Storytelling in heritage tourism: an exploration of co-creative experiences from a tourist perspective

Storytelling has been posited as a co-creative tool to increase visitor engagement and experience memorability. However, a lack of knowledge exists regarding its role, implementation and impact in museum and heritage tourism settings. This exploratory work investigates how it applies in these settings. A storytelling tour was implemented at the Islamic Museum of Tavira, Portugal. Methodologically, this study adopted a qualitative approach, using the focus groups method. Three groups of participants were invited to participate and then data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results show the impact of storytelling on visitors’ emotional engagement, imagination and memorability. From this study’s findings, a conceptual model of the heritage experience integrating storytelling is proposed to support the design of heritage experiences at museums. Moreover, future research is recommended on digital technology and multi-media application in the heritage experience, and also on causal relationships between storytelling and other elements of heritage experiences.