Finding value in a heritage landscape: The visitors’ perception study - Theory and Practice in Hospitality and Tourism Research - page 558

Table 2. Respondent's perception ( n = 215). and visitors to enjoy. The management of tourism

in historic towns includes considerations for infor-
mation and interpretation, commerce, cultural
experience, traffic/transport and pedestrian. Some
of the recommendations from this study include
the following:

4.1 Promotion and publicity in media
As mentioned by Ziegler and Kidney (1980) about
the role of newspapers in publicizing and sup-
porting community-based historic preservation
projects, it becomes clear that a place like Bukit
Melawati also needs to be publicized in the media
such as newspapers and television. It would be a
good idea if local newspapers could write articles
about Bukit Melawati and highlight its history
especially the story on Selangor's Sultan Ibrahim
built a fortress on the hill of Bukit Melawati in an
effort to resist the invading Dutch forces. This is
a story worth being highlighted in the media in
order to stimulate interests from people and visi-
tors alike.

4.2 Improved facilities
In the findings of the research some 7 percent of
respondents mentioned about improving facilities
at Bukit Melawati as one of the ways to stimulate
more visitors' interest towards the place. This is a
small figure if we only look at the number. How-
ever, the researcher would like to point out that
in reality, or at the site, there were many facilities
that have been damaged or broken due to van-
dalism and other factors. These facilities include
benches, rock stairs and lamp posts. Not only
these facilities could not be used by visitors, they
also affected the view at Bukit Melawati. This
problem could degrade the place's aesthetic val-
ues if no action is taken to repair or replace the
damaged facilities.

landscape in the media such as television, the need
to provide guidebooks and the need for a more
attractive main entrance. The improvements to be
made on these factors will therefore increase the
people's knowledge and awareness of Bukit Mela-
wati which will in the end also increase its tourism
potential.

4.3 Enhanced signage
Fifty eight percent of respondents agreed that
the interpretative signages at Bukit Melawati are
informative and attractive. This is significant if
we only look at the number. However at the site,
there were many signage's which are worn out and
damaged to the point that the texts could hardly
be read by visitors let alone understand its mean-
ings. Shackley (2000) highlighted the function of
interpretative signage at heritage landscape sites
to aid the visitors in discovering its history. Hence,
without interpretative signage with clear texts on
them, it would be difficult for visitors to read and
discover the history of the place.

5 RECOMMENDATIONS

According to Orbasli (2000), heritage management
is the management of visitors in the interest of the
historic fabric and the enhancement of visitor
appreciation and experience. Visitor management
is not only a matter of traffic or pedestrian flow
management but involves imaginative solutions to
enhance visitors experience, maintain a favorable
reputation for the destination, and ensure a high
quality environment for residents to live and work,