Effective interpretation using various media toward mindfulness: a case study of Malacca

Abstract

Effective interpretation among visitors to heritage sites contributes towards achieving sustainable tourism. Mindful visitors are more likely to be interested in being educated and learning about a site; therefore, mindfulness can play a key role in the formation of effective interpretations. Diverse media communicates with visitors in different ways and has various effects which can improve mindfulness among heritage site visitors. This study aims to investigate the effects of three different media, namely exhibitions, guided tours (GT) and printed materials (PM) on enhancing mindfulness. A questionnaire was developed and administered to approximately 200 visitors at 6 heritage sites across Malacca City in Malaysia, which was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. Partial least-squares structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that PM were the most effective medium in improving mindfulness among visitors to the selected heritage sites, followed by exhibitions. The results also indicated that GT did not have any significant effect on improving visitor mindfulness. These findings can assist organisations responsible for the management of heritage sites to improve the mindfulness of visitors by identifying the most efficacious forms of media.

Keywords:

• interpretation
• media
• mindfulness
• heritage sites
• communication factors

Notes on contributors

Dr Shuhaida Md Noor is a lecturer of communication at the Universiti Sains Malaysia for the School of Communication. She holds a B.Sc. in commerce (University of Virginia, USA), Master of Arts (Universiti Sains Malaysia) and Ph.D. (Universiti of Sydney, Australia). Her research interest areas include customer-based brand equity, self representations and consumer memories.

Dr S. Mostafa Rasoolimanesh is currently a Postdoctoral fellow at the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). He has received his Ph.D. in urban planning and management from USM. His research interest areas contain community participation, strategic planning, conservation of heritage sites and tourism development. He has published several research papers in high impacts journals such as Tourism Management, Cities and Habitat International.

Ms. Vithya Ganesan has received her Masters in communication from the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).

Professor Dr Mastura Jaafar is currently a lecturer in the programme of quantity surveying at the Universiti Sains Malaysia for the School of Housing, Building and Planning. She has pursued her Ph.D. in strategic management. She is currently attached to the Sustainable Tourism Research Cluster (STRC) at USM. She has published articles in many tourism journals such as Tourism management, International Journal of Hospitality Management and Tourism and Hospitality Research.

Additional information

Funding

The authors would like to extend their appreciation to the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) for the research grant entitled (Heritage Awareness and Interpretation) [grant number 1001/PTS/8660012] that make this paper possible.