NOSTALGIC TOURISM

Dale W. Russell

ABSTRACT. This article presents exploratory research that focuses on a segment of culturalconsumers who possess a yearning to connect with their ancestry. The article presents aconceptual framework to better understand the market segments within the cultural tourismindustry and argues for the need to better understand and study the segment of consumers whorely on tours to search for their own ancestral roots. A multimethod study conducted over thecourse of a 23-day bus tour is presented. Observational, interview, and survey data gatheredfrom tourists of British and Irish descent are used to test the proposed relationships.

KEYWORDS. Nostalgic, tourism, cultural

‘‘I really did the tour as a ‘roots’ exerciseand to fit many parts of the jigsaw puzzlethat is my heritage, the considerablereading and conceptual development of alifetime of being New Zealand/British inoutlook, and to enjoy the ‘green, greengrass of my ancestral home’ so to speak.’’(Male, 60, New Zealand)

According to the World Travel & TourismCouncil (2005), the world’s tourism industrycurrently accounts for US$4,746 billion, or10.6% of the world’s GDP, which representsthe largest global industry (MacCannell,2002). This number is forecasted to increaseto US$10,678 billion by 2015 and the num-ber of international tourists is expected totriple by 2020 (Conrad & Barreto, 2005).This growth is fueled in part by retirees,primarily from developed countries, whowere born immediately following WorldWar II—affectionately referred to as babyboomers—and who are now entering retire-ment age. In the United States alone, thereare over 77million baby boomers who

account for over $2.3 trillion in annualconsumer spending (PEW Research Center,2006). Perplexingly, older consumers havenot garnered much attention from market-ers, who typically focus their efforts onyounger demographics (Szmigin &Carrigan, 2001).

Tourism most often serves hedonisticpursuits; however, many of today’s retireesare using their savings to not only explorethe world, but also to seek a sense of self byreturning to the lands of their ancestors,while others are simply seeking out newcultural experiences. To this end, culturaltourism has been deemed one of the fastestgrowing segments within the tourism indus-try and has become a focus of interest fornational governments as well as interna-tional organizations such as the WorldTourism Organization and UNESCO (duCros, 2001; World Tourism Organization,2005).

Cultural tourism has been defined as‘‘visits by persons from outside the hostcommunity motivated wholly or in part by

Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, Vol. 25(2) 2008Available online at http://www.haworthpress.com# 2008 by The Haworth Press. All rights reserved.

doi: 10.1080/10548400802402271 103

Dale W. Russell is Assistant Professor, Department of Marketing, Faculty of Business, AucklandUniversity of Technology, Private Bag 92006, Auckland, 1142 New Zealand (E-mail: DaleRussell05@Fulbrightweb.org).

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interest in historical, artistic, scientific, orlifestyle/heritage offerings’’ (Silberberg,1995, p. 361). Where hedonic tourism hasbeen deemed a ‘‘nonrational’’ expenditure asit provides only pleasure to the tourist,cultural tourism may also be used to seek asense of self by glimpsing at one’s ancestralpast (MacCannell, 2002, p. 150).

There exists little academic consumerresearch relating to the cultural tourismsegment. Much of the research that doesexist treats the cultural tourism segment asan ‘‘undifferentiated market’’ (McKercher &du Cros, 2003, p. 46) which is contrary tomarketing theory that dictates the needs andwants of each market segment must beunderstood in order to develop a soundbusiness strategy (Kotler & Keller, 2006).Some efforts have been made to categorizeinternational cultural tourists into differingsegments; however, these categorizations donot fully capture market segmentations. Forinstance, McKercher (2002) identified andprovided a typology for five cultural tourismsegments: purposeful, sightseeing, casual,incidental, and serendipitous. These seg-ments are limited in scope as they are basedon the premise that internationally boundtourists desire to seek out and to learn aboutother cultures rather than their own(McKercher). As such, there is a segmentof cultural tourists that has not beenproperly accounted for as many of today’scultural tourists are not seeking othercultures, but rather insights into their ownancestral culture. The segment is referred tohere as nostalgic tourists.

Consumer research surrounding nostalgiais relatively new and sparse as academicshave given the construct little attention(Holak & Havlena, 1992; Holbrook &Schindler, 1991). The word nostalgia hasreceived numerous definitions in the con-sumer behavior literature (Holbrook, 1993).Nostalgia is defined here as ‘‘a sentimentalor bittersweet yearning for an experience,product, or service from the past’’ (Baker &Kennedy, 1994, p. 170). The nostalgic touristsegment is driven by a desire to fulfill theirancestral identity by consuming cultural

experiences. Two types of nostalgic touristsare identified: real and historical. A realnostalgic tourist is one who seeks to revisittheir past cultural environment and relivepersonal bygone experiences, such as anexpatriate returning home after a long hiatus(Baker & Kennedy). A historical nostalgictourist is one who seeks to visit an idealizedcultural environment that they have notdirectly experienced, but rather one thathas been conveyed to them through anindirect means (e.g., movies, books, stories)(Stern, 1992). Another useful distinction inunderstanding motivations for nostalgictourism is that historical nostalgia can taketwo forms: simulated or collective (Baker &Kennedy). Unlike real nostalgia, whichrefers to one’s experienced past, simulatednostalgia refers to the indirectly experiencedpast, which can be remembered through theeyes and stories of others; and collectivenostalgia refers to a past that ‘‘represents aculture, a generation, or a nation’’ (p. 171).These two types do not have to be lived andcan be triggered by external stimuli, includ-ing marketing appeals (Stern). In all cases,nostalgia allows people to maintain theiridentities, especially as they undergo majortransitions in their lives (Davis, 1979). Inparticular, nostalgia provides a mechanismby which past selves, even distant ones, arebrought forth into the present, hence provid-ing a sense of stability and continuity.

This segment of consumers is interestingas it exhibits behaviors contrary to thoseidentified in earlier studies. Previous researchhas observed that tourists visiting nationswith cultures similar to their own oftendisplay a lack of interest in deep culturaltourism experiences given that such experi-ences seem less exotic (McKercher, 2002).Oppositely, tourists from cultures of greaterdifference desire to experience the hostcountry’s culture (McKercher & Chow,2001), although they often do so superficially(Urry, 1990). The nostalgic tourist—whenvisiting the nation of his or her forbearers—actively seeks out and desires to experiencethe host country’s culture, even if the cultureis similar to their own. This exploration of

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their own cultural heritage in turn meansthat they process the experience in relation totheir self (Davis, 1979) and are more deeplyengaged in the experience, more absorbed inthe activities, and in turn more likely to betransported into the world they visit(Escalas, 2007; Green & Brock, 2000).

This segment of the market is of specialsignificance for the global tourism industryconsidering the large number of people whohave relocated internationally over the past 2centuries and the subsequent number ofdescendants desiring to learn about theirroots. As a case in point, of the UnitedStates’ 300+million—34million of whom arelegal immigrants—over 100million peopleare annually engaged in tracing their ances-tral roots (Fulkerson, 1995; U.S. CensusBureau, 2004). This segment therefore car-ries considerable market potential for thetourism industry when taking into accountthat 4% of the world’s population migratesannually, thereby leaving ancestral roots forfollowing generations to explore (Interna-tional Organization for Migration, 2003).Furthermore, previous research has demon-strated that marketing efforts which appealto a consumer’s nostalgic senses affect their‘‘empathy and idealization of self’’ andheightens product appeal (Stern, 1992, p. 11).

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

This article presents exploratory fieldresearch which seeks to add to the under-standing of cultural tourism, by exploringthe nostalgic tourist segment within it.Specifically, the research seeks to uncoverthe motivations driving nostalgic tourists, todescribe the nature of their experiencessearching for their own cultural heritage,and to assess the outcomes of their touristicendeavors. The world travel industry is largeand complex, as are the preferences andexpectations of its consumer base. Travelerstrek around the globe in differing modes oftransport or on foot for a multitude ofreasons; and within that reasoning theyhave varying degrees of expectations. The

relatively few participant observational stu-dies of consumers conducted in the tourismcontext (Seaton, 2002) have left a need tostudy each tour segment in a context-dependent environment (Fournier & Mick,1999). Relatedly, the extant literature hasargued for more market and discoveryoriented ethnographic research to betterunderstand specific consumer segments(Arnould & Wallendorf, 1994; Wells, 1993),in particular the nostalgic segment (Holak &Havlena, 1992). In response, this researchfocuses on consumers in search of theircultural heritage. A conceptual model andthe corresponding research propositions arefirst discussed. A multimethod study con-ducted over the course of a 3-week busexcursion across the British Isles is thenpresented which tests the proposed relation-ships with a sample of tourists of British andIrish descent.

RESEARCH PROPOSITIONS

A first key variable proposed to affect thenostalgic touristic experience is age. A senseof nostalgia can be experienced at any age(Holbrook & Schindler, 1994); however,nostalgic pursuits are a key travel motivatorfor the largest segment of older consumers(Sellick, 2004). As consumers grow olderthey frequently become reflective on life anddevelop a need for personal fulfillment thatcannot be satisfied by tangible goods. To thisend, older consumers often enter a phasewhereby they look to dispose of theirpossessions, which have both sentimentaland monetary value, while seeking satisfac-tion from intangibles (Price, Arnould, &Curasi, 2000). Baby boomers are nowspending more of their savings on selfgratification compared to previous genera-tions, thereby leaving smaller inheritances(Gokhale & Kotlikoff, 2003). Additionally,souvenirs are often viewed as tangible meansto encapsulate intangibly sacred and emo-tional experiences (Gordon, 1986). This isexpected to affect how consumers consumetheir ancestral touring experience, with older

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consumers seeking to maximize their ownintangible experience of their heritage whileseeking tangible goods for others with whomthey wish to share that experience. In thecontext studied here, intangible experiencesare captured by the number of experientialoptions purchased during the ancestral tour(excursions, visits) whereas tangible goodsrefer more traditionally to souvenirs, physi-cal objects purchased to capture the experi-ence. Therefore:

R1: The age of the tourist is positivelyrelated to the overall number of ancestraltour options purchased (R1A), negativelyrelated to the number of souvenirs pur-chased for oneself (R1B), and positivelyrelated to the number of souvenirs pur-chased for other people (R1C).

Previous research has attributed a con-sumer’s search for authenticity as a trek forfulfillment, comparable to that of a religiouspilgrim seeking enlightenment (Goulding,2000). This is even more salient for culturaltourists, especially those from Western cul-tures, whose desire to partake in authenticcultural experiences is often the primaryobjective of their trip (Grayson &Martinec, 2004; MacCannell, 1999). At thesame time, the cultural tourism industry hasbeen criticized for becoming increasinglycommoditized, thereby relegating those seek-ing authentic cultural experiences to makedo with ‘‘pseudo experiences’’ as authenticityis no longer achievable (Goulding, p. 2).Tourists are thus viewed as simply gazingat the places they visit (Urry, 1990).However, consumers use varying indicatorsto assess levels of authenticity which renderjudgments of authenticity subjective(Grayson & Martinec). Therefore, pseudoexperiences, such as those offered in excur-sions or visits to places of interest—herereferred to as tour options—are still capableof satisfying a consumer’s psychologicalneed for a sense of fulfillment, and indeedhigher levels of tour involvement have beenfound to arouse participant emotions(MacCannell, 2002; Neal, Sirgy, & Uysal,

1999). These pseudo experiences allow con-sumers to become more absorbed in theenvironment they visit, hence facilitating theprocess of narrative transportation (Green &Brock, 2000), defined as immersion into astory (Gerrig, 1994). Psychological researchhas shown that, whenever narrative trans-portation occurs, people suspend their dis-belief and become one with the narrative.Further to this process, nostalgic tourists,who are seeking their own past, process thetouristic experiences in relation to their self(Rogers, Kuiper, & Kirker, 1977); andprevious research has shown that this self-referencing process facilitates transportationand, in turn, absorption into the culturalexperiences (Escalas, 2007). As such, they arenot simply gazing (Urry, 1990) but actuallyimmersing themselves into the culturalexperience, thereby fulfilling their desire forauthenticity. Therefore:

R2: The number of ancestral tour optionspurchased is positively related to theperception of an authentic experience(R2A) and the fulfillment of the culturalexperience (R2B).

Previous research has found that consu-mers who are more involved in and identifywith an experience express higher levels ofoverall satisfaction (Kelly, Donnelly, &Skinner, 1990). Relatedly, consumers whohave their desires fulfilled should alsoexpress higher levels of overall satisfaction(Spreng & Olshavsky, 1993). Consumerdesire abstractly refers to the hopes offulfilling ‘‘the most basic and fundamentalneeds’’ of life (Spreng, MacKenzie, &Olshavsky, 1996, p. 16). A driver of overallsatisfaction could simply be the extent towhich consumers are satisfied with thecultural experience. Considering that overallsatisfaction is defined ‘‘as an affective statethat is the emotional reaction to a product orservice’’ (Spreng et al., 1996, p. 17), we mustalso take into account, in the ancestraltourism context, the consumer’s desire toobtain personal fulfillment by attaining asense of their cultural heritage and an

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ancestral perspective. This is captured inconsumers’ perceptions of the experience’sauthenticity (Grayson & Martinec, 2004).Therefore:

R3: The perception of an authenticexperience (R3A) and the fulfillment ofthe cultural experience are positivelyrelated to overall tour satisfaction (R3B).

Finally, tourist satisfaction is directlylinked to a consumer’s emotions elicitedafter a tour-related experience (Baker &Crompton, 2000). In turn, the overall levelof satisfaction affects repeat business andtour recommendation to others (Kozak,2001). Therefore:

R4: Overall tour satisfaction is positivelyrelated to the likelihood of recommendingthe tour to others and of using the tourcompany again.

STUDY

As with previous exploratory ethno-graphic research, and given the lack ofextant literature on ancestral tourists(Quiroga, 1990), the tour experience wasobserved directly (Arnould & Price, 1993;Belk, Wallendorf, & Sherry, 1989). Thisethnographic approach is deemed appropri-ate when assessing specific market segments,especially when seeking a contextualizedunderstanding of cultural experiences(Arnould & Wallendorf, 1994). The authorpartook in a 23-day all inclusive guided bustour of the United Kingdom (UK) and theRepublic of Ireland in the summer of 2005.Such all inclusive tours account for 13.4% ofthe UK’s tourism revenues, representingover US$1.31 billion in revenue (Smith,2008). This particular tour was selected asinquiries to the tour company indicated thathistorically nearly all of the customers whobought this package were of British or Irishdescent and generally resided in formercolonies. Therefore, it was anticipated that

this group of consumers would most likelyseek nostalgic cultural experiences.

According to the tour company, the tourwas designed to expose tourists to as muchof the UK and Ireland as possible in a shortperiod of time. The company primarilymarkets these tours through traditionaltravel agents and direct mail; although theyhave expanded their internet marketingefforts, potential clients are still directed toa traditional travel agent to purchase thepackage. Twenty optional tour excursions,costing over US$1,400 combined— a third ofthe price of the basic trip package (excludingair travel)—were offered to enhance the trip.These options ranged from taking a drivedeep into the Irish countryside for pints at alocal pub to a traditional Scottish feastfeaturing the Ceremony of the Haggis. Thetour guide received a commission for eachpurchased option.

The tour was led by a professional tourguide with nearly 20 years of experience. Theguide was an Irish lady in her mid-50s whowas a former primary school teacher. Thetour group consisted of 39 people (18 males/21 females, mean age of 59). This is in linewith previous research which found thatwomen more frequently tour by bus and thatover 67% of bus-bound tourists were aged 60or over (Dean, 1993). All of the tour groupmembers were from former British colonies,with 24 from Australia (AU), 3 from Canada(CA), 6 from New Zealand (NZ), and 6 fromthe United States (US). None of the tourgroup members had toured either the UK orIreland before. Annually, tourists from thesecountries comprise 18.2% of the UK’svisitors and 15.5% of Ireland’s visitors(Smith, 2008).

Methodology

The methodological approach was three-fold, comprising interviews, observations,and surveys. The triangulation of data servesas a validity check while also adding a betterunderstanding to the social behaviors andmeanings invoked from the experience

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(Arnould & Wallendorf, 1994; Grayson &Martinec, 2004; Hammersley & Atkinson,1995). In an effort to better observe the tourphenomenon, the author actively partook inthe bus tour and optional excursions. Theresearcher’s direct participation in the tourallowed for better understanding and appre-ciation of the nostalgic tourism phenom-enon, as well as detailed observations (Belket al., 1989). Additionally, tourism researchoften presents many complexities which arebest observed directly (Palmer, 2001).

Interview Process

The tour group met at the same hotel 2days prior to the onset of the tour. Theresearcher spent this period individuallyinterviewing the tour group members, whowere identifiable by nametags and easilylocatable because meal times were struc-tured. The researcher, a doctoral student,simply presented himself as a universitystudent working on a school paper abouttourism as not to place the participants onguard. Each group member was asked if theywould mind being interviewed concerningthe tour they were about to embark on. Allmembers of the group agreed to the inter-view. Couples were interviewed separately asto avoid response bias. The interviews wereexploratory in nature and sought informa-tion regarding the pretrip planning process,tour expectations, and general backgroundand demographic data. The interviews weresemistructured as not to be overly restrictiveand to allow for leeway in the discussions inan effort to solicit unforeseen information(Palmer, 2001). The interviews were digitallyrecorded and later transcribed to analyzethemes and assist the development of thesurvey instrument.

Observation Process

Participant observation in a guided tourformat is relatively hermetic and presentsmany advantages compared to other methodsof ethnographic observation. For example, insuch closed-field observations, the researcher

can immediately assimilate as the groupunder study initially forms, observe the groupmember’s behavior within the context ofinterest from start to finish, have samplingconfidence and role specification, and makemore detailed observations due to subjectproximity (Seaton, 2002).

An effort was made to observe all theactivities the tour group members engaged in(i.e., what they ate, bought, and did) andwhat they said when speaking aloud (noeffort was made to eavesdrop). Observationwas conducted at all times in public places,in the bus, during group visits; and before,during, and after meals. Generally, the grouptoured as a collective, even when the groupwas at liberty to venture off individually.This allowed for the group members to bemore easily observed, although it was notpossible to observe absolutely everythingthat group members did and said. As tomaximize participant observation and avoidinadvertently altering participant behavior,the researcher only interacted with the tourmembers outside of the role of a fellowtourist while conducting brief interviewsbefore the tour officially commenced andwhile administering surveys at the conclu-sion of the tour before the group dispersed(Adler & Adler, 1994). Otherwise, theresearcher maintained an unobtrusive profilein an effort not to detract from the naturaltour experience or bias later survey responses(Arnould & Wallendorf, 1994; Palmer,2001). The researcher made no other men-tion of the research project for the durationof the tour nor did any of the tour groupmembers make reference to it.

Survey

A paper survey was administered on thefinal day of the tour to all group members (n5 39) on the bus, while parked at a rest stop,2 hours before the tour concluded andeveryone parted ways. The instrument con-sisted of a series of statements to which therespondents indicated their level of agree-ment using a 5-item Likert-like scale. Theconstructs captured the themes identified

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during the interviews and items to measurethem were intermixed in the survey. Thenature of the fieldwork prevented the normalpretesting of the measures; however, scalereliabilities were generally good: pretripexpectations (5-item measure, a 5 .80; M5 3.74, SD 5 .71), perception of tour asancestral pilgrimage (4-item measure, a 5.90; M 5 3.51, SD 5 1.05), perception ofancestral tour experience as authentic (3-item measure, a 5 .91; M 5 3.31, SD 5 .95),cultural experience fulfillment (5-item mea-sure, a 5 .83; M 5 2.79, SD 5 .15), overalltour satisfaction (3-item measure, a 5 .92;M5 3.55, SD 5 1.05), and likelihood torecommend tour (4-item measure, a 5 .91;M 5 3.29, SD 5 1.01). The last series ofquestions addressed the number of optionaltours, the number of souvenirs bought foroneself, and the number of those bought forsomeone else. Demographic information wascollected, including age, gender, country oforigin, country of residence, and whether theancestors emanated from the UK or Ireland.Finally, the group was briefed about thenature of the research and written permis-sion was obtained to use the statementsprovided during the pretrip interviews andon the final survey; also, permission wasobtained to use the group’s tour photo.

FINDINGS

Table 1 reports all interconstruct correla-tions. Spearman’s correlation coefficient wasused given the small sample size (Hill &Lewicki, 2006). Qualitative excerpts from theinterviews and observations are also pre-sented to complement the findings andprovide richer insights.

Motivations Regarding the Tour

Thirty-three of the 39 respondentsreported that their ancestors hailed fromthe UK or Ireland. When asked using a 5-item Likert scale whether the tour was like apilgrimage, the same 33 considered the tripas such, while those without ancestors fromthe UK or Ireland did not (means 4.24 vs.1.00; t(37) 5 11.09, p , .05).

Respondent commentaries provide addi-tional insights into the motivation for takingthe tour. For instance, one participant(Female, 54, NZ) stated that ‘‘I wanted tosee the land of my ancestors. I have wantedto visit here ever since I was little… I alwaysthought the UK seemed liked this immensefar off land, so I wanted to visit.’’ Such amotivation was expressed by another parti-cipant (Male, 60, NZ) who explained that‘‘(he) wanted to see the ancestral lands of the

TABLE 1. Correlations

Variables Age SouvenirsBought ForOneself

SouvenirsBought ForOthers

AncestralTour

OptionsPurchased

PerceivedAncestralExperienceAuthenticity

CulturalExperienceFulfillment

Overall TourSatisfaction

Age 1Souvenirs Bought ForOneself

.71(*) 1

Souvenirs Bought For Others .59(*) 2.27 1Ancestral Tour OptionsPurchased

.63(*) 2.47(*) .43(*) 1

Perceived AncestralExperience Authenticity

.69(*) 2.57(*) .53(*) .86(*) 1

Cultural ExperienceFulfillment

.69(*) 2.41(*) .56(*) .67(*) .61(*) 1

Overall Tour Satisfaction .77(*) 2.51(*) .54(*) .90(*) .86(*) .70(*) 1Likelihood to Recommend/Use Again

.63(*) 2.44(*) .30 .91(*) .87(*) .56(*) .84(*)

*Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

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Empire.’’ The experience of pilgrimage wasbest captured in yet another participant’sown words: ‘‘I talked my husband intocoming with me to make a pilgrimage ofthe old ancestral homeland’’ (Female, 44,AU). Sometimes this notion of seeking one’sroots was even closer in time and precise inits connection to the person’s history, asexpressed by this participant: ‘‘I just came tosee where my people came from. I havewanted to visit for a long time… especiallythe Highlands as that is where my familymoved from in the 1900s’’ (Male, 62, AU).An American couple explained that they hadconducted genealogy research for manyyears and now they wanted to experiencefirsthand the places that they had only seenreference to on ancestral documents; thissame couple would often stroll through localcemeteries actively searching out ancestralnames on tombstones and hypothesizingabout potential relations or discussing theirknown ancestors. The search for one’sheritage through genealogy reflects a hybridexpression of nostalgia as it blurs thedistinction between lived and learned mem-ories made in previous research (Davis,1979). Whereas lived memories, referred toas personal nostalgia (Stern, 1992), arereflections that people have of their person-ally experienced past; learned memories, orhistorical nostalgia, are those nostalgic feel-ings based on external sources such as booksor stories (Stern). Through genealogicalresearch, learned memories indirectlybecome lived memories and this in turnmotivates the desire to directly experiencethe places and customs through ancestraltourism.

Unlike those who clearly sought theancestral experience, it was observed thatparticipants whose ancestors did not origi-nate from the UK or Ireland demonstratedless interest in the tour. On several occasions,these participants—who all accompaniedsomeone with ancestors from the locale—would pursue their own interests (e.g.,golfing, seeing a movie) rather than partak-ing in the scheduled tour events or attendtour options. One such participant, a Maori

New Zealander, who was married to awoman of British ancestry, expressed hismotivation for the tour in very differentterms than his wife, who expressed a desireto visit the places from which her family hadoriginated. For instance, although the hus-band commented that he was ‘‘interested inseeing the country that had dominated hisland for so long,’’ he would skip the tour toplay golf whenever possible. His own choiceof verbs (seeing rather than experiencing) isrevealing of the more distant stance he wasadopting. His behavior and commentary arethus more reflective of the tourist gazingphenomenon described by Urry (1990).

Unlike tourist gazers who observe ‘‘theother’’ (Love & Sheldon, 1998), nostalgictourists are motivated by a search of theirown identity. The physical pilgrimage totheir ancestral land allows them to deepentheir sense of cultural identity. Previousresearch has indeed shown that consumingtraditional signs and symbols of a nationalidentity, such as Scottish whiskey or IrishGuinness beer, are a way of constructingmeanings that influence people’s conceptionsof self. The participants’ common utilizationof possessives such as ‘‘my family,’’ ‘‘myhome,’’ or ‘‘my heritage’’ to refer to theplaces visited is clear evidence of self-referencing in the experience of the ancestraltour (Escalas, 2007). The language alsoreflects that national identity is self-ascribed(Despres, 1975), not bounded by geographi-cal space but merely characterized by a senseof collective identity (Combes, Hibbert,Hogg, & Varey, 2001).

The Effect of Aging

As proposed, age was significantly andpositively related to the overall number oftours options purchased (R1A), negativelyrelated to the number of souvenirs purchasedfor oneself (R1B), and positively related tothe number of souvenirs purchased for otherpeople (R1C).

Participants’ commentaries provide addi-tional insights concerning the motivation forpurchasing tour options. Often, the rationale

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for spending extra money on the touroptions was expressed in humorous ways.For instance, one participant (Male, 81, US)stated ‘‘it is only money and you can’t take itwith you; and where I am going that papermoney is going to burn anyway.’’ However,it was sometimes more serious concerns anda more pragmatic realization of death’simminence that drove the decisions. Oneparticipant (Male, 75, AU) explained ‘‘mywife and I wanted to visit here before ourhealth declined. I had a stroke last year andshe has been diagnosed with cancer. She wastold that she only has a year or so to live andI could have another stroke any day so wethought we had better get on with it beforewe die off’’; and when commenting on thehigh price of the tour options, the sameparticipant stated ‘‘but this is our big, andperhaps last, outing so it is worth everypence.’’

In regards to tangible acquisitions, whenasked about the number of gifts purchased,one participant (Female, AU, 67) explained‘‘I want to take back some souvenirs fromhere so that my family can share myexperience… I personally don’t need anymore stuff cluttering my house.’’ However,sharing the experience was not only limitedto the purchase of souvenirs. Two femalemembers of the tour group, who were notassociated, created scrapbooks that con-tained photos, clippings from brochures,and commentary; one (Female, 56, NZ)stated ‘‘I am putting together a scrapbookwhile on the trip to share with our familyback home so that they can see what they aremissing out on.’’ Overall, it was observedthat participants sought to purchase mean-ingful and authentic souvenirs (e.g., Scottishwool clothing, locally distilled Irish whiskey)while avoiding regular tourist souvenirs (e.g.,t-shirt with locality name, statute of Big Ben,postcards). To this end, many participantswent off the beaten path to purchasetraditional local items. For instance, suchtreks included venturing to grocery stores fortraditional food items they were not able topurchase at home; some items were foodthey had heard of but never eaten, things

that relatives had once sent from the UK orIreland, or even ingredients required to maketraditional meals. Another example includedgoing to local hardware stores to purchasetraditional home accessories such as doorknobs or Gaelic signs. Every town visitedincluded such purchases and trips to the postoffice to mail the goods back to their homes,where they intended to distribute the items toothers as gifts.

The relationship between aging and theintangible experiences associated with ances-tral tourism indicates that the approach ofdeath and the increasing salience of one’smortality motivate a yearning for one’s pastand a turn to the exploration of one’sidentity. Indeed, nostalgia and the consump-tion of nostalgic tangibles and intangibleshave been shown to contribute to an under-standing of one’s self and social identity(Brown & Humphreys, 2002).

Perceptions of Authenticity and CulturalFulfillment

As expected, the number of ancestral touroptions purchased was significantly andpositively related to both the perception ofexperience authenticity (R2A) and fulfill-ment of the cultural experience (R2B).Insights into the decisions to purchase touroptions transpired in the interviews. Oneparticipant (Male, 62, AU) explained hisdecision to attend all of the traditional mealsand performances as picking ‘‘the ones that Ithought would give the best insight into thetraditions and some history… more thoughtfor the buck.’’ His sentiment was echoed bytwo others who stated ‘‘I am going to theevents just to enhance the tour experienceand experience as much of the local life-styles’’ (Male, 66, AU) and ‘‘I think it isimportant to take in as much of the cultureas possible… we are done saving money forretirement and are now off to empty thebank. We have already told our kids that weare spending their inheritance’’ (Male, 64,AU). Although obviously meant as ahumorous take, this last comment revealsthe tension that financial constraints exert on

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the balancing between the exploration ofone’s past and the legacy left to one’schildren. For the majority of participants,who came mainly from middle class back-grounds, years of planning and saving hadpreceded the trip, hence making it into aneven more meaningful and sacrificial endea-vor. Across many interviews, it was clearthat nostalgic tourists had made a consciousand highly motivated decision to turn totheir own past. In fact, this echoes thefinding discussed above that souvenirs wereoften purchased as a tangible symbol of theexperience and pass down the lineage, hencetransforming monetary inheritance into sym-bolic encapsulations of the inherited past.For instance, several couples actively soughtand purchased numerous traditional Gaelicand Welsh children books for their grand-children for the express purpose of exposingthem to their ancestral culture; one couplebought so many such books that they had tosend them home via post.

Other tour participants, generally youngermembers, desired to consume more touroptions but expressed financial constraints;for example, one tour member (Female, 44,AU) stated ‘‘I thought it would be fun toexperience the traditional folk dances andlisten to the traditional Gaelic music of myheritage. I would have liked to attend moreof them, but I have already spent my annualallowance on this trip, so my husband tellsme.’’

Observations also provided insights intothe search for authenticity and the role thatself-referencing and narrative transportationplay in the process. For example, in onetown in Northern Ireland, a participant(Female, 48, AU) was visibly moved by thesight of a former demarcation line betweenthe Protestant and Catholic areas of thetown as her family had lived in the town butleft the country for reasons of safety beforeher birth. In speaking to those around her,she expressed a sense of fulfillment inreturning to the town as her family had notreturned since they first left. She visitedmany locations (e.g., church, school, herparents’ former residence) in the town which

she had seen in family photos. She wasexcited at the prospect of showing herparents photos of her at the places theythemselves had grown-up knowing. Itappeared that she acquired a higher senseof connectedness both with her parents andher heritage by being able to have photos ofherself in places familiar to her family’s past.

Overall Satisfaction and SubsequentEffects

A regression was conducted to test therelationship between perception of anauthentic experience (R3B) and fulfillmentof the cultural experience (R3A) on overallsatisfaction. Both were found to be signifi-cantly related to satisfaction (standardizedbeta coefficients .69 and .29 respectively, p ,.05). Of course, due to the cross-sectionalnature of the data collection, causality couldnot be established. This is not surprising asprevious research has found crossover effectsof experience attributes when assessing aconsumer’s judgment of an experience(Oliver, 1993).

As predicted, the overall tour satisfactionwas significantly and positively related to thelikelihood of recommending the tour andalso of using the tour company again (R4).This finding is supported by participantresponses when asked why they elected topartake in a guided tour conducted on atourist coach. The general belief among therespondents was that, compared to othermodes of traveling, this form of touringallows travelers to better experience theforeign locale while at the same time travel-ing in comfort and being alleviated ofdriving, locating lodging, or even handlingtheir luggage. In short, they get to spendextra time seeing and experiencing more ofwhat they perceive to be the real foreignenvironment. In fact, it was quite commonfor the respondents to comment that othertourists were missing out on some aspect oftheir travels. This is a very important factorfor this group of tourists as they seek morethan a vacation that provides simple hedonicgratification; rather, they are in search of a

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glimpse into their cultural heritage. Inessence, a trip of this nature melds serviceand cultural consumption.

Limitations

This study is limited by the relatively smallsample size which does not allow for the useof multivariate data analysis. Also, thisparticular excursion only represents one ofnumerous guided tours offered annually inthe UK and Ireland. However, additionaltours could not be studied due to financialrestraints. There are also limitations due tothe cross-sectional and ethnographic natureof this study which cannot establish causallinkages between the different constructs.

DISCUSSION

The global tourism industry is experien-cing unprecedented growth as more peopleseek its services and as more competitionenters the marketplace. Both the UK and theRepublic of Ireland have experienced steadygrowth in tourism; today tourism generatesUS$9,749 billion and US$2,574million,respectively (Central Statistics Office, 2007;Smith, 2008). Due to increased competition,tourism companies have had to reassess theirbusiness models in order to look for newniche opportunities, which can positivelybenefit the tourism industry as a whole(Gross & Brown, 2006). This effort requiresthat the needs and expectations of eachspecific tour segment be more clearly identi-fied as to enable marketers to arouse theemotional aspects of the tourism experienceand improve consumer satisfaction (Hosany,Ekinci, & Uysal, 2006; Spreng et al., 1996).As presented here, one such niche opportu-nity is to cater to nostalgic tourists, who arein search of authentic cultural experiencesthat allow them to seek their ancestral roots.For instance, to the average tourist, guidedbus tours offer a ‘‘unique blend of noveltyand adventure and safety’’ (Dean, 1993,p. 60) but to the nostalgic tourist; however,touring by bus offers much more—it offers a

novel firsthand experience of one’s ancestralroots (Quiroga, 1990).

Nothing is more fundamental to a soundmarketing strategy than understanding andcatering to the needs and desires of con-sumers (Keith, 1960). To this end, the properdevelopment of tourist segments requiresthat the tourism industry properly under-stand the tourists’ pretrip expectations andto assess their posttrip perceptions (Ibrahim& Gill, 2005). Such an understanding isimportant for travel companies as to bettertarget tourist subsets and appropriatelyposition their travel package offerings, espe-cially at a time when the global tourismmarket faces more intense competition. Tothis end, the limited scope of the posttripconsumer satisfaction survey administeredby the tour company (a major internationalcompany), which consisted of only 10 ques-tions concerning the service delivered by thedriver and guide, with no reference to thetour experience itself. It is important thattour companies increase their efforts tobetter understand pretrip expectations andposttrip perceptions in order to deliver abetter customer experience and therebypromote repeat business and positive word-of-mouth. The latter was of significantimportance for the subjects in this study asthe majority (33) became aware of this tourfrom others with a similar ancestral history(i.e., Anglo-Saxons).

This study has attempted to add to theunderstanding of consumer behavior of a spe-cific segment within the tourism industry—thenostalgic tourists. The study provides evidencethat, as consumers get older, they increasinglyseek out intangible experiences that helpthem connect with their ancestral roots. Thestudy presents a notable departure from thepost-modern view of the tourist as a gazer(Urry, 1990). Instead, the findings provideinsights into the self-referencing and narra-tive transportation processes that ensue whenconsumers seek their own past, therebyremoving the skepticism and disbelief oftenassociated with touristic endeavors. As such,the ancestral tourism experience involvessustained immersion and active interpretation

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that continue even after conclusion of the tour(Urry, 1992). This study has also demon-strated that the perception of authenticity andthe fulfillment of cultural experiences areimportant determinants in fostering repeatbusiness and soliciting favorable recommen-dations. As such, in order to improve custo-mer satisfaction, tour companies shouldconsider integrating what are now supple-mental tour options into the regular packageoffering in an effort to improve authenticexperience perceptions.

Future research on nostalgic tourists shouldstrive to utilize experimental methodologies tomanipulate consumers’ perceptions to influ-ence their responses, ideally in a real worldsetting and in differing tourism contexts. Theprocesses affecting narrative transportationand its outcomes have been studied experi-mentally in social psychology and the samemethodology could be used to test whetherand how self-referencing or perceptions ofauthenticity affect consumers’ touristicexperiences. Unlike cross-sectional surveyapproaches, experimental approaches allowthe testing of different conditions whilecontrolling for factors other than thosemanipulated, hence providing assessment ofcausality (Carlsmith, Ellsworth, & Aronson,1990). Additional research in this area wouldhelp marketers develop better targeted cam-paigns and promote the distinctive nostalgicattributes of the tour destination based onconsumers’ emotional needs (Hosany et al.,2006).

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SUBMITTED: November 5, 2007FINAL REVISION SUBMITTED:

February 15, 2008ACCEPTED: February 26, 2008REFEREED ANONYMOUSLY

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