficient of the former is 0.63, while that of the latter is 0.77, and the influence of the latter is more significant than that of the former. The study creatively found the audience orientation of both sexes for different types of experience activities, confirmed the mediating effect of subjective perception, and provided the following suggestions for managers of built industrial cultural heritage. Interactive experiences and guided tours deepen visitors’ understanding of the historical and cultural value of industrial heritage. Virtual reality and augmented reality technologies can be introduced to provide an immersive visit experience and attract a wider audience to participate, effectively enhancing the attractiveness of and satisfaction with industrial heritage tourism.

Visitor Motivation and Experience in Heritage Tourism: A Case Study of Amritsar

Visitor Motivation and Experience in Heritage Tourism: A Case Study of Amritsar

Co-Designing in Cultural Tourism: TExTOUR ICT Services and Performance Monitoring System

The enhancement of cultural heritage for tourism can greatly benefit from the opportunities offered by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), promoting greater interaction and integration between all stakeholders and service providers. In recent years, ICT applications and platforms have tended to provide a platform to translate the strategic goals and performance metrics of cultural heritage tourism into comprehensive services tailored to stakeholders’ needs by participating stakeholders. A successful co-designed platform integrates explicit services—requiring specialized software tools—and implicit services, facilitating evaluation processes. This adaptability ensures continuous improvement and alignment with evolving strategies and business objectives. As part of the European project, the development of the TExTOUR open ICT platform marks a significant advancement in leveraging technology within cultural tourism. It exemplifies the creation of a sustainable and adaptable framework, co-designed specifically to support and amplify the strategic objectives of cultural heritage tourism. This approach not only fosters better engagement and management within the sector but also sets a new standard for innovation in cultural tourism practices.