Heritage tourism’s economic contribution

John M. McGrath, David Primm and William Lafe
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John M. McGrath: University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, USA
David Primm: Primm Research, Pittsburgh, USA
William Lafe: Lafe Consulting, Pittsburgh, USA

Tourism Economics, 2017, vol. 23, issue 5, 1131-1137

Abstract: Heritage tourism is a growing field, both from a visitation perspective and in terms of research efforts. This article adds value by reporting results of a study that estimated the economic contributions of heritage tourism in a major state in the U.S. Patterns of visitor behavior and spending detailed within these data could be used by future researchers as a benchmark for estimating the economic contribution of heritage tourism in other regions. Survey data were collected at dozens of diverse heritage-related attractions across hundreds of miles of geography in Pennsylvania using traditional printed questionnaire instruments as well as a mobile/online questionnaire instrument. A total of 3,524 completed questionnaires were collected and analyzed. The study estimated that tourists spent 7.5 million days/nights visiting survey sites, purchasing US$2 billion worth of goods and services attributable to heritage tourism. Limitations of the study are discussed along with implications for future research.

Keywords: economic contribution; heritage tourism; IMPLAN; mobile/online questionnaire; QR images (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:toueco:v:23:y:2017:i:5:p:1131-1137

DOI: 10.1177/1354816616674589

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