More than pretty buildings

university-of-waikato

Thu Mar 26 2009 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

More than pretty buildings

Thursday, 26 March 2009, 3:32 pm
Press Release: University of Waikato

Media Release
26 March, 2009

When some people visit Hawkes Bay’s Art Deco buildings they’re reminded of Agatha Christie novels. Others think about King Kong, or old aunties wearing furs, or more simple times.

What’s clear is that the Art Deco, Spanish Mission and stripped classical buildings in the Bay are often more of a tourist experience than simply looking at attractive or different forms of architecture. They provide an opportunity for reflection and nostalgia.

Greg Willson, a tourism PhD student at Waikato University wrote his masters thesis on the Art Deco buildings of Hawkes Bay and the tourist experience, and his findings have now been published in a book put out by German academic publisher Verlag Dr Mueller.

Willson spent 15 months in Hawkes Bay interviewing international tourists, from low-budget travellers to big spenders. “I found that people visit heritage sites for all sorts of reasons, and tourism operators need to know what the customer wants. It’s more than value for money. Often the experience is more about the less tangible benefits or hidden qualities,” Willson says.

“So I was interested in finding out about the deeper levels of the tourism experience.”

And financially, from a tourism operator’s point of view, Willson wanted to know how adapting the buildings would impact the tourist experience. “For example, if owners of an old art deco building want to install a café, would that satisfy the tourists or destroy the experience? Would tourists be prepared to pay more to visit a building if they were helping to ensure its preservation? To what extent would tourists tolerate changes to buildings, perhaps making them more comfortable, but less authentic? Would that make the visit more or less appealing?”

Greg Willson thinks his research will interest other people working in heritage areas, and also planners, developers and councils. “It’s not just about buildings looking good, there’s an emotional attachment that needs to be addressed too.”

Interestingly, buildings that were brightly coloured were the ones people talked about most.
ends

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