Residents' and tourists' perceptions on the adaptation and authenticity of heritage buildings as a tourism product

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine how residents and tourists define and perceive cultural attraction development through the revitalization of historic buildings and its authenticity. This research addressed the adaptive reuse and perceived authenticity of historic buildings which have been transformed into hotels from the perspectives of local residents and tourists. The study objectives were: 1) to examine how tourists and residents perceive adaptation and authenticity regarding revitalized heritage resources; 2) to examine how residents and tourists define the authenticity of the built heritage; 3) to examine the nature of the relationship, if any, between perceived authenticity and the tourist experience when visiting revitalized heritage buildings/resources; and 4) to evaluate whether revitalization of heritage buildings promotes cultural tourism by examining the experiences of: a) culture-seeking tourists; and b) non-culture seeking tourists, who have visited or stayed at a revitalized heritage hotel building. Based on the questionnaire survey results, five factors, namely: 1) Conservation; 2) Self-fulfilment; 3) Benefits gained; 4) Commodification; and 5) Protection, were identified by residents in perceiving adaptive reuse. Four factors were discovered when tourists perceive the transformation of heritage buildings, namely: 1) Conservation; 2) Benefits gained; 3) Self-fulfilment; and 4) Commodification. In understanding how tourists and residents perceive authenticity, five factors emerged from the resident's survey. They were: 1) Objective/constructive authenticity; 2) Existential authenticity; 3) Appearance; 4) Original purpose; and 5) Influence. For the tourists' perspective on authenticity, five factors also emerged, namely: 1) Existential authenticity; 2) Value/uniqueness; 3) Objective authenticity; 4) Influence; and 5) Structure and external/comparison. The study also examined the nature of the relationship between perceived authenticity and tourist experience with historic buildings now used as a hotel. The results showed that there is a relationship between overall tourist experience and factors such as existential authenticity, value/uniqueness, objective authenticity and structure with statistically significant results being obtained. Significant results were also obtained when examining the relationship between authenticity, memorable experience and satisfaction with four dimensions of perceived authenticitythe factors. Lastly, the research study also evaluated whether the revitalization of a heritage building can promote cultural tourism to the tourist. It was found that non-cultural seeking tourists and non-in-house guests of the hotel were more positive about their experience in the hotel and also likely to seek more information about the local heritage. This research concluded that tourists prefer 'simple' and 'do less' in the adaptive reuse hotel. To gain the support from the residents, adaptive reuse heritage should also incorporate residents' benefits into the planning and management of heritage conservation and ensure the community can enjoy on-going use of the building. The findings indicated that the concept of authenticity, mainstream discussion of authenticity i.e. objective authenticity, constructive authenticity and existential authenticity, should continue and will be ongoing.