Creative Turns in the Use of Industrial Resources for Heritage Tourism in Taiwan
ABSTRACT
In heritage tourism, traditional industrial production may be transformed through creative processes that reposition the resources to produce novel tourist experiences. This study examines the transformation of salt resources in Taiwan from the production of a tangible to an experiential product. Formerly, the production of salt as an industrial product resulted in the creation of distinctive landscapes and livelihoods. The decline of this industry has been followed by the creation of new heritage values through innovative presentation of cultural relicts and consumption of recreational experiences in tourism. To probe the receptivity of this radical change in resource use, a quasi-experimental approach is used to examine how the repositioned industrial legacy meets the expectations of heritage tourists. Hybrid combinations of presentation schemes (theme, programming, and design) reveal creative turns in the use of industrial resources for the production of tourist experiences. Although there is diversity among the preferences of visitors, participatory experiences are generally preferred to passive viewing of relict landscapes.
Introduction
Heritage tourism is a type of special interest tourism that allows tourists to experience and interact with the past through visiting historical relicts or places (Ashworth & Tunbridge, 2011; Edson, 2004; Timothy, 2007). It is a growth area in tourism, as indicated by the increasing number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Heritage links the past, present and future, and exposes today’s tourists to selected aspects of the past (Rickly-Boyd, 2012). Through engagement with heritage, tourists may reminisce about the past and acquire unique experiences. Effective management of heritage and cultural resources has become a vital issue (Jimura, 2016), as managers of heritage sites have become aware of the challenges of managing both preservation and development while accommodating tourists’ needs and the interests of hosts (Cochrane, 2008). In particular, the rejuvenation of derelict and declining industrial premises to build sustainable forms of tourism has received substantial attention (Aslam & Jolliffe, 2015; Hashimoto & Telfer, 2016).
Industrial heritage tourism presents places, products, and production processes of the past. Unlike much heritage, which celebrates prominent events and the lives of influential people, it often emphasizes the lives of ordinary people, architecture, industrial landscapes, traditional forms of production, and lifestyles that existed in the industrial era. Under heritage tourism development, declining industrial heritage sites are seldom rejuvenated through a return to past products and production systems; rather, through tourism, they may be revitalized for different uses and users. The nostalgic landscape and production systems are revalued and turned into assets for tourism development for use in the present and future (Xie, 2011).
In the context of industrial tourism, places of past industrial production, having lost their function of producing tangible products, are revalued in the present for their recreational and aesthetic attributes and the stories that may be associated with them, rather than for the production of goods and the life-support and prosperity that may have underpinned their past. Thus, new values may be ascribed through the leisure and travel experiences, learning opportunities, pleasure, and relaxation that they can provide to nostalgic and novelty-seeking visitors. Past vivid memories of previous eras are reconstructed and repositioned to meet contemporary demands. This reflects Zimmermann’s (1964) comments on the dynamic nature of resources: resources are not (but they do become) expanding and contracting in response to human needs, wants, and actions.
The transformation of resource functions to capture the interest of different groups of people, especially today’s tourists, is a process of commercialization, for such tourism involves the re-evaluation and redeployment of resources from a previous era to meet current needs and desires. Past products, production systems, and their associated landscapes constitute the raw materials that are used and reinterpreted selectively to attract the attention of tourists. In order to understand the effects of such a transformation, it is important to appreciate the ways in which resources are manipulated and transformed to provide new heritage tourism functions to meet the expectations of today’s residents and tourists who are the new clients. Even though some tourists may know that their heritage experience has been planned, staged, and managed, they may nevertheless enjoy them very much (McIntosh, 2004; Ryan, 2002; Xie & Wall, 2002; Zeppel, 2002). On the other hand, others may be disappointed upon the realization that their heritage experiences are partially contrived and their nostalgia is based in part on fantasy. Yang and Wall (2009) showed that over-commercialization and staging of spectacles resulted in dissatisfaction among some visitors and depreciated the meanings of cultural traditions.
During the production of tourism experiences, resources are creatively manipulated, combined, positioned, and packaged in order to meet the needs and expectations of tourists. Richards and Wilson (2007) suggested that creative tourism depends upon making innovative ‘turns’ in the uses of resources. This means stepping beyond traditional ways of knowing, doing, and making. The creative turn implies changes in the valuation and uses of resources, resulting in new products that may be intangible experiences rather than tangible items. Through adding intangible ‘twists’, such as an innovative narrative and atmosphere, to material cultural objects, creative tourism products may be fashioned anew. As many visitors have begun to tire of seeing a series of sights or doing standardized tourism activities, they look - beyond the satisfaction of basic needs - for experiences that enhance personal growth and identity, and heritage attractions that can satisfy some of these motivations (Kay, 2009; McCain & Ray, 2003). The combination of aspects of traditional production processes and their reinterpretation through the application of modern technologies can result in new economic values that are gained from tourism markets (Britton, 1991; Cloke & Perkins, 2002; Saarinen, 2004). In addition to new sources of incomes, the re-positioning of resources can also enhance the identities of individuals and places (Russo & Aria Sans, 2007).
This paper explores the transformation of resource uses, from the past to the present, in the context of industrial heritage tourism. Using the production of salt in Taiwan as a case, this theme is explored from both resource evolution and tourism market perspectives. First, from the aspect of resource evolution, the decline of salt production values and their replacement by new heritage values created through the innovative presentation of cultural relics in contemporary tourism are explored. Thus, the question: ‘How have resources been appraised differently in industrial and tourism eras?’ is explored through the case of the production of salt products and experiences in Taiwan. This question is answered predominantly by the analysis of resource uses. Then, from the perspective of tourism markets, using a quasi-experimental approach, the extent to which the repackaging of salt-related resources as heritage meets the expectations of contemporary consumers, the heritage tourists, is addressed and their varied preferences for engaging in industrial heritage tourism are investigated.
Literature review
Heritage tourism
Heritage tourism is a special form of tourism in which tourists explore and communicate with the past by experiencing historical artifacts or living environments during their trips (Edson, 2004; Timothy & Boyd, 2006). Tangible heritage (artifacts), unique cultural landscapes, and intangible cultural heritage (e.g. folk traditions) become tourism resources from which destination attractions are created (Kerstetter, Confer, & Bricker, 1998). Industrial heritage tourism combines tourist activities and industrial relicts that present, preserve, and interpret the historical, technological, social, and architectural values of industrial traditions for contemporary audiences. Edwards and i Llurdés (1996) conceptualized industrial tourism as the development of touristic activities and industries on human-made sites, buildings, and landscapes that originated with industrial processes of earlier periods. In addition, and at the same time, it can educate and raise tourists’ appreciation of elements of the past, project images of past industrial achievements, support nostalgic affections for sites, and revitalize the local economy (Alonso, O’Neill, & Kim, 2010).
Ryan (2002) perceived heritage tourism to be a type of alternative tourism where ‘sustained value creation’ aims to benefit communities, environments, businesses, and tourists. MacCannell (1989) encapsulated it as ‘a museumization of work’ or ‘work display,’ which he interpreted as the post-production phase of conventional production culture, marking the death of an industrial society. He further suggested that the ‘museumization’ of pre-modern forms of production and culture transforms labor into new forms of cultural production (through the display of works of previous others) for tourists and sightseers. Nostalgia is a main drive for memorizing ‘the good old days’ and may also be a way of dealing with the resentment of their passing (Dann, 1994). As industrial heritage culture is repositioned for tourism purposes, ‘work watching’ becomes a normative practice, in which both labor and landscape become interpreted and marketed for tourists (Wanhill, 2000).
By stressing the value of the industrial past in the present, the shift of an industrial area’s economic activity from a site of the production of tangible goods to the presentation of intangible experiences (although goods may still be sold as souvenirs) may also enhance the community’s identity and encourage local differentiation in an increasingly globalizing world. In some cases, traditional industrial practices may be retained by adding a contemporary twist and inviting tourists to experience industrial sites and modes of production (Rickly-Boyd, 2012) through the application of modern technologies, such as the use of video and computers for interpretation. Furthermore, as traditional labor-intensive production systems have become mechanized, new jobs may be created through tourism development. For example, McBoyle and McBoyle (2008) showed that the production of malt whisky in Scotland is now highly mechanized with only a small labor force employed in actually making whisky but a substantial workforce employed in interpretation and providing other visitor services to tourists who are now also a market for the product.
Transformation of resources uses
In transforming resources into recreational and tourism experiences, tourism businesses search for a niche that combines a nostalgic ambiance, with cultural experiences and recreational opportunities in order to attract the participation of both tourists and local residents. Thus, transformation of historical phenomena into heritage tourism products can be understood as a process of commodification. This has received substantial attention in the tourism literature. A framework for understanding this process has been presented by Ashworth and Tunbridge (2011). They suggested that heritage agencies select from among possible heritage resources and combine these with other resources, which are interpreted, packaged, and sold as heritage products to targeted markets, thus contributing to the creation of heritage industries. This commodification involves designing, producing, packaging, and marketing resource assemblages for tourist consumption to acquire economic benefits through commercial transactions. Boorstin (1964) criticized that tourism in many cases has turned precious resources into fake experiences to gain quick money while subverting the broader value and meaningful essence of the resources. Johnston (2006) also worried that resources will eventually lose their intrinsic and traditional values through commodification for public consumption. However, while accepting that resources can be poorly used and even destroyed, this perspective differs from that of Zimmermann (1964), who suggested that the values are not ‘intrinsic’ but are subject to re-evaluation, reflecting changing human needs, desires, and abilities. He argued that resources are reflections of human appraisal. A resource should not refer to a substance or a thing, but to a function it may perform in order to satisfy needs. Thus, the same substance or resource, may be evaluated very differently across geographical areas, groups, or eras.
The perpetuation of cultural traditions and their use as resources to create tourism products for sale are sometimes viewed as being incompatible (Cohen, 1988). However, changes in the attributes, use, and appreciation of aspects of a culture can also be viewed as being part of a process of constructing new expressions of culture with value and meaning to both residents and tourists. Medina (2003) indicated that the ancient Mayan culture has great significance both because of its historical origin and attributes, and also because it is used aggressively in re-building contemporary society. The commodification of ancient Mayan culture for tourists’ consumption can be perceived as the renovation of an ancient culture. Ryan (1996) echoed this perspective in his claim that cultural commodification for tourism is a driver of cultural evolution. In heritage tourism, the transformation process regarding the selection of resources, their reevaluation, and their re-combination in creative ways results in the development of a variety of potential tourist experiences and related consequences of cultural commodification.
Creative tourist experiences
The experiences gained by tourists are the core products of tourism (Prentice, Witt, & Hamer, 1998). The activities of visiting, seeing, learning about, tasting, enjoying, and living a different style of life enable tourists to engage with the ‘other’ and from these interactions that occur at a destination, they construct their experiences. The nature and scope of the experiences made available at a destination and processed by tourists contribute to the value of the destination (Oh, Fiore, & Jeoung, 2007). Pine and Gilmore (1998) suggested that, in the experience economy, memorable events and experiential opportunities created by business, become the products that generate value-added and competitive benefits, which are crucial inputs in the creation of an experience economy. They emphasized that the new economy is value-added, not driven by the production of goods or services alone. Rather, it involves the cocreation of experiences through the consumer’s active involvement from which they gain a sense of achievement and, perhaps, self-transformation (Pine & Gilmore, 2011). Thus, businesses should shift their attention from what products/services they offer to how to ‘stage’ experiences. Tourism production, then, is about ‘staging’ experiences. A classical typology of tourist experiences by Cohen (1979) delimited five modes as recreational, diversionary, experiential, experimental, and existential. Chhabra, Healy, and Sills (2003) commented that much of today’s heritage tourism product depends on the staging or re-creation of ethnic or cultural traditions. Experiences gained by ‘living history’ re-creation, such as the events managed by the American Civil War Society, are an interesting and typical example. Living history is staged to present an historical period by live actors who portray and ‘live out’ the conditions of a particular time and place, largely through public events and other forms of staged reconstruction (Hunt, 2004). Littrell, Anderson, and Brown (1993) suggested that the uniqueness of products, workmanship (i.e. handmade), a theme related to cultural and historical integrity, design for aesthetics and use, production by craftspeople using original materials, and an aura of genuineness are key attributes with which to construct authentic experiences for craft souvenir shopping. Ellis and Rossman (2008), while extending Pine and Gilmore’s (1998) model for application in park, recreation, and tourism management, proposed that the staging of recreation and tourism experiences requires specific settings and interpersonal skills to host customers, and also artistic expression of themes and features to provide multi-sensory experiences and unanticipated values.
Creative turns in the use of cultural resources to facilitate tourists’ acquisition of memorable experiences are often observed and are critical for the successful provision of cultural and heritage tourism opportunities (Richards & Wilson, 2006; Rickly-Boyd, 2012). ‘Creativity’ is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as ‘inventive, imaginative; showing imagination as well as routine skill’. It requires moving beyond traditional ways of doing, knowing, and making (Chartrand, 1990) to meet the rising demand for experiences that provide value through the provision of a combination of both novel and more traditional products and services (Danish Government, 2003). At the same time, it is also desirable to make available distinctive experiences to gain differentiated and favorable positions in a globally competitive environment (Richards & Wilson, 2006). Creative approaches for destinations have been systematized into three main types (Richards, 2011; Richards & Wilson, 2006): ‘creative spectacles’ refers to staging cultural expressions or events into special performances, such as art exhibitions or festivals, for passive tourist consumption; ‘creative spaces’ refers to place making by cultural creativity into visually and emotionally seductive spaces, such as industrial heritage parks and ethnic villages, to attract tourists and residents; and ‘creativity in experience’ (the original term used by the authors was creativity tourism) is where activities with cultural elements are programmed creatively and tourists are encouraged to participate in the creative activities (such as cooking courses) to co-create their own unique experiences by accumulating skills and knowledge, by taking on new challenges, and making personal meanings leading to self-transformation. Tan, Kung, and Luh (2013) revealed the immersive collaboration between production and consumption in the creative experience in four ‘creative life industry’ sites in Taiwan. They argued that both external interactions and internal reflections are necessary to construct creative experiences. The supply-led attributes of ‘environment’, ‘people’, and ‘program (product/service)’, and demand-led attributes of ‘consciousness’, ‘needs’, and ‘creative attitudes’ together contribute to and enhance the creative experience.
Methodology
Salt production and landscapes, important industrial heritages in Taiwan, are selected as a means to explore the transformation of heritage resources for tourism. The economic and social background of salt production and its subsequent decline in Taiwan will be described briefly in the following section in order to justify site selection. The research was undertaken in two stages. Initially, information was collected on the evolution of salt production through a literature review and interviews with residents to explore the transition that occurred over decades and constitutes the precursor and context of the development of heritage tourism. Then, a quasi-experimental approach was adopted to examine the values and preferences of tourists regarding their interactions with salt heritage.
Salt production in Taiwan
Over the past three decades, the economy of Taiwan has been transformed, from an emphasis on agriculture, into an industrial economy that is a leading producer of high technology products (Galenson, 1979). Traditional industries, such as agriculture, fishing, logging, mining, sugar, and salt production have declined and, in some cases, ceased and have been transformed into tourist attractions. In particular, salt production, a symbol of Taiwan’s industrial heritage, has become a tourist attraction for people seeking a nostalgic past and a sense of national identity. The industry was concentrated in the southwest coastal region of Taiwan and, along with fishing, was important to local livelihoods and was prominent in the cultural landscape of many communities.
With abundant sunshine, evaporation that exceeds precipitation, and some areas with flat topography, the southwest coastal region developed a unique way of making salt where all of the island’s major salt-drying operations were concentrated. Solar evaporation is believed to be the oldest harvesting method used in Taiwan and evaporation ponds that were used to extract salt from sea water are located along the southwestern coast. Salt production, preparation, and transportation were labor-intensive and once employed more than 70% of the workforce in southwestern Taiwan. The immense labor requirements were associated with a unique culture comprised of the salters’ lifestyle and housing, technical advancements in equipment, tools and skills, and a landscape of salt fields and distinctive architecture (Tsai, 2013).
Since the Second World War, the majority of salt has been produced by machines to increase production efficiency, and the labor-intensive salt fields have slowly ceased production and lost their value for making salt (Taiwan Salt Museum, 2015). As a result of international competition, all salt consumed in Taiwan has been imported from Australia since 2003. However, aspects of the salt-related landscape remain in the region. In addition, in 2003, an official institute was established to promote salt tourism development in a Southwest Coastal Scenic Area. Thus, the resource has been reevaluated and repositioned, and salt production has been replaced by industrial heritage tourism. Changes at the societal level have resulted from technical progress and economic change, competition from other products and producers, changes in fashion and the like, and occur regardless of the ownership of the resource.
Evolution of salt production
Salt production, concentrated in the southwest coastal region of Taiwan, was selected as a case to examine resource re-evaluation and the use of industrial heritage for tourism. A mixed methodology was applied. First, initial fieldwork was conducted in 2011 in the salt fields and refineries in Southwestern Taiwan. The objective was to understand the transformation of the salt fields into tourist destinations in detail. Documents and reports regarding salt history as well as the heritage literature were thoroughly reviewed. In-depth interviews were undertaken with 12 community opinion leaders and local residents. Each interview took 1-2 hours. The questions proposed were ‘What are your recollections about livelihoods in the age of salt production?’, ‘What salt tourist products/services are offered?’, ‘How do local communities or businesses engage in salt tourism?’, ‘What kinds of tourist experiences do they intend to deliver?’, and ‘What expectations or concerns do you hold toward current salt tourism development?’. In addition, the first author was able to locate several elders whose families had worked in the salt industry from the days of Japanese colonization until cessation of salt production and three of them agreed to be interviewed. They were asked to narrate their family history, to discuss salt production and associated lifestyles, the importance and value of salt, and the changes that had occurred over time. They were also invited to provide opinions about these changes and to share photographs and documents. The researcher visited each family two or three times, and each visit involved in-depth interviews that lasted between 2 and 3 hours. She also undertook field trips guided by the interviewees. The interviews, document reviews, and field observations concentrated on: (1) the conditions of industrial development, people’s livelihoods, and social-economic development of salt production in different eras; (2) the critical factors influencing the evaluation of salt production; (3) the importance and values of the resource used; and (4) informants’ interpretations of different conditions in various eras and their opinions on the transformation of salt heritage for tourism.
Quasi-experiment on the creative use of salt heritage for tourism
A quasi-experiment was designed and implemented to examine tourists’ perspectives on the creative use of salt heritage to provide recreation experiences. First, through examination of the literature (Littrell et al., 1993; Richards & Wilson, 2006; Tan et al., 2013), some of which has been mentioned above, and analysis of the offerings of several industrial tourism destinations, three main development attributes regarding the repositioning of resources were identified: themed product, experience programming, and design aesthetic. Attributes of products/services, interaction of people, and environmental atmosphere are identified as the three main supply-led (external interactions) attributes with which to construct creative tourism experiences (Tan et al., 2013). These three items are used as experimental factors in this study. First, in terms of product attributes, this study draws upon the arguments of Littrell et al. (1993) regarding the importance of the ‘uniqueness of products’ and ‘theme related to cultural and historical integrity’. Therefore, this study selected product attributes with two different cultural themes: (1) the production process whereby salt culture is revealed through a series of demonstrations, such as capturing salt water in shallow ponds and solar evaporation; and (2) salt-related products offered to tourists, such as flaky sea salt used for cooking and in spas, and salt-related beverages and cosmetics products. Secondly, both Richards (2011) and Ellis and Rossman (2008) revealed the critical role of participation and interpersonal involvement for developing creative experiences. Therefore, two distinct forms of ‘experience programming’ used in salt tourism were considered: (1) participatory involvement in which tourists take part in the salt production process, using traditional equipment and technology guided by staff; and (2) demonstrative interpretation where tourists receive onsite interpretation supported by signage, posters, and multimedia information on salt production but do not actually engage in the production process themselves. Finally, nostalgia is often mentioned as being an important motivation for participation in heritage tourism (Katon & Santos, 2007; Vesey & Dimanche, 2003). As a result, nostalgic and modern aesthetic designs were selected to depict two different types of atmosphere. The former emphasizes original salt heritage whereas the latter stresses modern aesthetic presentations such as those using high technology.
These categories were used to set up the experimental design. For each form of the three attributes, photos were gathered onsite or provided by locals. Three potentially appropriate photos for each category were presented and ranked by an expert group, including two community opinion leaders, one tourism business operator, and one tourism professor. Their rankings determined which photos were used in the scenarios that were generated and presented to respondents.
In accordance with the three factors (themed product, experience programming, and design aesthetic) that have been identified, a 2 (levels of theme) × 2 (levels of programming) × 2 (levels of design) factor design experiment was designed in order to examine the influence of these attributes on the creative use of the heritage resource. Each experimental scenario was constructed on combinations of different forms of the three attributes. For instance, a series of photographs of ‘product theming = production process’, ‘experience programming = participation involvement’, and ‘design aesthetic = nostalgic style’ were combined to depict one set of salt tourism experiences (see Figure 1).
A control group was utilized and presented with a scenario representing the general scenery in southwestern Taiwan. The control group provided a base-line comparison. Including the scenario for the control group, nine experimental scenarios with pre-selected photos on arranged attribute categories were created and validated by a small sample of 30 university students majoring in tourism. After being briefed about the purpose of the pilot examination, students were asked to review the nine sets of experimental scenarios and independently evaluate three attributes for each scenario. The nine sets of experimental scenarios were rotated for various reviewers to avoid possible order effects. A 95% correct assignment rate was used to retain an experimental scenario. Only one attribute category on two scenarios failed the initial assessment and the 95% rate was reached after replacing the photos.
The perceived effectiveness of experimental scenarios is measured by AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action). AIDA consists of a set of continuous principles proposed by the American sales and advertisement legend Elias St. Elmo Lewis, and is often used for understanding the effectiveness of marketing communication (Ferrell & Hartline, 2005). The advantage of AIDA is that it facilitates consideration of the cognitive process after consumers receive the marketing stimuli, instead of focusing on the final purchase intention. In the salt tourism study, five items were used to measure AIDA stages (see Table 1) and a five-point rating scale was used with 1 for high disagreement and 5 for high agreement.
The experiments were undertaken in the Dongsan rest area on State Highway Three, which provides access to four major salt tourism destinations on the southwest coast of Taiwan: the Cigu Salt Mountain, the Taiwan Salt Museum, Jingzaijiao Tile-paved Salt Field, and Zhounan Salt Field. After scrutinizing trip purpose for salt tourism, qualified respondents were randomly assigned to an experimental group. Respondents were then asked to view one experimental scenario comprised of a predetermined mixture of the three attributes. They were also asked to complete a questionnaire that elicited information on perceived effectiveness, previous travel experience (on salt tourism, industrial tourism, or southeast coast destinations), and socio-demographic characteristics (gender, age, education, income, and marital status).
A total of 440 subjects were sampled from which 412 valid responses were used in the analysis. All respondents were domestic tourists. Slightly more females (55%) than males completed the questionnaires. Almost one third of the respondents were between the ages of 25 and 34 (31%), or between 35 and 44 (31%). Over 60% of the respondents were married. Most (53%) claimed to have earned a college degree and 11% reported completing a graduate degree. Furthermore, the socio-demographic characteristics of participants were tested for difference among the nine experimental groups and no statistically significant differences were found. This indicates that any differences between experimental groups are unlikely to be explained by socio-demographic variables.
Table 1. Perceived effectiveness of salt heritage tourism.
Perceived effectiveness
1. (Aw) Salt tourism raises my awareness of the traditional salt industry. 3.59 0.75
2. (In) The salt tourism activity is very interesting to participate in. 3.58 0.85
3. (De) I am impressed by the novelty of salt tourism which is so different from other forms. 3.65 0.73
4. (Ac) Salt tourism provides great recreational and day-trip opportunities. 3.52 0.91
5. (Ac) I enjoy the salt heritage landscape in this southwest coast tour. 3.61 0.84
Overall average 3.59 0.66
Aw = Awareness; In = Interest; De = Desire; Ac = Action.
In heritage tourism, traditional industrial production may be transformed through creative processes that reposition the resources to produce novel tourist experiences. This study examines the transformation of salt resources in Taiwan from the production of a tangible to an experiential product. Formerly, the production of salt as an industrial product resulted in the creation of distinctive landscapes and livelihoods. The decline of this industry has been followed by the creation of new heritage values through innovative presentation of cultural relicts and consumption of recreational experiences in tourism. To probe the receptivity of this radical change in resource use, a quasi-experimental approach is used to examine how the repositioned industrial legacy meets the expectations of heritage tourists. Hybrid combinations of presentation schemes (theme, programming, and design) reveal creative turns in the use of industrial resources for the production of tourist experiences. Although there is diversity among the preferences of visitors, participatory experiences are generally preferred to passive viewing of relict landscapes.
Introduction
Heritage tourism is a type of special interest tourism that allows tourists to experience and interact with the past through visiting historical relicts or places (Ashworth & Tunbridge, 2011; Edson, 2004; Timothy, 2007). It is a growth area in tourism, as indicated by the increasing number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Heritage links the past, present and future, and exposes today’s tourists to selected aspects of the past (Rickly-Boyd, 2012). Through engagement with heritage, tourists may reminisce about the past and acquire unique experiences. Effective management of heritage and cultural resources has become a vital issue (Jimura, 2016), as managers of heritage sites have become aware of the challenges of managing both preservation and development while accommodating tourists’ needs and the interests of hosts (Cochrane, 2008). In particular, the rejuvenation of derelict and declining industrial premises to build sustainable forms of tourism has received substantial attention (Aslam & Jolliffe, 2015; Hashimoto & Telfer, 2016).
Industrial heritage tourism presents places, products, and production processes of the past. Unlike much heritage, which celebrates prominent events and the lives of influential people, it often emphasizes the lives of ordinary people, architecture, industrial landscapes, traditional forms of production, and lifestyles that existed in the industrial era. Under heritage tourism development, declining industrial heritage sites are seldom rejuvenated through a return to past products and production systems; rather, through tourism, they may be revitalized for different uses and users. The nostalgic landscape and production systems are revalued and turned into assets for tourism development for use in the present and future (Xie, 2011).
In the context of industrial tourism, places of past industrial production, having lost their function of producing tangible products, are revalued in the present for their recreational and aesthetic attributes and the stories that may be associated with them, rather than for the production of goods and the life-support and prosperity that may have underpinned their past. Thus, new values may be ascribed through the leisure and travel experiences, learning opportunities, pleasure, and relaxation that they can provide to nostalgic and novelty-seeking visitors. Past vivid memories of previous eras are reconstructed and repositioned to meet contemporary demands. This reflects Zimmermann’s (1964) comments on the dynamic nature of resources: resources are not (but they do become) expanding and contracting in response to human needs, wants, and actions.
The transformation of resource functions to capture the interest of different groups of people, especially today’s tourists, is a process of commercialization, for such tourism involves the re-evaluation and redeployment of resources from a previous era to meet current needs and desires. Past products, production systems, and their associated landscapes constitute the raw materials that are used and reinterpreted selectively to attract the attention of tourists. In order to understand the effects of such a transformation, it is important to appreciate the ways in which resources are manipulated and transformed to provide new heritage tourism functions to meet the expectations of today’s residents and tourists who are the new clients. Even though some tourists may know that their heritage experience has been planned, staged, and managed, they may nevertheless enjoy them very much (McIntosh, 2004; Ryan, 2002; Xie & Wall, 2002; Zeppel, 2002). On the other hand, others may be disappointed upon the realization that their heritage experiences are partially contrived and their nostalgia is based in part on fantasy. Yang and Wall (2009) showed that over-commercialization and staging of spectacles resulted in dissatisfaction among some visitors and depreciated the meanings of cultural traditions.
During the production of tourism experiences, resources are creatively manipulated, combined, positioned, and packaged in order to meet the needs and expectations of tourists. Richards and Wilson (2007) suggested that creative tourism depends upon making innovative ‘turns’ in the uses of resources. This means stepping beyond traditional ways of knowing, doing, and making. The creative turn implies changes in the valuation and uses of resources, resulting in new products that may be intangible experiences rather than tangible items. Through adding intangible ‘twists’, such as an innovative narrative and atmosphere, to material cultural objects, creative tourism products may be fashioned anew. As many visitors have begun to tire of seeing a series of sights or doing standardized tourism activities, they look - beyond the satisfaction of basic needs - for experiences that enhance personal growth and identity, and heritage attractions that can satisfy some of these motivations (Kay, 2009; McCain & Ray, 2003). The combination of aspects of traditional production processes and their reinterpretation through the application of modern technologies can result in new economic values that are gained from tourism markets (Britton, 1991; Cloke & Perkins, 2002; Saarinen, 2004). In addition to new sources of incomes, the re-positioning of resources can also enhance the identities of individuals and places (Russo & Aria Sans, 2007).
This paper explores the transformation of resource uses, from the past to the present, in the context of industrial heritage tourism. Using the production of salt in Taiwan as a case, this theme is explored from both resource evolution and tourism market perspectives. First, from the aspect of resource evolution, the decline of salt production values and their replacement by new heritage values created through the innovative presentation of cultural relics in contemporary tourism are explored. Thus, the question: ‘How have resources been appraised differently in industrial and tourism eras?’ is explored through the case of the production of salt products and experiences in Taiwan. This question is answered predominantly by the analysis of resource uses. Then, from the perspective of tourism markets, using a quasi-experimental approach, the extent to which the repackaging of salt-related resources as heritage meets the expectations of contemporary consumers, the heritage tourists, is addressed and their varied preferences for engaging in industrial heritage tourism are investigated.
Literature review
Heritage tourism
Heritage tourism is a special form of tourism in which tourists explore and communicate with the past by experiencing historical artifacts or living environments during their trips (Edson, 2004; Timothy & Boyd, 2006). Tangible heritage (artifacts), unique cultural landscapes, and intangible cultural heritage (e.g. folk traditions) become tourism resources from which destination attractions are created (Kerstetter, Confer, & Bricker, 1998). Industrial heritage tourism combines tourist activities and industrial relicts that present, preserve, and interpret the historical, technological, social, and architectural values of industrial traditions for contemporary audiences. Edwards and i Llurdés (1996) conceptualized industrial tourism as the development of touristic activities and industries on human-made sites, buildings, and landscapes that originated with industrial processes of earlier periods. In addition, and at the same time, it can educate and raise tourists’ appreciation of elements of the past, project images of past industrial achievements, support nostalgic affections for sites, and revitalize the local economy (Alonso, O’Neill, & Kim, 2010).
Ryan (2002) perceived heritage tourism to be a type of alternative tourism where ‘sustained value creation’ aims to benefit communities, environments, businesses, and tourists. MacCannell (1989) encapsulated it as ‘a museumization of work’ or ‘work display,’ which he interpreted as the post-production phase of conventional production culture, marking the death of an industrial society. He further suggested that the ‘museumization’ of pre-modern forms of production and culture transforms labor into new forms of cultural production (through the display of works of previous others) for tourists and sightseers. Nostalgia is a main drive for memorizing ‘the good old days’ and may also be a way of dealing with the resentment of their passing (Dann, 1994). As industrial heritage culture is repositioned for tourism purposes, ‘work watching’ becomes a normative practice, in which both labor and landscape become interpreted and marketed for tourists (Wanhill, 2000).
By stressing the value of the industrial past in the present, the shift of an industrial area’s economic activity from a site of the production of tangible goods to the presentation of intangible experiences (although goods may still be sold as souvenirs) may also enhance the community’s identity and encourage local differentiation in an increasingly globalizing world. In some cases, traditional industrial practices may be retained by adding a contemporary twist and inviting tourists to experience industrial sites and modes of production (Rickly-Boyd, 2012) through the application of modern technologies, such as the use of video and computers for interpretation. Furthermore, as traditional labor-intensive production systems have become mechanized, new jobs may be created through tourism development. For example, McBoyle and McBoyle (2008) showed that the production of malt whisky in Scotland is now highly mechanized with only a small labor force employed in actually making whisky but a substantial workforce employed in interpretation and providing other visitor services to tourists who are now also a market for the product.
Transformation of resources uses
In transforming resources into recreational and tourism experiences, tourism businesses search for a niche that combines a nostalgic ambiance, with cultural experiences and recreational opportunities in order to attract the participation of both tourists and local residents. Thus, transformation of historical phenomena into heritage tourism products can be understood as a process of commodification. This has received substantial attention in the tourism literature. A framework for understanding this process has been presented by Ashworth and Tunbridge (2011). They suggested that heritage agencies select from among possible heritage resources and combine these with other resources, which are interpreted, packaged, and sold as heritage products to targeted markets, thus contributing to the creation of heritage industries. This commodification involves designing, producing, packaging, and marketing resource assemblages for tourist consumption to acquire economic benefits through commercial transactions. Boorstin (1964) criticized that tourism in many cases has turned precious resources into fake experiences to gain quick money while subverting the broader value and meaningful essence of the resources. Johnston (2006) also worried that resources will eventually lose their intrinsic and traditional values through commodification for public consumption. However, while accepting that resources can be poorly used and even destroyed, this perspective differs from that of Zimmermann (1964), who suggested that the values are not ‘intrinsic’ but are subject to re-evaluation, reflecting changing human needs, desires, and abilities. He argued that resources are reflections of human appraisal. A resource should not refer to a substance or a thing, but to a function it may perform in order to satisfy needs. Thus, the same substance or resource, may be evaluated very differently across geographical areas, groups, or eras.
The perpetuation of cultural traditions and their use as resources to create tourism products for sale are sometimes viewed as being incompatible (Cohen, 1988). However, changes in the attributes, use, and appreciation of aspects of a culture can also be viewed as being part of a process of constructing new expressions of culture with value and meaning to both residents and tourists. Medina (2003) indicated that the ancient Mayan culture has great significance both because of its historical origin and attributes, and also because it is used aggressively in re-building contemporary society. The commodification of ancient Mayan culture for tourists’ consumption can be perceived as the renovation of an ancient culture. Ryan (1996) echoed this perspective in his claim that cultural commodification for tourism is a driver of cultural evolution. In heritage tourism, the transformation process regarding the selection of resources, their reevaluation, and their re-combination in creative ways results in the development of a variety of potential tourist experiences and related consequences of cultural commodification.
Creative tourist experiences
The experiences gained by tourists are the core products of tourism (Prentice, Witt, & Hamer, 1998). The activities of visiting, seeing, learning about, tasting, enjoying, and living a different style of life enable tourists to engage with the ‘other’ and from these interactions that occur at a destination, they construct their experiences. The nature and scope of the experiences made available at a destination and processed by tourists contribute to the value of the destination (Oh, Fiore, & Jeoung, 2007). Pine and Gilmore (1998) suggested that, in the experience economy, memorable events and experiential opportunities created by business, become the products that generate value-added and competitive benefits, which are crucial inputs in the creation of an experience economy. They emphasized that the new economy is value-added, not driven by the production of goods or services alone. Rather, it involves the cocreation of experiences through the consumer’s active involvement from which they gain a sense of achievement and, perhaps, self-transformation (Pine & Gilmore, 2011). Thus, businesses should shift their attention from what products/services they offer to how to ‘stage’ experiences. Tourism production, then, is about ‘staging’ experiences. A classical typology of tourist experiences by Cohen (1979) delimited five modes as recreational, diversionary, experiential, experimental, and existential. Chhabra, Healy, and Sills (2003) commented that much of today’s heritage tourism product depends on the staging or re-creation of ethnic or cultural traditions. Experiences gained by ‘living history’ re-creation, such as the events managed by the American Civil War Society, are an interesting and typical example. Living history is staged to present an historical period by live actors who portray and ‘live out’ the conditions of a particular time and place, largely through public events and other forms of staged reconstruction (Hunt, 2004). Littrell, Anderson, and Brown (1993) suggested that the uniqueness of products, workmanship (i.e. handmade), a theme related to cultural and historical integrity, design for aesthetics and use, production by craftspeople using original materials, and an aura of genuineness are key attributes with which to construct authentic experiences for craft souvenir shopping. Ellis and Rossman (2008), while extending Pine and Gilmore’s (1998) model for application in park, recreation, and tourism management, proposed that the staging of recreation and tourism experiences requires specific settings and interpersonal skills to host customers, and also artistic expression of themes and features to provide multi-sensory experiences and unanticipated values.
Creative turns in the use of cultural resources to facilitate tourists’ acquisition of memorable experiences are often observed and are critical for the successful provision of cultural and heritage tourism opportunities (Richards & Wilson, 2006; Rickly-Boyd, 2012). ‘Creativity’ is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as ‘inventive, imaginative; showing imagination as well as routine skill’. It requires moving beyond traditional ways of doing, knowing, and making (Chartrand, 1990) to meet the rising demand for experiences that provide value through the provision of a combination of both novel and more traditional products and services (Danish Government, 2003). At the same time, it is also desirable to make available distinctive experiences to gain differentiated and favorable positions in a globally competitive environment (Richards & Wilson, 2006). Creative approaches for destinations have been systematized into three main types (Richards, 2011; Richards & Wilson, 2006): ‘creative spectacles’ refers to staging cultural expressions or events into special performances, such as art exhibitions or festivals, for passive tourist consumption; ‘creative spaces’ refers to place making by cultural creativity into visually and emotionally seductive spaces, such as industrial heritage parks and ethnic villages, to attract tourists and residents; and ‘creativity in experience’ (the original term used by the authors was creativity tourism) is where activities with cultural elements are programmed creatively and tourists are encouraged to participate in the creative activities (such as cooking courses) to co-create their own unique experiences by accumulating skills and knowledge, by taking on new challenges, and making personal meanings leading to self-transformation. Tan, Kung, and Luh (2013) revealed the immersive collaboration between production and consumption in the creative experience in four ‘creative life industry’ sites in Taiwan. They argued that both external interactions and internal reflections are necessary to construct creative experiences. The supply-led attributes of ‘environment’, ‘people’, and ‘program (product/service)’, and demand-led attributes of ‘consciousness’, ‘needs’, and ‘creative attitudes’ together contribute to and enhance the creative experience.
Methodology
Salt production and landscapes, important industrial heritages in Taiwan, are selected as a means to explore the transformation of heritage resources for tourism. The economic and social background of salt production and its subsequent decline in Taiwan will be described briefly in the following section in order to justify site selection. The research was undertaken in two stages. Initially, information was collected on the evolution of salt production through a literature review and interviews with residents to explore the transition that occurred over decades and constitutes the precursor and context of the development of heritage tourism. Then, a quasi-experimental approach was adopted to examine the values and preferences of tourists regarding their interactions with salt heritage.
Salt production in Taiwan
Over the past three decades, the economy of Taiwan has been transformed, from an emphasis on agriculture, into an industrial economy that is a leading producer of high technology products (Galenson, 1979). Traditional industries, such as agriculture, fishing, logging, mining, sugar, and salt production have declined and, in some cases, ceased and have been transformed into tourist attractions. In particular, salt production, a symbol of Taiwan’s industrial heritage, has become a tourist attraction for people seeking a nostalgic past and a sense of national identity. The industry was concentrated in the southwest coastal region of Taiwan and, along with fishing, was important to local livelihoods and was prominent in the cultural landscape of many communities.
With abundant sunshine, evaporation that exceeds precipitation, and some areas with flat topography, the southwest coastal region developed a unique way of making salt where all of the island’s major salt-drying operations were concentrated. Solar evaporation is believed to be the oldest harvesting method used in Taiwan and evaporation ponds that were used to extract salt from sea water are located along the southwestern coast. Salt production, preparation, and transportation were labor-intensive and once employed more than 70% of the workforce in southwestern Taiwan. The immense labor requirements were associated with a unique culture comprised of the salters’ lifestyle and housing, technical advancements in equipment, tools and skills, and a landscape of salt fields and distinctive architecture (Tsai, 2013).
Since the Second World War, the majority of salt has been produced by machines to increase production efficiency, and the labor-intensive salt fields have slowly ceased production and lost their value for making salt (Taiwan Salt Museum, 2015). As a result of international competition, all salt consumed in Taiwan has been imported from Australia since 2003. However, aspects of the salt-related landscape remain in the region. In addition, in 2003, an official institute was established to promote salt tourism development in a Southwest Coastal Scenic Area. Thus, the resource has been reevaluated and repositioned, and salt production has been replaced by industrial heritage tourism. Changes at the societal level have resulted from technical progress and economic change, competition from other products and producers, changes in fashion and the like, and occur regardless of the ownership of the resource.
Evolution of salt production
Salt production, concentrated in the southwest coastal region of Taiwan, was selected as a case to examine resource re-evaluation and the use of industrial heritage for tourism. A mixed methodology was applied. First, initial fieldwork was conducted in 2011 in the salt fields and refineries in Southwestern Taiwan. The objective was to understand the transformation of the salt fields into tourist destinations in detail. Documents and reports regarding salt history as well as the heritage literature were thoroughly reviewed. In-depth interviews were undertaken with 12 community opinion leaders and local residents. Each interview took 1-2 hours. The questions proposed were ‘What are your recollections about livelihoods in the age of salt production?’, ‘What salt tourist products/services are offered?’, ‘How do local communities or businesses engage in salt tourism?’, ‘What kinds of tourist experiences do they intend to deliver?’, and ‘What expectations or concerns do you hold toward current salt tourism development?’. In addition, the first author was able to locate several elders whose families had worked in the salt industry from the days of Japanese colonization until cessation of salt production and three of them agreed to be interviewed. They were asked to narrate their family history, to discuss salt production and associated lifestyles, the importance and value of salt, and the changes that had occurred over time. They were also invited to provide opinions about these changes and to share photographs and documents. The researcher visited each family two or three times, and each visit involved in-depth interviews that lasted between 2 and 3 hours. She also undertook field trips guided by the interviewees. The interviews, document reviews, and field observations concentrated on: (1) the conditions of industrial development, people’s livelihoods, and social-economic development of salt production in different eras; (2) the critical factors influencing the evaluation of salt production; (3) the importance and values of the resource used; and (4) informants’ interpretations of different conditions in various eras and their opinions on the transformation of salt heritage for tourism.
Quasi-experiment on the creative use of salt heritage for tourism
A quasi-experiment was designed and implemented to examine tourists’ perspectives on the creative use of salt heritage to provide recreation experiences. First, through examination of the literature (Littrell et al., 1993; Richards & Wilson, 2006; Tan et al., 2013), some of which has been mentioned above, and analysis of the offerings of several industrial tourism destinations, three main development attributes regarding the repositioning of resources were identified: themed product, experience programming, and design aesthetic. Attributes of products/services, interaction of people, and environmental atmosphere are identified as the three main supply-led (external interactions) attributes with which to construct creative tourism experiences (Tan et al., 2013). These three items are used as experimental factors in this study. First, in terms of product attributes, this study draws upon the arguments of Littrell et al. (1993) regarding the importance of the ‘uniqueness of products’ and ‘theme related to cultural and historical integrity’. Therefore, this study selected product attributes with two different cultural themes: (1) the production process whereby salt culture is revealed through a series of demonstrations, such as capturing salt water in shallow ponds and solar evaporation; and (2) salt-related products offered to tourists, such as flaky sea salt used for cooking and in spas, and salt-related beverages and cosmetics products. Secondly, both Richards (2011) and Ellis and Rossman (2008) revealed the critical role of participation and interpersonal involvement for developing creative experiences. Therefore, two distinct forms of ‘experience programming’ used in salt tourism were considered: (1) participatory involvement in which tourists take part in the salt production process, using traditional equipment and technology guided by staff; and (2) demonstrative interpretation where tourists receive onsite interpretation supported by signage, posters, and multimedia information on salt production but do not actually engage in the production process themselves. Finally, nostalgia is often mentioned as being an important motivation for participation in heritage tourism (Katon & Santos, 2007; Vesey & Dimanche, 2003). As a result, nostalgic and modern aesthetic designs were selected to depict two different types of atmosphere. The former emphasizes original salt heritage whereas the latter stresses modern aesthetic presentations such as those using high technology.
These categories were used to set up the experimental design. For each form of the three attributes, photos were gathered onsite or provided by locals. Three potentially appropriate photos for each category were presented and ranked by an expert group, including two community opinion leaders, one tourism business operator, and one tourism professor. Their rankings determined which photos were used in the scenarios that were generated and presented to respondents.
In accordance with the three factors (themed product, experience programming, and design aesthetic) that have been identified, a 2 (levels of theme) × 2 (levels of programming) × 2 (levels of design) factor design experiment was designed in order to examine the influence of these attributes on the creative use of the heritage resource. Each experimental scenario was constructed on combinations of different forms of the three attributes. For instance, a series of photographs of ‘product theming = production process’, ‘experience programming = participation involvement’, and ‘design aesthetic = nostalgic style’ were combined to depict one set of salt tourism experiences (see Figure 1).
A control group was utilized and presented with a scenario representing the general scenery in southwestern Taiwan. The control group provided a base-line comparison. Including the scenario for the control group, nine experimental scenarios with pre-selected photos on arranged attribute categories were created and validated by a small sample of 30 university students majoring in tourism. After being briefed about the purpose of the pilot examination, students were asked to review the nine sets of experimental scenarios and independently evaluate three attributes for each scenario. The nine sets of experimental scenarios were rotated for various reviewers to avoid possible order effects. A 95% correct assignment rate was used to retain an experimental scenario. Only one attribute category on two scenarios failed the initial assessment and the 95% rate was reached after replacing the photos.
The perceived effectiveness of experimental scenarios is measured by AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action). AIDA consists of a set of continuous principles proposed by the American sales and advertisement legend Elias St. Elmo Lewis, and is often used for understanding the effectiveness of marketing communication (Ferrell & Hartline, 2005). The advantage of AIDA is that it facilitates consideration of the cognitive process after consumers receive the marketing stimuli, instead of focusing on the final purchase intention. In the salt tourism study, five items were used to measure AIDA stages (see Table 1) and a five-point rating scale was used with 1 for high disagreement and 5 for high agreement.
The experiments were undertaken in the Dongsan rest area on State Highway Three, which provides access to four major salt tourism destinations on the southwest coast of Taiwan: the Cigu Salt Mountain, the Taiwan Salt Museum, Jingzaijiao Tile-paved Salt Field, and Zhounan Salt Field. After scrutinizing trip purpose for salt tourism, qualified respondents were randomly assigned to an experimental group. Respondents were then asked to view one experimental scenario comprised of a predetermined mixture of the three attributes. They were also asked to complete a questionnaire that elicited information on perceived effectiveness, previous travel experience (on salt tourism, industrial tourism, or southeast coast destinations), and socio-demographic characteristics (gender, age, education, income, and marital status).
A total of 440 subjects were sampled from which 412 valid responses were used in the analysis. All respondents were domestic tourists. Slightly more females (55%) than males completed the questionnaires. Almost one third of the respondents were between the ages of 25 and 34 (31%), or between 35 and 44 (31%). Over 60% of the respondents were married. Most (53%) claimed to have earned a college degree and 11% reported completing a graduate degree. Furthermore, the socio-demographic characteristics of participants were tested for difference among the nine experimental groups and no statistically significant differences were found. This indicates that any differences between experimental groups are unlikely to be explained by socio-demographic variables.
Table 1. Perceived effectiveness of salt heritage tourism.
Perceived effectiveness
1. (Aw) Salt tourism raises my awareness of the traditional salt industry. 3.59 0.75
2. (In) The salt tourism activity is very interesting to participate in. 3.58 0.85
3. (De) I am impressed by the novelty of salt tourism which is so different from other forms. 3.65 0.73
4. (Ac) Salt tourism provides great recreational and day-trip opportunities. 3.52 0.91
5. (Ac) I enjoy the salt heritage landscape in this southwest coast tour. 3.61 0.84
Overall average 3.59 0.66
Aw = Awareness; In = Interest; De = Desire; Ac = Action.