Pursuing social cohesion in cultural tourism destinations: liminality as a mediator

Jiemei Luo, Izzy Yi Jian, Esther H. K. Yung, Edwin H. W. Chan and Weizhen Chen

Current Issues in Tourism, 2024, vol. 27, issue 15, 2499-2515

Abstract: The social impact of cultural tourism remains controversial even though tourism development seeks a socially and economically balanced outcome. This article explores the potential of liminality as a means of explaining how cultural tourism development affects social cohesion at the neighbourhood level, particularly through open spaces. A quantitative survey of 349 respondents from two national-level tourism districts in Shanghai, Yuyuan and Xinhua, was conducted using the structural equation modeling technique. Three attributes of cultural tourism destinations (CTDs) that affect social cohesion – cultural expressions, spatial features, and management – as measured by 12 items were identified and validated in the study. The results emphasized that CTDs’ cultural expressions, such as the form and appearance of buildings, had a strong positive impact on social cohesion. However, the connotation of social cohesion in CTDs is more about latent cohesion than manifest cohesion, which means people share place attachment and a sense of belonging without necessarily having closer interactions. The findings also indicate that liminality, which provides a sense of reviving and freedom, mediates CTDs’ contribution to social cohesion. The study provides a reference for tourism planning and management to enhance social cohesion and further achieve consolidated tourism development by facilitating liminality.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1080/13683500.2023.2235878

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