Abstract:
Cultural Heritage Landscapes resulting from the conservation of the unique physical
characteristics and the place identity, have become major tourist attractions all over the
world. The consumption of a landscape by visitors alter and disturb the significant
features of such landscapes. The objective of this paper is to present the importance of
cultural heritage landscapes in experiencing places by tourists. The paper is based on the
Galle world heritage site, Sri Lanka; a landscape initially consumed by tourists due to its
natural components which creates a product of tourist consumption landscape at
present. The theoretical frameworks of information processing theory, tourists’
authenticity & gaze and performativity were applied to comprehend the process of
experiencing and the altering the cultural landscape in reference to tourist-host social
relationships. A study was conducted through the investigation, of experiences based on
questionnaires with a sample of randomly selected foreign and local tourists (30 nos.
each), who have visited Galle in 2019. Data was classified under three variables; tangible,
social intangible and symbolic intangible components. The analysis reveals that cultural
heritage components create positive attributes in destination branding and on visitor
satisfaction. The tourist activity creates both positive and negative attributes in altering
the cultural heritage characteristics and the pattern of living of the community. This
paper argues for the host communities to be engaged in place making while preserving
the identity of the cultural heritage for the development of tourism and destination
branding.
