Evaluating the Legacy of the World War One Centenary in British Tourist Experiences at the Western Front

该项目的主要目的是评估第一次世界大战一百周年的庆祝活动如何影响英国游客对西线文物的消费，更具体地说，是在比利时的伊珀地区。伊普尔（伊普尔）是英国游客的历史中心，因为这里有重要的纪念项目，如梅宁门纪念碑和泰恩科特公墓，这是英国最大的第一次世界大战公墓，因为它是臭名昭著的帕斯尚代尔战役（第三次伊普尔战役）的所在地。百年纪念活动将第一次世界大战推向了公众意识中的新地位。然而，在百年纪念之前，到这个地区的游客人数一直在稳步上升，随着与战争的时间距离越来越远，一些人担心情感联系正在消退，它只是一个旅游景点，而不是一个纪念和教育的地方。关于游客如何与西线遗产项目互动的广泛研究，其中大多数评论的重要性，或质疑百年庆典的影响，本研究旨在回答这些问题。毫无疑问，这个为期四年的活动将带来更多的游客，但重要的问题是：游客体验的性质是否发生了变化？是什么导致了这种变化？这些变化是否仅限于某些群体，例如年龄群体？记忆遗址是否会像其他可能以教育为重点的遗产项目一样经历变化？这项研究将进一步探索作为遗产的记忆地点与其他遗产地点的关系，这些遗产地点可能倾向于教育而不是记忆。随着与冲突的时间距离越来越远，这些地点之间的分歧是否会随着它们实现类似目的而恶化？还是为了保持《记忆之地》的情感共鸣，他们被分开了？百年纪念给这些地方带来的大量关注是否加速了之前的趋势，还是催生了新的变化？

The primary aim of this project is to evaluate how the Centenary celebrations for the First World War have impacted on British tourists consumption of items of heritage on the Western Front, and more specifically in the area of Ieper, Belgium. Ieper (Ypres) is a historical centre for British tourists due to the locality of major items of remembrance such as the Menin Gate memorial and Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest British First World War Cemetery, as it is the site for the infamous Battle of Passchendaele (Third Battle of Ypres). The Centenary celebrations have propelled the First World War to a new status in the public consciousness. Tourist numbers to this area have been steadily rising before the Centenary, however, as the temporal distance to the conflict grows some fear that the emotional connection is fading and it is becoming merely a tourist attraction, and not a place of remembrance and education.There is extensive research on how visitors have come to interact with items of heritage on the Western Front, most of which comment on the importance, or question the impact of the Centenary celebrations and this study aims to answer those questions. Undoubtedly more visitation will result from the four year event, however the important questions are: Have the nature of visitors experiences changed and what has caused this change? Are these changes limited to certain groups, e.g. age? Do Sites of Memory experience changes in the same manner as other items of heritage that may be educationally focused?The study will look to further explore the relationship of Sites of Memory as items of heritage to other heritage sites that are perhaps lean towards education rather than remembrance. As the temporal distance to the conflict grows are the divisions between these sites deteriorating as they come to fulfill a similar purpose? Or are they being driven apart in an attempt to maintain the emotional resonance of Sites of Memory? Has the influx of attention brought to these sites by the centenary accelerated previous trends or has it spawned new changes?