The attitudes of the local population toward the importance of cultural and historical heritage

Abstract

The cultural and historical heritage of an area represents a significant part of the lives and work of the population living in that area. In addition to being an integral part of the local identity, it also has tourist significance. The Municipality of Pale (Bosnia and Herzegovina) has significant cultural resources and as such has higher prerequisites for developing various types of tourist activities. The aim of the research presented in this paper is to determine the attitudes of the residents of Pale toward cultural and historical heritage. The authors examined the attitudes of the people of Pale toward the importance of cultural and historical heritage at the local and national level, its importance for the development of tourism and economic prosperity as well as the improvement of the life quality. The attitude of the population of Pale toward the importance of cultural and historical heritage protection is examined, as well. The paper also analyzes whether there is a difference in the attitudes of the people with regard to gender, age, education, and employment. For this research, we used a quantitative methodology to analyze respondents? attitudes based on descriptive statistical techniques and nonparametric tests. The main results of our survey revealed that positive residents? attitudes toward cultural heritage prevail. Also, the study revealed that there is no statistically significant difference in the residents? attitudes in relation to gender, but that there is a significant difference in attitudes in relation to age, education, and employment.