Heritage Tourism Research Articles

Research on the factors that influence the consumption intention for intangible cultural heritage tourism products: based on the TPB and TCV

ABSTRACT Intangible Cultural Heritage Products (ICHP) are derivative products of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) and serve as an essential part of the ICH tourist economy. However, the ICHP market faces challenges such as low consumer interest and an underwhelming value conversion rate, prompting a need for in-depth analysis. This research adopts a theoretical framework integrating the perspectives of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Theory of Consumption Values (TCV) to examine the factors influencing the consumption intention for ICHP. Data from 298 Chinese tourists who visited ICH sites was collected to test the hypotheses. The research findings indicate that (a) perceived emotional value, perceived conditional value, attitudes toward ICHP consumption, and subjective norms have positive and significant impacts on the consumption intention for ICHP. Among these variables, subjective norms have the most significant effect. (b) Nostalgia has a positive moderating effect on the relationship between consumers’ attitudes toward ICHP consumption and consumption intention. (c) Perceived cultural value, perceived social value, and perceived behavioural control do not significantly impact the intention to consume ICHP. Implications for ICHP practitioners and researchers are further discussed based on our research findings.

Place-Making Through Heritage Tourism: A Tradition of Music and Culture of Commodity in Appalachia

Appalachian regional identity is often reduced in mainstream media representations and the popular American imagination to the political conservatism of “red state” America, the vestigiality of “coal country,” or the prejudiced whiteness of “Trump country.” A closer look at heritage tourism representations in South Central Appalachia offers more nuanced connections among culture, capital, and senses of place than such portrayals afford. Foregrounding indexical relationships between culture and place through themes of birth, home, death, faith, and community, the representations in heritage tourism venues along The Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail derive meaning and value from literal grounding in the rural landscapes of Appalachia, establishing musical tradition as an inalienable possession of that place. This article elucidates the role of commerce and the commodity form in these heritage-authenticating semiotic relations, taking as object of analysis the discursive, visual, and artifactual offerings of three of the heritage trail’s major venues and situating them among critical political???economic perspectives on place, space, the local, and the global. The value of place as an inalienable commodity in a global space of proliferating and alienable commodities, required for heritage tourism to work as a revenue generator, finds reflection in representations of the successful transformation of an originally folk music into a commercial form. Additionally, nostalgic displays of older commodities assert the traditional value of the music while simultaneously imbricating it in a larger historical and contemporary valorization of commodity consumption.

Research on Vietnamese Cultural Tourism

Vietnam is a country with great potential and advantages in building and developing cultural tourism with more than 40000 relics, including more than 10000 provincial relics, more than 3600 national relics, 128 special national relics, 15 intangible cultural heritages recognized by UNESCO. On the basis of exploiting and promoting the values ​​of cultural heritage, many localities in Vietnam have been forming and developing quite diverse cultural tourism products, such as the tourism route connecting the world heritage of ASEAN countries, the Central heritage tourism route, Hue festival, Nha Trang sea festival, Ha Long sea carnival festival, Da Lat flower festival... This study focuses on analyzing the practical development of cultural tourism in Vietnam based on a survey of localities with unique features, cultural diversity and a great role and influence on the development of the country, that is the capital Hanoi. Besides studying the core content of cultural tourism development, the author surveys and evaluates the factors affecting the cultural tourism development of Hanoi Capital, thereby discussing policy issues for reference and application to many localities in Vietnam.

Seeking Counterbalance in Urban Slavery Tours: Unbalancing the “Balanced” Narrative of the Owens Thomas House and Slave Quarters in Savannah, Georgia

ABSTRACT This essay examines the recently expanded Owens Thomas House and Slave Quarters (OTHSQ) in Savannah, Georgia, for the purpose of analyzing its goal of seeking narrative balance. This essay begins with countermemory as a guiding framework, and as such, applies the four principles of countermemory as a way of analyzing the visual-material and narrative rhetoric at OTHSQ. Ultimately, this essay invites a social justice-informed analysis of heritage tourism sites through the concept of counterbalance.

The significance of myths associated with natural heritage tourism destinations in Zimbabwe: a case study of Nyanga Mountain, Eastern Zimbabwe

The significance of myths associated with natural heritage tourism destinations in Zimbabwe: a case study of Nyanga Mountain, Eastern Zimbabwe

Preserving the Past: A Dynamic Analysis of Heritage Tourism and Land Conservation in Mamluk Cairo

Historic urban cities face increasing pressure from tourism, necessitating sophisticated approaches to visitor management that protect both heritage values and local communities. The current study develops new sustainable metrics—sustainable visitor capacity (SVC) and Sustainable Visitation Index (SVI)—to provide a multifaceted assessment of heritage destination management beyond simple visitor volume calculations. The SVC considers operating hours, site capacity, and walking time, while the SVI holistically evaluates time efficiency, spatial distribution, and physical comfort. Applying these metrics to seven routes through the historic Mamluk monuments revealed significant variations in sustainability performance, with SVI scores ranging from 48.9 at Al-Ṣalῑba/Al-Sayyida Zaynab Streets to 92.8 at Northern Al-Mu’izz Street. The findings demonstrate that while the recommended daily visitor capacity ranges from 1286 to 2182 visitors across different routes, actual visitation frequently exceeds these thresholds, particularly in commercial zones. Geographic analyses and on-site studies identified the integration of tourist activities with commercial, residential, and religious uses as a critical factor contributing to overcrowding, especially evident in areas like Al-Ṣalῑba Street, where low SVI scores reflect challenges with unorganized markets and local congestion. The study offers site-specific recommendations for heritage managers, focusing on dynamic visitor management systems and zoning strategies that consider the dual function of these historic corridors as both tourist attractions and vital local thoroughfares. This research provides heritage managers with practical tools to quantify and enhance the sustainability of visitor experiences while preserving site integrity within complex urban heritage contexts.

The influence of architectural heritage and tourists’ positive emotions on behavioral intentions using eye-tracking study

The city’s rapid development would lead to irreversible changes in architectural heritage. As one of the ways to promote sustainable development, world heritage tourism has opened up a new perspective for the protection, inheritance and development of architectural heritage. Taking the study of architectural heritage in the Historic Centre of Macau as an example, employing eye-tracking experiment and semantic differential method (SD method) to explore the relationship between tourists’ perceptions of visual elements of architectural heritage, positive emotions, and behavioral intentions. The results show that in terms of visual elements, the architectural style of the wall (p = 0.013 < 0.05, B = 0.165), the proportional balance of the windows (p = 0.047 < 0.05, B = 0.120), the exquisite decoration of the door (p = 0.028 < 0.05, B = 0.125), and the proportional balance of other buildings (p = 0.042 < 0.05, B = 0.121) have a positive impact on tourists’ behavioral intention. In terms of positive emotions, positive (p = 0.001 < 0.05, B = 0.177), intense (p = 0.000 < 0.01, B = 0.228), and enthusiastic (p = 0.008 < 0.05, B = 0.156) emotions were positively correlated with behavioral intention. The research results can provide a scientific basis and decisional reference for the protection and tourism development of architectural heritage in the Historic Centre of Macau.

How can short travel videos facilitate tourists’ decision-making about traveling to cultural heritage destinations? Evidence from the Wudang Mountain Complex

PurposeTourist attractions promote their marketing campaigns by releasing short tourism promotional videos for their potential to promote tourists’ decision-making. However, few scholars have studied the impact of short videos of cultural heritage tourism sites on potential tourists’ destination decisions.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, the Wudang Mountain Complex, a world cultural heritage site, was used as a case study, and stimulus-organism-response theory was applied to forecast the behavioral motives of prospective tourists. About 401 responses from those who watched the short videos of the Wudang Mountain Complex were collected for the structural equation modeling test.FindingsThe study’s findings have validated the link among tourists’ cultural involvement, cultural experience, positive emotions, cultural identity, destination image, cultural heritage value and destination decisions. Positive emotions and cultural heritage values directly and significantly influence decision-making. Meanwhile, cultural involvement is very important, and it indirectly influences decision-making through cultural experience, positive emotions and cultural heritage values. However, cultural identity and destination image do not significantly influence decision-making.Originality/valueThe research enhances comprehension of how short video promotions influence cultural heritage tourism. It sheds light on the development of tourism promotions for cultural heritage sites and the creation of short tourism videos.

Valuing Banyumas Cultural Heritage Tourism: A Comparative Analysis in Support of SDG’s 11 for Sustainable Cities and Communities

The study of the economic valuation of cultural heritage tourism has a long history and has gained renewed interest in recent years. This paper poses a methodological challenge in using alternative scales to monetary ranges for cultural heritage valuation. A famous Banyumas cultural tourism site is taken as a case study, and the site's utility is estimated through the method of travel cost (monetary value) and time spent visiting the site (non-monetary scale). According to consumption theory, this study finds an inverse relationship between the two scales and demand intensity. While the monetary approach mainly reflects the cost of accessing cultural heritage tourism – ceteris paribus preference– the time spent approach shows that those who invest more time in the visit are fanatics, avid enthusiasts, fascinated visitors, engagement visitors, and educated adults. These results provide more efficient policy implications in cultural tourism management and market valuation. This aligns with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11's objectives, which encourage making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. By evaluating cultural heritage through monetary and non-monetary methods, this study supports the development of tourism policies that enhance visitor satisfaction and prioritise the sustainable management and preservation of cultural sites for future generations.

EXPLORING THE TOURIST ATTRACTIVENESS OF CULTURAL SITES: THE CASE OF KAZAKHSTAN

The article examines the components contributing to the tourist appeal of cultural sites in the Republic of Kazakhstan, exploring the intricate relationship between their attractiveness and cultural significance. This is vital for promoting sustainable tourism, fostering cultural exchange, and preserving shared cultural heritage for future generations. Understanding what makes a place attractive to tourists is crucial for destination marketing, sustainable tourism planning, and revenue generation. The study was conducted in the context of the search for ways to popularize cultural heritage in domestic tourism. Fifteen distinct variables were identified to delineate the allure of these sites, encompassing criteria such as historical significance, aesthetic and architectural value, integration of a cultural object with the natural landscape and environment, involvement of the local community in the promotion and preservation of cultural heritage, among others. A comprehensive questionnaire was devised based on these variables, serving as the foundation for a survey where participants rated the significance of each variable on a 5-point scale. The survey garnered responses from 1,728 residents spanning all regions of Kazakhstan. Through correlation analysis, the acquired ratings were scrutinized, unveiling interconnections among variables and elucidating the primary factors shaping the attractiveness of cultural sites, namely safety and security at the site, the historical significance, accessibility for people with special needs, aesthetic and architectural value, as well as the availability of amenities such as restrooms, information centers, and guided tours.

The impact of heritage authenticity on place attachment, immersion, and oral intentions: Focusing on visitors to a Chinese heritage tourism destination

The impact of heritage authenticity on place attachment, immersion, and oral intentions: Focusing on visitors to a Chinese heritage tourism destination

Cultural Heritage in Sustainable Tourism

Cultural Heritage in Sustainable Tourism

Purpose-built cultural tourism attraction and ways forward: A case study of Gaozhuang Xishuangjing

This study examines Gaozhuang Xishuangjing (hereafter GZ), a purpose-built cultural tourism attraction, to assess its potential cultural heritage values and management challenges. Research has primarily focused on existing cultural heritage tourism; this study addresses the newly constructed attraction GZ and its role in cultural conservation. This study applied qualitative methods to gather first-hand data from 52 domestic respondents and 10 key informants from two rounds semi- structured interviews, supplemented by observations and document analysis. The findings demonstrate the complex impacts of cultural tourism and highlight the necessity of adopting a multi-stakeholder approach for sustainable management. By engaging local communities and tourists, GZ can link cultural conservation and business development, offering a model for long-term sustainability. The study underscores the importance of collaboration between local villages and communities, managers and policymakers to formulate strategies for and support diverse initiatives in cultural heritage preservation. Additionally, these insights can allow managers to anticipate the challenges of cultural tourism and policymakers to foster a more integrated cultural-business landscape.

FOLKLORE AND MYTHOLOGY OF THE KOLA SAMI IN THE CONTEXT OF UNDERSTANDING NATURAL TERRITORIES AS A HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL LANDSCAPE (ON THE MATERIAL OF THE KIROVSK-APATITY AGGLOMERATION OF THE MURMANSK REGION)

The article considers the local folklore and mythological traditions of the Sami people of the Ekostrovsky Pogost in the context of preservation of intangible cultural heritage and development of regional tourism. The problem of interaction between culture and space remains relevant both for various scientific humanitarian disciplines and in applied areas of activity, including filling gaps in the development of routes, excursion texts and other products of organized scientific, educational, ecological and ethnographic tourism in the region.

Mapping new Ottoman heritage tourism routes in North Macedonia: A supply-side approach

North Macedonia possesses a rich cultural heritage dating back to the Ottoman period (14th&amp;ndash;19th century). This heritage is evident in various architectural structures such as bazaars, bridges, hammams, clock towers, and mosques. While some of these sites are actively used for tourism, many remain untapped, each offering unique historical, cultural, and architectural significance. This study explores the potential of developing Ottoman heritage tourism products in North Macedonia. The research aims to identify and establish new tourism routes in the Northeast, East, and Southeast regions, by adopting an experiential approach. Through in-depth interviews with informants experienced in tourism, the study utilizes spatial intuition to map significant sites and designs routes highlighting the richness of Ottoman heritage. The research identifies Kratovo, Shtip, and Strumica as key cities within these regions, serving as pivotal points for the proposed routes. The study reveals that informants strongly believe that Ottoman heritage tourism can attract visitors, foster cultural understanding, and contribute to local economic development. The core appeal of these routes lies in the authenticity, unique aesthetics, architectural significance, and educational value of the Ottoman heritage sites. This study contributes to the existing literature by emphasizing the value of Ottoman heritage and advocating the critical importance of its preservation. From a practical standpoint, the proposed routes, interconnected across three regions, cater to diverse visitor interests and might offer a unique tourism experience.

The influence of local wisdom-based science learning on the cultural heritage conservation character

Local wisdom such as Madura bull racing and keris has uniqueness and values that are still preserved. However, there is a problem in the Gen-Z's lack of self-awareness towards the importance of local wisdom values so that there needs to be integration of local wisdom as a context with science through learning. This research aims to analyze the influence of science learning based on the local wisdom context on the cultural heritage conservation character. This true experimental research used a randomized subject control-group pre-test and post-test design with 64 science bachelor candidates. Data collected using the observation of the cultural heritage conservation character and then analyzed using the Paired Sample Test, Effect Size, N-gain, and Independent Sample Test. The results show that science learning based on the local wisdom context has proven to have an effective influence on improving the cultural heritage conservation character for bachelor science candidates. This research implies that the use of the context of local wisdom in science learning can enhance the cultural heritage conservation character as an alternative way of preserving and developing cultural and tourism heritage in the era of Sustainable Development.

The possibility of applying metaverse in cultural heritage tourism: A case study on the ancient city of Babylon

This paper explores cultural heritage tourism decision makers’ perspectives on adopting metaverse technologies to enhance experiences and preservation at the ancient Mesopotamian city of Babylon in Iraq. The metaverse represents an emerging phenomenon of persistent 3D virtual environments accessed through augmented and virtual reality. Babylon’s sprawling ancient ruins could be vividly recreated to attract tourists both on-site and online. However, challenges around authenticity, infrastructure, and competing priorities may inhibit metaverse adoption. To investigate this complex issue, 8 semi-structured interviews were conducted with Iraqi government heritage and tourism officials and museum administrators. Interview transcripts were thematically analyzed to identify key opportunities and barriers. Findings revealed knowledge gaps around metaverse benefits, concerns over the inauthenticity of simulated experiences, enthusiasm for widening youth access, and various adoption challenges. Core recommendations include starting with small experimental pilots, building decision makers digital literacy, framing metaverse experiences as complements not replacements, and improving supporting technology infrastructure over time. This formative qualitative study provides crucial insights into Iraqi expert perceptions to inform policies guiding effective, context-specific integration of metaverse technologies to ultimately enrich cultural tourism and the preservation of ancient Iraqi heritage. Further research measuring pilot metaverse project outcomes is warranted.

Posing on the Korean War border: selfie representations of the tourist experience at a dark heritage site

ABSTRACT The expansion of user-generated media into daily life has prompted means of self-presentation through ‘proof’ selfies that capitalize on unique environments and experiences. Tourists engage with sites of conflict and tragedy to craft online personal narratives which transform the destination’s image. This study examines how the tourist experience at the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is depicted by international visitors through travel selfies posted on Instagram, according to their online self-presentation. By conducting a quantitative content analysis of 165 user-generated selfies, we identify differences in their depiction of the DMZ across four types of social media profiles. Travelers displayed specific poses and captions that underscored their witness position on the Korean War border, divergence from the system in the North, tense border security and the memorable opportunity to learn about Korea’s history. The findings provide implications for destination marketing of dark heritage tourism, particularly at conflict sites, by leveraging the appeal of ‘Instagrammable’ moments and targeted messaging strategies.

Heritage Making in Former Socialist Towns in Hungary

AbstractCentral and Eastern European countries generally view their socialist heritage as an unwanted, unpleasant burden. The new identity-building processes after the regime change were initially dominated by efforts to rewrite, suppress, or erase the socialist past, while for Western tourists the consumption of key attractions and sites of the built heritage represents a particular form of heritage tourism through which they can experience a slice of an “exotic” past beyond the Iron Curtain. At the national and local levels, there is a vast dissonance between the material heritage of socialism and the identity and aspirations of post-socialist communities, which is even more evident in the case of newly-built, former socialist towns. Through the example of Tiszaújváros and Dunaújváros, my study primarily examines the institutional strategies chosen by these towns to address their socialist heritage. What principles prevailed in the compilation of the local collection of values? What kind of representation of the past do local museums offer, what role does the ethnographic heritage of the annexed villages play in museum presentation and collection, and how are local/regional traditions integrated into the town's image? Finally, through a specific community of memory, a Facebook page, I examine how the recent past appears in individual and collective – often nostalgic – memory, what values the community associates with the town, and how all these relate to the heritagization practices of the local elite.

Musealisation of architectural heritage for sustainable and inclusive tourism. The Yonghe Temple. Beijing

Architectural heritage is one of the best testaments to the history of civilizations, embodying multidisciplinary values that should be shared through diverse cultural offerings. To achieve this, it is crucial to select engaging themes and develop museological materials that enhance understanding and appreciation of such sites. Equally important is leveraging modern dissemination technologies to reach diverse audiences effectively. The Falun Hall of the Yonghe Temple in Beijing exemplifies this approach. By analyzing its architectural elements, materials, and decorations, specific content can be created to enrich visitors’ experiences while promoting appreciation, dissemination, and conservation. The growth of global cultural tourism underscores the importance of sustainable practices that add touristic value, educate visitors, and align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) without compromising heritage integrity. Virtual Reality (VR) offers transformative opportunities for heritage preservation. Digital models of historicalbuildings ensure their preservation for future generations, facilitating global access and overcoming physical barriers. Additionally, branding and commercial products tied to such monuments can enhance their tourist appeal and support conservation efforts. This study emphasizes the potential of these strategies in fostering sustainable cultural tourism and preserving architectural heritage.