Tour guides' interpretation of the Historic Center of Macao as a World Cultural Heritage site

Io, Man-U; Hallo, Leonie

doi:10.1080/14766825.2011.568621

Cited by 31 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…These five tour guides were different from other ordinary guides in terms of their interpretation service, though all guides in Macao possess the same qualification. Since many tour guides in Macao mainly served package group tourists who came to Macao for sightseeing, these guides tended to give a simple interpretation of the visited site for about five minutes (Io & Hallo, 2011). However, the five guides evaluated in this study were recruited to provide detailed site interpretation for those independent tourists who were interested in heritage tourism.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this study, all the observed guides gave an interpretation of about 30 minutes in which many details of the historical and cultural features of the site were presented. Compared to many sightseeing tour guides who simplified the interpretation of the Ruins of St. Paul to a five-minute talk to package group tourists and played down the universal value of the site by neglecting the connection between the site and the HCM (du Cros, 2007;Io & Hallo, 2011), the five observed guides were more knowledgeable.…”

Section: Knowledgementioning

confidence: 94%

“…The 20 questions asked assess tourists' understanding and feelings about the visited site and their demographic background. In this questionnaire, tour guides' effectiveness in communicating the universal values of Macao's WCH sites to tourists was measured by tourists' understanding of the visited site and its connection with the HCM; that connection reflects the core universal value of Macao's WCH sites and shows the previous neighborhood and cultural interchange between the Portuguese and the Chinese (Coimbra, 2009;Io & Hallo, 2011). The questions for assessing tourists' emotional experience with the visited site were influenced by the studies of Dijk and Weiler (2009) and Poria et al (2006a).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Testing a model of effective interpretation to boost the heritage tourism experience: a case study in Macao

2013

Journal of Sustainable Tourism

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While the impact of tour guides' interpretation on tourism experience is well acknowledged, little research has been conducted on the production of effective interpretation by tour guides. In this study, effective interpretation is defined as producing a positive outcome on tourists' knowledge and understanding of the visited heritage site, feelings and emotion, satisfaction and likelihood of visiting other relevant nearby heritage sites. Based on a literature review, a conceptual model of effective interpretation consisting of four propositions was formulated and examined by empirical on-site research in the World Cultural Heritage Site in Macau. The empirical findings support the four propositions and the applicability of the model for effective interpretation in Macao. The research was conducted in two phases: on-site guide evaluation and a linked tourist survey. The target market was mainland Chinese visitors. The results revealed the influence of four factors on effective interpretation, namely, heritage and tourist information knowledge, service attitude, communication competence and emotional intelligence. Special attention is given to the use of humor, provocation and emotional sensitivity. Future research should further investigate tourists' emotion management and the applicability of this model to other tour guides' heritage interpretation, at different types of site and in different regions.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Knowledgementioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Testing a model of effective interpretation to boost the heritage tourism experience: a case study in Macao

2013

Journal of Sustainable Tourism

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“…Today Macau is famous not only for its gaming industry but also for its world cultural heritage: the HCM (Io, 2011). Since the inscription of the HCM on the World Heritage list in 2005, the Macau SAR government has been promoting Macau as a destination for heritage tourism (Dewar, du Cros, & Li, 2012; Io & Hallo, 2011). According to Macau Government Tourist Office (2007), the HCM encompasses 22 monuments and eight squares (or piazzas).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Study of Experiential Quality, Perceived Value, Heritage Image, Experiential Satisfaction, and Behavioral Intentions for Heritage Tourists

2014

Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research

239

183

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This study aims at identifying the dimensions of experiential quality and examining the interrelationships among experiential quality, perceived value, heritage image, experiential satisfaction, and behavioral intentions for heritage tourists. The dimensions of experiential quality are built on a basis of reflective indicators, and a multidimensional and hierarchical model is used as a framework to synthesize the effects of experiential quality, perceived value, heritage image, and experiential satisfaction on behavioral intentions perceived by heritage tourists. Analysis of data from 427 tourists in the Historic Center of Macau indicates that the proposed model fits the data well. The results reveal that there are four primary dimensions and 10 subdimensions of experiential quality perceived by heritage tourists. In addition, the results indicate that outcome quality is identified as the most primary dimension of experiential quality perceived by heritage tourists.

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“…According to the The Association for Heritage Interpretation, it is seen as a process of interaction that helps people make sense of, and understand more about historic sites, collections or events (Association for Heritage Interpretation, 2014). It is said to bring meaning to cultural or environmental resources, enhance the visitor appreciation and promote better understanding of the past having a fundamental impact on enhancing the visitor experience (Io & Hallo, 2011;Timothy, 2011). Interpretation, as Moscardo (1998) contends, has an important role to play in contributing to the quality of visitor experience in three directions: information provision on the visitor offer; facilitating visitor safety and comfort when out and about; and importantly -creating the actual experience, learning and understanding.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpretation in historic gardens: English Heritage perspective

Hristov

Naumov

Petrova

2018

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This paper provides an exploratory investigation into contemporary interpretation methods used in historic gardens and their fundamental role in enhancing the visitor experience, and sense of a place. The importance of conceptualising and operationalising interpretation in historic gardens has received relatively little attention across the extant body of heritage interpretation literature. English Heritage's Wrest Park-which is amongst England's most prominent historic gardens-is used as a case study. A series of semi-structured interviews (n = 65) with Wrest Park visitors-who had the opportunity to experience new interpretation methods provided on-site-have been carried out in an attempt to explore their sense of place through interpretation. The research suggests that interpretation has a fundamental role to play in 'telling the story' of historic gardens with 92.5% of the sample understanding elements of the place's history, significance and evolution. The findings further suggest the presence of two distinct visitor typologies-history explorers and leisure seekers. The paper concludes with a call for more empirical investigations of interpretation techniques in historic gardens and their contribution to enhancing the visitor experience and sense of place.

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Tour guides' interpretation of the Historic Center of Macao as a World Cultural Heritage site

Cited by 31 publications

References 27 publications

Testing a model of effective interpretation to boost the heritage tourism experience: a case study in Macao

Testing a model of effective interpretation to boost the heritage tourism experience: a case study in Macao

A Study of Experiential Quality, Perceived Value, Heritage Image, Experiential Satisfaction, and Behavioral Intentions for Heritage Tourists

Interpretation in historic gardens: English Heritage perspective

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