Tourist Motivations and Satisfaction in the Archaeological Ensemble of Madinat Al-Zahra

• Published in: Sustainability 2019-03, Vol.11 (5), p.1380
• Main Authors: Hidalgo-Fernández, Amalia, Hernández-Rojas, Ricardo, Jimber del Río, Juan, Casas-Rosal, José
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Church buildings; Cities; Cultural heritage; Culture; Festivals; Historic buildings & sites; Historic sites; Inscriptions; Multivariate statistical analysis; Polls & surveys; Public administration; Tourism; Tourists; Transportation systems
• ISSN: 2071-1050; 2071-1050
• DOI: 10.3390/su11051380

Madinat Al-Zahra is an ancient Arab palace located in Cordoba, Spain, which was proclaimed as part of the World Heritage of Humanity in 2018. The public administration must know the tourist motivations and interest in this heritage, as well as the satisfaction with Cordoba as destination and this Archaeological Ensemble. This article addresses these issues by analyzing and comparing motivations, expected and perceived value with the destination and those of the monument itself, using a Structural Equation Models methodology. Data was obtained from a survey of 375 tourists and the results showed that there is a high satisfaction with both destination and site, although these people perceive that this heritage is not integrated with the rest of the city attractions. In addition, the survey highlights that the transport system to the site is one of the most important weaknesses, among others. The results of this study offer valuable information related to this heritage.