Heritage attachment and domestic tourists’ visits to historic sites

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between heritage attachment and its dimensions on the one hand, and domestic tourists’ visits to historic sites in Bagamoyo in Tanzania on the other.

A self-administered questionnaire consisting of multiple-measurement items was administered to a convenience sample of 160 domestic tourists visiting historic sites in Bagamoyo town in Tanzania. Regression analysis tested whether and to what extent heritage attachment and its dimensions relate to domestic tourists’ visits.

As expected, heritage attachment showed a positive and significant relationship with domestic tourists’ visits to historic sites, meaning that the more a tourist is attached to historic sites, the more likely she or he will visit them. In addition, all five dimensions of heritage attachment of spirituality, identity, oneness, inheritance and ancestry had a positive relationship with domestic tourists’ visits. However, only spirituality and identity had a stronger and more statistically significant effect.

The demographic, motivation, pull–push and cognitive theories have dominated explanations for why tourists visit. A major contribution of this study to this body of knowledge is its argument that the affective-based perspective is significant in explaining domestic tourists’ visits. It also provides managerial implications for practitioners in the tourist industry for the development of domestic and cultural tourism.

This study is among the first (if any) empirical demonstrations of the significance of heritage attachment and its dimensions in attracting domestic tourists to visit historic sites in Tanzania.