Project Description
In this research a qualitative research was performed to answer the research question; “How do tourists experience cold war monuments and heritage in Berlin, with regard to the essence of hedonic and eudaimonic experiences?” The data is collected from TripAdvisor and consist of 120 reviews. These reviews were analysed using a content analysis. Three coding schemes were established to answer the three sub research questions. Tourists do not encounter a lot of obvious hedonic experiences, like thrilling or playful, but different hedonic experiences that are intertwined with the three turns (ludic, affective and narrative). These turn are shown in the conceptual model proposed in this research. What really stands out is the feeling of finding the place a must see experience. Being touched or even sad by a visit to a cold war site, but still having a good experience goes directly against a hedonic point of view. There are even statements that tourists did not feel touched and therefore did not had a positive experience. The three turns, ludic, narrative and affective could be easily led to the reviews and interact not only with each other, but also with hedonic/eudaimonic experiences. Therefore the framework is very useful to explain experiences when visiting a cold war heritage site. Storytelling is a common way for the sites to present their sites. Tourists visiting a cold war heritage site often try to connect with the place, by reliving the past or witnessing what took place at the site (Timm Knudsen, 2011). This is also seen in the reviews, were lots of tourist state that they imagined themselves during the cold war at the site. Tourists have during their visit opportunities to connect, understand and make meaning through their experience (Light, 2017). In conclusion, there are less hedonic experiences than eudaimonic experiences. These experiences are formed by the three turns.
Author: P. Kersten (2022)
