Bonding and dissonance: Rethinking the Interrelations Among Stakeholders in Heritage Tourism

This paper aims to extend understanding of the way Chinese domestic tourists and local communities understand and use the World Heritage Ancient Villages of Xidi and Hongcun. Tourism in each of these villages is managed differently, with the tourism companies respectively managed by a local collective and by an external operator. The paper argues that understanding the emotional engagement of tourists interacting not only with the heritage sites but also with residents allows a deeper understanding of the social impacts of tourism. Moreover, it reveals how historical and heritage meaning may be reinforced or remade through individual and collective tourism practices, and the consequences of local inclusion or exclusion in tourism management. Understanding the affective and emotional content of the cultural and social interactions of tourists and residents at these sites illustrates the agency of both tourists and residents in the making and remaking of heritage values and meaning.