Interpretation and tourism: holy grail or emperor’s robes?
International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research
ISSN: 1750-6182
Article publication date: 30 September 2014
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to address the question – is heritage interpretation an effective tool in tourism?
Design/methodology/approach
The author takes a critical stance seeking to identify and evaluate key assumptions and questions about the nature and effectiveness of heritage interpretation as a tourism management tool.
Findings
There are significant gaps in the available research into interpretation and in those areas that have been studied, there is only limited evidence that interpretation is effective. There are few important findings in this area and even where there are some sound and useful conclusions, they still do not address some of the more fundamental concerns about interpretation more broadly.
Research limitations/implications
The paper identifies a set of topics for future research based on the outcomes of the review and consideration of the critiques of interpretation that could be used to improve and extend interpretation in tourism.
Originality/value
By taking a critical perspective on interpretation and questioning the untested and implicit assumptions about the nature and role of this activity within tourism, the paper identifies issues relevant to the conduct of tourism research more generally that have been given little attention in the academic literature to date.
Keywords
Citation
Moscardo, G. (2014), "Interpretation and tourism: holy grail or emperor’s robes?", International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 8 No. 4, pp. 462-476. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-08-2014-0071
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited