Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 MA in Geography and Tourism Planning, Faculty of Geography, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
2 Professor of Geography and Urban Planning, Faculty of Geography, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Introduction
Better management of competition in the cultural heritage tourism requires the understanding of the behavior and interaction with the tourist (Chen & Rahman, 2018). The importance of understanding loyalty of cultural heritage tourists as well as the factors affecting it is highlighted in the research literature focused on successful experiences in loyalty in cultural heritage tourism in the world (Chen & Rahman, 2018) as well as in specific destinations, such as Spain (Forgas-Coll et al., 2017), China (Yi et al., 2018), Macau (Wu & Li, 2017), India (Verma & Rajendran, 2017), and Ireland (Kempiak et al., 2017).
The tourist satisfied with his/her experience of Ramsar’s cultural heritage will likely travel again and make public advertisements about the city. Loyalty to the cultural heritage of Ramsar is considered an essential element for the sustainability of this destination and an important factor contributing to the competitive advantage and success in the tourism market. Furthermore, any attempt at enhancing tourist loyalty to the cultural heritage can significantly reduce the tourism pressure and overtourism in Ramsar beach and forests. In this respect, the present study tries to answer the key questions as what factors and to what extent affect loyalty of the tourists visiting the cultural heritage of Ramsar.
Materials and Methods
A descriptive and explanatory research, the present study is a quantitative attempt based on the path analysis method. The statistical population of the study includes the Iranian visitors who visited the cultural heritage attractions of Ramsar, which was estimated to be 780 individuals. The research employed convenience non-random sampling method. The data was collected through an electronic questionnaire administered from March 2019 to May 2019. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were confirmed by exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha, respectively. Moreover, the study used SPSS25 software to perform the classification as well as some data analysis, and the path analysis with Lisrel 8.5 Software to test the hypotheses.
Results and Discussion
The findings indicate that the variables of authenticity, image, and memorability of the cultural heritage attractions of Ramsar affect neither tourist satisfaction nor tourist trust. Moreover, the variables of authenticity, image, participation, and memorability do not affect tourist loyalty. The confirmed hypotheses suggest that the variables of perceived value, participation, and quality positively and directly affect satisfaction, trust, and loyalty of the tourists visiting the cultural heritage of Ramsar. In addition, the variable of satisfaction has effects on trust and loyalty, and the variable of trust was found to have affected tourist loyalty.
Conclusion
As the main conclusion, the effects of attitude towards cultural heritage and experience of consuming cultural heritage on tourist loyalty were found to be stronger than the effect of individual variables on loyalty of the tourists visiting the cultural heritage of Ramsar. The variables of attitude towards cultural heritage and experience of consuming cultural heritage have a synergic effect, which means that the two variables together can have a significant impact on tourist loyalty. In fact, loyalty of the tourists visiting the cultural heritage of Ramsar is affected by all the variables of attitude towards cultural heritage and experience of consuming cultural heritage. Accordingly, the following recommendations are offered: to use local staff and space to provide cultural heritage tourism services; to balance the time and financial cost of delivering cultural heritage tourism services; to combine cultural heritage tourism with games, narration, and synergistic music, and offer an authentic environment—as it makes it fun to visit or participate in the cultural heritage attractions of Ramsar; and finally to diversify cultural heritage tourism products and the ways they are presented—based on market research (market segmentation) and destination research (existing capacities or capacity building).
Keywords
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