Evaluating tourist sensory experience in melaka world heritage site

Abstract

The five senses, namely, sight, taste, hear, smell and touch, contribute to form a unique relationship between tourists’ perception and their destinations. However, research on tourist sensory experience that systematically employs broad multidisciplinary approaches in Malaysia is still limited. Moreover, linking the tourist sensory experience with cultural heritage attractions would reveal appreciation values towards the attractions through senses. Therefore, this study aims at gaining insights into sensory experiences among tourists in an urban heritage destination area. A multi-method quantitative approach is adopted to identify the tourists’ sensory experiences around the Melaka Historical City Council’s (MBMB) Core Zone area. A questionnaire as a guide map is designed using items and attractions identified through content analysis of journal articles and travel materials. A total of 268 international tourists have participated in the survey. The analyses yielded seven main findings: walking and cycling influence the sensory experience, visualisation of sensory mapping presents the creation of ‘tourists space’ through sensory experiences, sensory profiling reveal the ranking of each sensory, cultural heritage provides higher appreciation values of sensory experience in comparison to sensory satisfaction, tourists have emotional attachment and joyful quality experience, there are positive relationships in the overall tourist sensory experience, and there were negative and positive impressions towards the cultural heritage attractions based on sensory experiences. This study contributes to the conceptual development of the tourist sensory experience process in the urban heritage destination, the survey mapping technique in evaluating the tourist sensory experience, and the indicators for tourist sensory experience in the Core Zone area of Melaka World Heritage Site. The findings are beneficial for the management of the sensory quality in preserving and conserving the cultural heritage, specifically in the Core Zone area of Melaka World Heritage Site.