Currently, Europe is the main tourist region worldwide, both in terms of volume of arrivals and international tourism receipts Jiménez García et al. (2015). To maintain this trend, it is very important to create tourist products that meet the needs of tourists. For this reason, it is important to analyse the tourists who decide to travel. Specifically, this research analyses the tourists who visit the city of Granada. The different typologies of tourists are established by identifying the various groups of tourists with similar characteristics that visit the destination. In addition to an analysis of their motivations and their influence on their satisfaction Nguyen & Cheung (2014). In this way, it is possible to distinguish between the concept of heritage tourists and other types of tourists who visit the destination Saipradist and Staiff (2008).
The research of this article, aims to deepen the studies focused on experiences of tourists visiting a cultural destination with important WHS inscriptions. Throughout the literature, we can find studies on different WHS cities, however, this research presents a very peculiar case of study. Granada (Spain), is a city that despite of not being recognized as a World Heritage city, it has places declared as World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the Alhambra and Generalife (1984) and the Albaicín (1994), which attract thousands of tourists every year. Therefore, due to its enormous tourist potential, it has been considered essential to carry out this research. In order to obtain results and conclusions that will help in the elaboration of an adequate planning to develop a correct tourist promotion.
The main purpose of this research is focused on the study of tourist motivations as an intermediate objective that will help us to analyse the degree of satisfaction of visitors arriving in the city of Granada (Spain). In order to do this, a segmentation of the tourist is carried out, based on their cultural interest and their emotional perception of the destination, which can be considered an intermediate objective. Among these motivations, it is important to highlight the value perceived by the visitor in relation to the heritage of the visited place Correia et al. (2013). For this reason, in recent years it has been observed that a large number of destinations are focusing all their efforts on enhancing the value of their heritage. This trend is causing a strong increase in competition between these destinations Remoaldo et al. (2014). Because of this, it is essential to distinguish the destination by creating tourist products and services, both public and private. But to be successful, it must be supported by the hospitality of the population and the help of local institutions through the promotion of the place Abuamoud et al. (2014).
The methodology is based on the creation of a closed questionnaire aimed at visitors to the city of Granada (Spain). The items selected for the questionnaire were widely contrasted and based on existing academic literature. The final questionnaire addressed to tourists, was the result of a review process in which a researcher specialised in tourism analysed the previous items. Subsequently, the resulting questionnaire was reviewed by the responsible personalities of the tourism sector in the city. Finally, a pre-test was carried out on 50 randomly selected tourists. This process allowed for the detection of some incorrect information and the modification of some questions which were not easy to understand for the tourists.
The fieldwork focused on the distribution of surveys, available in two languages (Spanish and English), staggered manner over time and in different locations of the city. For example, in the historical city centre, as well as in places recognised by UNESCO as WHS, such as the architectural complex of the Alhambra, Generalife and Albaicín. In this way, we covered the greatest possible diversity of visitors in different places and situations. Always taking into account that they had been in the city for an enough period of time to be able to give a solid opinion about it (Correia et al., 2013; Remoaldo et al., 2014). A total of 1.683 surveys were conducted, which 1.612 were valid, during the period from April to August 2019. The purpose of this survey was to collect information from tourists regarding, the different motivations for the visit, their feelings after visiting the historical heritage, and their level of satisfaction. The collection and processing of the study data has been carried out using the statistical computer software SPSS v. 24. In this way, an analysis of the relationships between the motivations of the visit and the satisfaction experienced was carried out using the data collected. This analysis was based on the segmentation of the tourists participating in the study, according to the theoretical models of Poria et al. (2003) and McKercher (2002), which has been recently validated by Morita and Johnston (2018) and used by Pérez-Gálvez et al. (2020).
Based on the emotional perception of the tourist in relation to the visited heritage, and their cultural interest, it has been possible to identify three types of tourists. They have been named: alternative tourist, cultural tourist and heritage tourist. Among the three segments identified, we can highlight that in the case of heritage tourist, the interest in culture, together with the connection with the visited heritage of the destination, have a very important role. This research also contains an analysis of travelers' reasons for visiting a WHS-listed cultural destination. These motivations were classified into four different dimensions: hedonic, cultural, convenience and circumstantial, which include push and pull motives. The findings indicate that hedonic and cultural reasons are the most influential in choosing to visit the destination. Therefore, in order to broaden these cultural motivations of attraction, the institutions could emphasize the promotion of the heritage of the city of Granada, and not only the places with WHS recognition.
The conclusions obtained through this research, aim to understand the traits by which the different groups of tourists identified are characterized. As well as the evaluation of the destination visited by them, in order to obtain data that allows the development of tourist and cultural products, that better meet their needs. In this way, this study highlights the importance of promoting cultural tourism in the city of Granada (Spain). Tourism can be beneficial, as long as it is done with equity criteria Pulido Fernández (2008). Therefore, the identification of different segments is a good tool to focus marketing strategies on tourists that best suit the destination. The study highlights a positive relationship between cultural motivation and the degree of satisfaction experienced. Classification-JEL: R1 Keywords: Unesco, Turismo Patrimonial, Turismo Cultural, Percepción Emocional, Motivación, Granada (españa)., Heritage Tourism, Cultural Tourism, Emotional Perception, Motivation, Granada (spain). Pages: 101-126 Volume: 2 Year: 2022 File-URL: http://www.revistaestudiosregionales.com/documentos/articulos/pdf-articulo-2633.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Handle: RePEc:rer:articu:v:2:y:2022:p:101-126