Sense of place and willingness to pay for historical and cultural places in Sri Lanka

Abstract

This study aims to examine the relationship between sense of place and willingness to pay for historical and cultural places in the Sri Lankan context. Sigiriya Rock Fortress, Sri Lanka is the focus of this study. To this end, sense of place factors__ identity and place dependence__ were identified and measurement scales were developed by reviewing the literature. This work uses a survey of 300 both local and international visitors who visited the Sigiriya in Sri Lanka, and examines the concepts of sense of place and willingness to pay. The regression analysis has been conducted to examine how factors related to sense of place predict the willingness to pay. The results show that ‘special qualities’ of this historical and cultural place encourage for higher visitation and willingness to pay for conserving Sigiriya Rock Fortress by both international visitors and local visitors. In addition, ‘symbolic place’ is related to willingness to pay for by international visitors. Incorporation of both local and international visitors’ perceptions add more insights into the phenomenon studied. The influences are context determined and culturally varied. This is one of the less studied aspects in Sri Lankan context, but understanding the conservation value that the visitors have for this type of historical and cultural place is important in the sphere of maintaining these places under the limited government budgets. Further, the findings of this empirical study can be useful for planners, architects, real estate developers and policy makers for their investment, maintenance of historic and cultural places and heritage location decisions.