Representation and perceptions of industrial heritage in the higher Technological Education Institute in Greece: an empirical study

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a primary data survey conducted in Greece among the students of a higher technological education institute studying tourism business in order to empirically verify the degree of their awareness of and sensitization to the protection of the cultural and industrial heritage. As the graduates of this specific academic Department are going to work later in public and private organizations in the field of tourism, their attitude towards the industrial heritage of the country is crucial. The extent to which students accept it or disdain it will determine whether industrial heritage tourism could be possibly incorporated in the future in the promotion of the cultural product of the country, as a form of Special Interest Tourism (SIT). This paper is seeking on the one hand, to examine what students regard as industrial heritage, if they visit industrial/technical monuments/museums  in Greece, what their views are on the possible new uses of industrial resources and their importance to local communities; on the other hand, it is trying to identify whether young people today accept or reject, consciously or unconsciously, industrial heritage as being part of the cultural assets of a country