Fascination, Place Attachment, and Environmental Stewardship in CulturalTourism Destinations

• Hamed Rezapouraghdam ^[1] ; Arash Akhshik ^[4] ; Marianna Strzelecka ^[2] ; Samira Roudi ^[1] ; Haywantee Ramkissoon ^[3]
  1. [1] Eastern Mediterranean University

     Eastern Mediterranean University

     Chipre

     
  2. [2] Linnaeus University

     Linnaeus University

     Suecia

     
  3. [3] University of South Australia

     University of South Australia

     Australia

     
  4. [4] Jagiellonian University,Krakow, Poland

  Mostrar afiliaciones +
• Localización: Tourism recreation research, ISSN 0250-8281, Vol. 50, Nº. 7, 2025, págs. 1577-1593
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen

  • Cultural heritage sites act as gateways to the past and provide a unique opportunity forobservation and education. However, the increasing need for authentic historical experiencescreates significant obstacles to the development of tourism destinations that lack sufficientinfrastructure and management capabilities. Increased pressure often threatens the long-termsustainability of these sites, thus shifting the responsibility of conservation to residents andtourists. Promoting the responsible management and care of local historic sites to visitors isessential to ensure their long-term viability. Visitors’ fascination with a particular heritage cancreate a sense of commitment to the preservation of the place. This research investigates thecorrelation between visitors’ fascination, emotional connection to the place, and their sense ofresponsibility and stewardship behaviour for the Khaled Nabi site in Iran, using placeattachment (PA), and attention restoration (ART) theories. The results emphasise the emotionaland psychological processes that motivate visitors to participate in place stewardship, providingvaluable insights for devising efficient measures to decrease the adverse effects of tourists oncultural assets.