Heritage and Wellbeing: The Impact of Heritage Places on Visitors’ Wellbeing

REVIEW BY LINDA MONCKTON

In this book, seven chapters chart the development of heritage-led wellbeing and present research into six heritage sites across three countries (and continents). Heritage here means ‘visiting’ a heritage site, museum, or gallery. It is unusual for a book in this space to consider trips to both museums and heritage sites, providing interesting contrasting results. They are not placed in competition, but used as a way to characterise what kinds of experiences and offers reap what kind of rewards or pitfalls.

Covering issues around evaluation and research methods, as well as turning the research results into strategies for engagement and management of sites, this book is relevant to those interested in heritage-led wellbeing and those trying to centre visitor experiences on wellbeing. Despite some minor editorial frustrations, the book should help ensure the shift in heritage interpretation from focusing on education and formal learning to human-centred experiences, both emotional and physical, is almost complete.