Community participation in heritage tourism planning: is it too much to ask?

ABSTRACT

Considering the complications of collecting empirical data on community participation, this study proposes a new methodological approach that departs from the current literature. For the first time, an experimental procedure is adopted to conduct a direct comparison between participatory and non-participatory decision-making in the context of heritage tourism planning. Contrary to previous work, this is the first ex-ante assessment of community participation at a destination with no such prior experience. The analysis relies on behavioural data on choices, deliberation and conflict studied in the context of a controlled collaborative environment. The findings suggest that choices and deliberation between participatory and non-participatory groups exhibit no statistically significant differences although participatory groups were more susceptible to conflict. However, interestingly, conflict was constructive as it increased provisions for heritage goods. Furthermore, intra-group heterogeneity did not always affect collective decisions negatively whereas trust and institutional credibility played a major role in influencing both individual and collective preferences. These findings have important implications for research and policy, opening a novel avenue for the systematic study of participation dynamics to inform the instigation of participatory endeavours.

KEYWORDS:

• Heritage tourism
• community participation
• voluntary contributions to public goods
• experimental economics

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the editor (James Higham) and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on a previous version of this paper. The research reported in this paper was funded by the Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment and the Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources of University College London. The authors would like to thank the Ephorate of Antiquities of Kastoria and the Municipalities of Kastoria and Orestida for their support and assistance. The authors would also like to acknowledge the contribution of all experiment participants.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The research reported in this paper was funded by the Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment and the Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources of University College London.

Notes on contributors

Mina Dragouni

Mina Dragouni has recently completed her doctoral thesis at UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage. Her research focuses on sustainable heritage tourism with specific interest in community participation and collaborative approaches to heritage management. Her recent projects revolve around tourism and economic growth, culture-led development, place attachment, and the re-negotiation of heritage identities during economic and socio-political crises.

Kalliopi Fouseki

Kalliopi Fouseki is a senior lecturer in Sustainable Heritage at UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage. Her research interests are in the areas of social, economic, physical and environmental sustainability of cultural heritage, as well as on the philosophical and ethical issues that relate to heritage management. Her recent projects revolve around heritage and sustainable development, energy efficiency in historic buildings, heritage values and heritage in conflict.

Nikolaos Georgantzis

Nikolaos Georgantzis is a professor of Experimental Economics at Burgundy School of Business in Dijon, France. His research is focused on applications of microeconomics, industrial organisation and economic psychology with emphasis on the study of preferences using stated and revealed preference elicitation methods. He is the founder of two Experimental Economics labs in Spain and he also serves as director of the Wine and Spirits Business Lab at the School of Wine and Spirits Business (Burgundy School of Business).