What Influences Visitors’ Mindfulness at World Heritage Sites?

Tourism, Culture & Communication, 14(3), 139–150, 2014

30 Pages Posted: 21 Jun 2018 Last revised: 21 Sep 2018

See all articles by Shuhaida Noor

Shuhaida Noor

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)

S. Mostafa Rasoolimanesh

Taylor’s University Malaysia - Centre for Research and Innovation in Tourism (CRiT); Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) - School of Housing, Building and Planning

Mastura Jaafar

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) - School of Housing, Building and Planning

Date Written: 2014

Abstract

Mindfulness refers to a state of mind in which a person selectively and actively processes information gathered from their surrounding environment. This concept may be helpful for enhancing visitor learning at heritage sites. However, there is a paucity of literature exploring the concept of mindfulness in tourism. This study investigates the influence of both setting and visitor factors on the state of mindfulness of visitors to selected heritage sites at the Malacca World Heritage Site (WHS), Malaysia. We demonstrate that various factors correlate with visitor mindfulness, namely variety, personal connection, and the interactivity of communication media. Conversely, other visitor characteristics do not influence mindfulness directly, namely age, gender, education, nationality, and frequency of visitation. However, these features do affect the setting factors. This study contributes to the mindfulness literature regarding the importance of setting and visitor factors in a WHS and recommends that mindfulness be considered as part of an overall approach toward more sustainable heritage tourism.

Keywords: Mindfulness; Setting Factor; Visitors’ Features; Communication; Tourism; World Heritage Site (WHS)

Suggested Citation

Noor, Shuhaida and Rasoolimanesh, S. Mostafa and Jaafar, Mastura, What Influences Visitors’ Mindfulness at World Heritage Sites? (2014). Tourism, Culture & Communication, 14(3), 139–150, 2014, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3195695

Shuhaida Noor

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) ( email )

Jalan Sungai Dua
Minden, Penang 11800
Malaysia

S. Mostafa Rasoolimanesh (Contact Author)

Taylor’s University Malaysia - Centre for Research and Innovation in Tourism (CRiT) ( email )

Subang Jaya
Malaysia

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) - School of Housing, Building and Planning ( email )

No.1
Jalan Taylor's
Subang Jaya, Selangor 47500
Malaysia

Mastura Jaafar

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) - School of Housing, Building and Planning ( email )

Minden, Penang 11800
Malaysia

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