| Author: | Li, Jiaqi |
| Title: | Tourism and psychological well-being of Chinese intangible cultural heritage practitioners |
| Advisors: | Huang, Sabrina (SHTM) |
| Degree: | DHTM |
| Year: | 2024 |
| Subject: | Heritage tourism -- China Tourism -- Psychological aspects Intangible property -- Protection -- China Cultural property -- Protection -- China Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations |
| Department: | School of Hotel and Tourism Management |
| Pages: | xiii, 239 pages : color illustrations |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | The popularity of heritage tourism and the new conceptualization of intangible cultural heritage (hereinafter ICH) have given prominence to ICH practitioners. Although ICH practitioners have been interrupted by globalization, urbanization, and modernization in their spontaneous practice and transmission of ICH, many ICH practitioners have turned to tourism to sustain their livelihood and constantly recreate their ICH. In tourism, ICH practitioners engage in the production, delivery, and promotion of ICH in diversified tourism offerings when assume the role of the most immediate creators and custodians of their ICH. Although tourism development has been advocated for sustainable development and the well-being of ICH practitioners, a better understanding of the intricacy among ICH, ICH practitioners, and tourism is absent. Through the perusal of extant literature, a lacuna in exploring the views, practices, experiences, and well-being of ICH practitioners involved in tourism is identified. It is thus imperative and worthwhile to better understand the experience and well-being of ICH practitioners involved in tourism. To fill this void, this current study aimed to draw on theories from positive psychology to explore the psychological well-being of ICH practitioners, more specifically, focusing on Chinese ICH practitioners who make ICH in tourism. China was selected as the research context for its richest ICH elements inscription, increasingly elevated status of ICH-based tourism, “two ICH lists” administrative scheme, localization of the UNESCO-ICH paradigm, and more importantly, the influential and distinct Chinese cultural values. The objectives of this research were manifold: (1) to explore Chinese ICH practitioners’ experience and perception of ICH practice; (2) to explore how Chinese ICH practitioners are involved in tourism and their tourism working experience; (3) to explore the composition of psychological well-being for Chinese ICH practitioners involved in tourism as well as to identify the factors and conditions enabling/discouraging their psychological well-being; and (4) to explore how Chinese cultural values affect the psychological well-being of Chinese ICH practitioners involved in tourism. To achieve these research objectives, this study employed an emic and constructivism paradigm. More specifically, fieldwork was conducted in eight sites across Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture and Lijiang City in Yunnan Province of China for their rich ICH elements and the popularity of tourism. Thirty-one ICH practitioners who were skilled in craftsmanship were recruited. Semi-structured interviews, short surveys on Chinese cultural values, on-site observation, and video-elicitation techniques were adopted to generate rich findings. The study has elaborated on why and how Chinese ICH practitioners learned, withdrew, and then resumed ICH; how they were influenced by the administrative schemes and government policies; how they perceived ICH and what they have pursued in making ICH; how they integrated ICH into tourism offerings; how they interacted with others; as well as seasonality, everchanging market demand and inauthentic representations encountered by ICH practitioners. More importantly, the study constructed an integrated conceptual model of their psychological well-being encompassing components, manifestations, and enabling/discouraging factors. Moreover, the mechanism of Chinese cultural values affecting psychological well-being was demonstrated to give cultural sensitivity to the conceptualization of well-being. It is expected that the research outcomes will have plentiful theoretical and practical contributions. Theoretically, the study could embellish the theories of positive psychology and positive tourism, given the intricate interrelationship among ICH, ICH practitioners, and tourism. Furthermore, this investigation on Chinese ICH practitioners could expand the current theoretical landscape from the Western centering to the Asian context, offering a more nuanced, diversified, and alternative account of well-being. Practically, insights from this study could inform the government of policy making and implementation. It is hoped that favorable conditions and an advantageous environment will be provided for ICH practitioners to make ICH in tourism. Meanwhile, tourism operators could be enlightened on collaboration with ICH practitioners for more sustainable tourism development. Not only experienced practitioners should be retained but also younger generations could be attracted to be involved in ICH-making in tourism. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7795.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 2.04 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
Copyright Undertaking
As a bona fide Library user, I declare that:
- I will abide by the rules and legal ordinances governing copyright regarding the use of the Database.
- I will use the Database for the purpose of my research or private study only and not for circulation or further reproduction or any other purpose.
- I agree to indemnify and hold the University harmless from and against any loss, damage, cost, liability or expenses arising from copyright infringement or unauthorized usage.
By downloading any item(s) listed above, you acknowledge that you have read and understood the copyright undertaking as stated above, and agree to be bound by all of its terms.
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/13301