Towards a visitor taxonomy at (film-induced) heritage attractions

Abstract

Film-induced tourism at heritage attractions (HAs) is a growing industry of international relevance. It can influence visitors’ expectations of the site and further their preferences for interpretation to include a degree of reference to the film(s). Drawing upon in-depth interviews with visitors at a UK HA further popularised through book and film, this paper explores visitors’ preferences for heritage interpretation. The paper identifies four visitor taxonomies–vigorous followers, curious investigators, versatile explorers and purposeful avoiders. It ultimately highlights the value of data-driven visitor taxonomies, providing an in-depth insight into heritage tourism in general and film-induced tourism at this heritage site in particular. Thus, this paper contributes to a greater understanding of the popular media products’ influence on visitor preferences for on-site heritage interpretation.