BARON FOR A DAY: GUESTS’ PERCEPTION OF HISTORICAL PAST IN CASTLE HOTELS
BARON FOR A DAY: GUESTS’ PERCEPTION OF HISTORICAL PAST IN CASTLE HOTELS

Summary/Abstract: Heritage destinations convey important messages to those in quest of historical past and identity. Interpretation of these destinations can contribute to the (re)building of national identity. Castle hotels are destinations that combine heritage and hospitality. Castle hotels’ image as a tourism destination is primarily a place of luxurious conditions, accommodation with landscape park, built and owned by aristocrats. They convey the image of luxury and aristocratic lifestyle, high-class amenities and therefore they offer ideal settings for experiencing luxurious lifestyle environment of aristocrats of past era. The paper investigates castle hotel guests’ attitudes and perceptions of historical past with the objective of understanding underlying motivations resulting in destination selection. The question is raised: can the connection to one’s past - evoked by these heritage destinations - be detected and can it contribute to the reinforcement of national identity?

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