Satisfying experiences: guided tours at cultural heritage sites

ABSTRACT

Cultural heritage has become a primary means for attracting visitors to cities, and a source of revenue through the design of guided tours that offer satisfying experiences at heritage sites. The aim of this study is to analyse participation, hedonism, knowledge, local culture and nostalgia as determinants of these experiences. A sample of 568 international tourists responded to a survey after taking a guided tour of Barcelona City Hall (Spain) and the data was used to test the proposed guided experience model by means of structural equation modelling. Results suggest the need to design guided tours with strong doses of active participation and local culture.

KEYWORDS:

• Satisfying experiences
• tourism product design
• cultural heritage
• tour guiding
• Barcelona

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Montserrat Crespi-Vallbona

Montserrat Crespi-Vallbona, Researcher and associate professor in the Business Department of the University of Barcelona (UB), Spain. Published papers: Wine lovers: their interests in tourist experience, in International Journal of Culture, Tourism, and Hospitality Research. Urban food markets and their sustainability: the compatibility of traditional and tourist uses, in Current Issues in Tourism. Managing Sociocultural Sustainability in Public Heritage Spaces, in Tourism Planning and Development. La transformación y gentrificación turística del espacio urbano. El caso de la Barceloneta (Barcelona), in Eure, Revista Latinoamericana de Estudios Urbano Regionales. Urban Food Markets in the Context of a Tourist Attraction – La Boqueria Market in Barcelona, Spain, in Tourism Geographies. Desarrollo turístico inclusivo. El caso de los desmovilizados en Chocó, Colombia, Cuadernos Geográficos. Food market visitors: a typology proposal, in British Food Journal. Role of food neophilia in food market tourists motivational construct. The case of La Boqueria (Barcelona, Spain), in Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing. Los mercados de abastos y las ciudades turísticas, in Pasos, Revista de turismo y patrimonio cultural. The meaning of Cultural Festivals: Stakeholder perspective in Catalunya, in International Journal of Cultural Policy.