Assessing Cultural Heritage Touristification: A Content Analysis of Rabat's Historical Site

Abstract

The strategic utilization of cultural heritage as a catalyst for tourism development holds great potential in expanding market reach, increasing tourist influx, and enhancing global cultural exposure. The satisfaction of tourists during their experiences is intrinsically linked to the performance of tourism and cultural offerings, thereby offering valuable insights into the benchmarks for a successful visitor experience. This research endeavors to provide recommendations for the effective implementation of a touristification initiative by assessing visitor satisfaction across various stages of the tourism value chain. Employing a theoretical framework rooted in heritage tourism and customer satisfaction, this empirical study analyzes textual data sourced from the internet. Utilizing an exploratory approach involving lexical classifications and quantitative analysis, the study reveals favorable overall tourist satisfaction at Rabat's historical site. Furthermore, it identifies key areas for improvement, including the restoration of historical heritage, enhanced access to historical sites, and more effective promotion of tourism activities. The study offers three recommendation axes for successful touristification: 1) the development of an efficient digital communication strategy to enhance tourist attraction, 2) the creation of cultural and tourist activities at historical sites, and 3) fostering collaboration among diverse stakeholders involved in the cultural heritage context. While this study focuses on Rabat's historical site, its findings provide valuable insights for similar historical and cultural destinations globally, highlighting the importance of collaborative efforts in preserving cultural heritage and ensuring an authentic visitor experience.

Keywords

• Cultural heritage
• Touristification
• Satisfaction
• Tourism experience
• Social media
• Corpus analysis.