Abstract
A review of literature in the field of psychology, consumer behaviour, geography, sociology in the context of tourism, suggests that visitors’ evaluations of a historical district, especially touristic elements such as the existence of other people or commercialisation, could vary in relation to several evaluative dimensions, such as a sense of stillness or stimulation, according to visitors’ mental states. This study aims to discuss the complex nature of visitors’ evaluation of a historical district, and to propose a theoretical framework and method to elicit relationships between visitors’ mental states and the district’s features cognitive and affective components. Personal interviews with use of the combination of Repertory Grid Analysis and Laddering Analysis, and subsequent slide experiments were conducted both using photographs taken in and around historical districts in Takayama-shi, Japan. The findings are discussed, despite the limitation in scope for generalisation, to justify the theoretical frameworks and methods. The results illustrate the complex nature of visitors’ evaluation of a historical district. The effects of the presence of people, certain types of houses and shops, modern objects like cars and vending machines, on visitors’ evaluation were found to be mixed in the sense that they may realise or obstruct the objectives of visitation. A sense of uniqueness, calmness, activity and oldness, safety and touristic atmosphere were found to be important affective components. Possible perceived compatible relationships between old and touristic atmosphere offer insights into the complex nature of authenticity and touristic atmosphere. The results and the process of analysis further indicate the necessity of involving visitors’ contextual and personal factors in the argument and of considering past direct or indirect experiences of subjects with the same or similar historical districts. The methods employed in this study were found to be useful to elicit these relationships. The findings suggest how a district’s features could satisfy visitors, which could be helpful for tourism management and conservation.