Profiling Intangible Cultural Heritage Visitors through Multilayer Perceptron’s model

Abstract

UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage elements are perceived as valuable tourist resources by the various governments and local entities responsible for managing destinations. Consequently, from a tourism perspective, this recognition confers a competitive advantage to the destination. This research seeks to determine the variations in the socio-demographic profile (gender, age, educational level and income) of tourists interested in Intangible Cultural Heritage elements. The study is based on the development of an artificial neural network. This approach allows the construction of potential “identikits” or estimated profiles of tourists participating in the Fiesta de los Patios (Cordoba, Spain) based on the answers incorporated into the artificial neural network as customisable inputs. This is especially useful for elaborating products and services adapted to tourists interested in the different elements, customs and traditions registered as Intangible Cultural Heritage. While this methodology has been applied to the tourism sector, it has yet to be applied to tourists interested in Intangible Cultural Heritage. This research aims to address this gap in the literature. It can be deduced that to attract a particular profile with a high income, which would have a more significant effect on the economic development of a destination, it is necessary to promote accessibility and public transport, especially on the days that the event takes place. To address the issue of overcrowding, a ‘per-entry’ fee is proposed for the patios, or a tourist tax to be imposed in the city of Cordoba.

Keywords

• satisfaction
• perceptions
• experiences
• behaviour
• artificial neural networks
• multilayer perceptron
• intangible cultural heritage