More than Just Signs: Designing Interpretive Experiences for Heritage Management

More than Just Signs

Designing Interpretive Experiences for Heritage Management

Sponsors: Tourism and Protected Area Specialist Group/IUCN, PUP Global Heritage Consortium, National Association for Interpretation

Speakers: Jon Kohl (PUP director), Marisol Mayorga (professor of ecotourism and interpretation, University of Costa Rica, doctoral student in heritage interpretation, Kansas State University), Clark Hancock (PUP treasurer, interpretive consultant)

Moderator: Emily Jacobs, Training Coordinator, National Association for Interpretation

Free and open to the first 100 people who enter the webinar on 29 October

Any mention of the word “interpretation” typically evokes thoughts of signs, exhibits, trails, and even language translators. Interpretation is just as easily confused with education or conveyance of information, rather than management of all the interior forces that influence the guest experience.

While tourism providers typically manage the exterior conditioning factors of the visitor experience, interpreters also facilitate the creation of connections between the guest and the interpreted heritage. Through this facilitation and the deepening of the relationship, the visitor comes to appreciate, and perhaps even love the park´s heritage, and thus becomes disposed to protect it. In this way, interpretation can be used as a communication strategy to evoke guest, visitor, or public support for heritage and conservation objectives.

This latest webinar in the TAPAS Group Series, this time produced in partnership with PUP Global Heritage Consortium (PUP) and National Association for Interpretation (NAI), will explore what interpretation really is, how to design the guest experience with a strong interpretive component, and how the deepening of relationships can lead to a variety of positive social outcomes related to heritage management.