Jacqueline Mangwane, Uwe Peter Hermann and Antje Inge Lenhard
This paper attempts to fill the gap that exists in research regarding visitor motivations at dark heritage sites. The purpose of this paper is to explore the motivations of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper attempts to fill the gap that exists in research regarding visitor motivations at dark heritage sites. The purpose of this paper is to explore the motivations of visitors to the Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum (HPMM) as an iconic dark site in South Africa to identify what motivates visitation and which demographic variables may have an influence on these motivators.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve the goal of this research, 205 participants completed a self-administered questionnaire using a random sampling technique at the HPMM. A statistical analysis through the use of factor analysis revealed seven motivational factors.
Findings
Novelty and knowledge seeking, remembrance and curiosity were identified as the three main motives for visiting HPMM. Novelty and knowledge seeking was found to be the main motive that contradicted similar research done in other parts of the globe. Escape and relaxation, which is usually found to be one of the main motivators to heritage sites, was revealed to be one of the least motivators for this study. The results also identified significant relationships between demographic and motivator variables.
Practical implications
The findings of this study revealed that people visit the HPMM primarily for novelty and knowledge seeking, remembrance and respect for victims and curiosity. From the results, it is clear that visitors are driven to visit the site for different motives and that these motives, although common amongst visitors, differ from person to person subject to demographic differences. This study provides an improved understanding of dark tourism demand, which is essential for the sustainable development and promotion of sites in South Africa and globally commemorating people’s struggle against injustice and for democracy.
Social implications
South Africa is a country with a cosmopolitan history; however, the history associated with apartheid has only recently become topic of tourism research. This study provides a basis to better understand the type of tourist visiting these sites of historical sites, thus leading to better provision of services to visit such attractions.
Originality/value
This study is one of the first to delve into understanding the motivational typology of tourists to a tourism attraction in South Africa associated with the country’s Apartheid-era heritage. It provides an insight into enhancing the current fragmented understanding of dark tourism demand.
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Uwe Peter Hermann, Craig Lee, Willem Coetzee and Liezel Boshoff
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the event experience literature by examining the effects of Craft Beer Festival attendee’s event experience on their satisfaction and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the event experience literature by examining the effects of Craft Beer Festival attendee’s event experience on their satisfaction and behavioural intentions. The study also investigates whether these relationships are moderated by the attendee’s past history with the festival and the distance they have travelled to attend the event.
Design/methodology/approach
The theoretically derived model was tested on a sample of 354 attendees of the Capital Craft Beer Festival in Pretoria, South Africa. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data.
Findings
The results indicated that only affective engagement positively influences attendee’s satisfaction, which, in turn, positively influences attendee’s intentions to revisit and recommend the beer festival. The authors found no evidence of the effects of cognitive and physical engagement and experiencing novelty on event satisfaction and no moderating effect of previous attendance and distance travelled to the event.
Originality/value
The findings advance the knowledge base in the field of a gastronomic event experience regarding critical factors that affect event satisfaction which, to date, have only been tested on sports events.
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Discusses collection building of contemporary German belles‐lettres and introduces 20 contemporary German‐language writers of the younger generation, presenting their…
Abstract
Discusses collection building of contemporary German belles‐lettres and introduces 20 contemporary German‐language writers of the younger generation, presenting their bio‐bibliographies. Librarians who are not already collecting these authors might consider expanding their German literature collections by adding some of the works listed.
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The purpose of this paper is to review the 11 lessons propounded by Robert McNamara in the film The Fog of War and to consider them in the context of theories of strategic…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the 11 lessons propounded by Robert McNamara in the film The Fog of War and to consider them in the context of theories of strategic management, particularly the formulation of strategy.
Design/methodology/approach
The film is taken as a case study and the evidence is considered against the background of Mr McNamara's career and contemporary events, triangulated wherever possible by additional accounts so that bias is avoided as much as possible.
Findings
The paper finds that, despite a lifelong rational, empirical approach, Mr McNamara has discovered that there are limits to these methods. The importance of values, morals and ethics emerges. The importance of these messages is that the business strategist should acknowledge the limits of rationality and the importance of intangible factors, not least the vagaries of human nature.
Originality/value
The paper is a part of a continuing study by the author of the parallels between military/grand strategy formulation and the similar activity in business.