**Abstract**

The present chapter investigates the **emerging paradigm of cultural heritage experience**, as shaped by the continuous advances in information technologies. Recent years have seen the growing **digitisation** of cultural heritage, leveraged by innovative information technologies (imaging technologies, multimedia, virtual reality etc.). **Advanced digitisation, and digital preservation and accessibility** have been instrumental in transforming conservation and scientific research methods in the field of cultural heritage, as well as people's experience of cultural heritage assets, relics, and monuments. Digitisation and **immersion technologies** are already in use in the context of cultural tourism in museums and on location. At the same time, a manifold of new applications and services can be generated from the adoption and adaptation of relevant technologies already applied in other sectors (e.g. 2D/3D digital scanning technologies applied in the construction industry). The present chapter will provide a thorough review of relevant digital technologies and existing work in the field, highlighting important research efforts and achievements; and will discuss the current challenges and promising avenues for future work. Following a literature review methodology, our research will provide a critical appraisal of carefully selected work from recent scientific literature and contribute to the systematisation of the current knowledge in the field towards the identification of key challenges and the extraction of new insights in terms of potential for practical applications and future research directions in the area.

**Keywords:** cultural heritage, heritage experience, virtual heritage, digitisation, immersive technologies

## **1. Introduction**

UNESCO [1] defined **cultural heritage** as "the entire corpus of material signs either artistic or symbolic, handed on by the past to each culture and therefore to the whole of mankind". It thus represents "the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations" [1].

Ramos & Mafé-García [2] explain that cultural heritage includes "physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a place or society that are inherited from past generations". Cultural Heritage is thus an expression of the ways of living developed by a community and passed on from generation to generation, including customs, practices, places, objects, artistic expressions and valuesThis includes **both tangible and intangible elements,** namely (a) tangible heritage assets, such as buildings, monuments, archaeological sites and locations of cultural significance, books, material objects including works of art (paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, etc.), objects of the decorative arts (furniture, glassware, textiles, ceramics, etc.) and other artefacts, landscapes and natural heritage; and (b) intangible heritage assets, such as oral traditions, arts, rituals, folklore, language, and knowledge [2–4]. **Intangible cultural heritage** is described as a set of "practices, representations, expressions, as well as the knowledge and skills including instruments, objects, artefacts, cultural spaces" that are recognised as part of national heritage [5]. Cultural heritage is an evolving concept that experiences continuous reinterpretation and extension. Rather than representing concrete objects or artefacts, cultural heritage is increasingly regarded as a process, featuring a complex set of meaning, values, associations and related concepts [6].

The recently introduced term "**Digital cultural heritage**" describes cultural resources that were created in digital form (for example digital art or animation) or were digitised as a way to preserve them (including text, images, video and records) [7].

UNESCO [1] further notes that cultural heritage is not only a source for business and economy, but a fundamental condition for the maintenance and development of society and its economy. In terms of value, cultural heritage assets comprise both economic and cultural value. Cultural value is a complex concept that spans several dimensions: aesthetic, spiritual/religious, social, historical, symbolic and authenticity value [8]. Accordingly, "the **experience** of cultural heritage is varied according to the person's realm of experience, the setting of the experience, and the intent of the experience from the point of view of the participator and the provider" [9]. A visitors' overall engagement and satisfaction, and quality of experience are interlinked with the attributes of the heritage site [10, 11].

The most readily accessible experience of cultural heritage is in the realm of **tourism** [9]. For the tourism industry, **culture and heritage** represent an important asset for generating economic value. New types of tourism offerings have emerged, drawing on culture and heritage, and focusing on aspects such as **a site's built/historical heritage, popular culture, living culture, shared culture, cultural events, culinary culture etc.** The European Travel Commission (ETC) describes international cultural tourism as "a movement of persons to specific cultural attractions, such as, heritage sites, artistic and cultural manifestations, arts and drama to cities outside their normal country of residence". With tourists seeking more diversified, engaging and intellectual experiences [12], the tourism sector is shifting towards more experience-based products [13]. Culture **emerges as a key motivation for travelling among tourists.** Heritage tourism is growing in popularity, transforming cultural heritage into one of the principal attractions of a tourism destination and increasing the importance of cultural heritage preservation and valorisation.

McKercher et al. [14] stress the complexity of cultural tourism, as reflected in the variety of perspectives adopted for its definition: tourism-derived, motivational, experiential and operational. ICOMOS [15] describes cultural tourism as a form of tourism whose object includes the discovery of monuments and sites. Richards [16] defines **heritage tourism** as 'the movement of persons to cultural attractions away from their normal place of residence, with the intention to gather new information and experiences to satisfy their cultural needs'.

*Novel Ways of Discovering, Capturing and Experiencing Cultural Heritage: A Review… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99170*

There are different types of **"cultural tourists",** in terms of the segmentation of these in heritage destinations [14, 17]. Cultural tourism is shaped as a combination of four elements: tourism, use of cultural heritage assets, consumption of experiences and products and the tourist [18].

Cultural tourists in growing numbers pursue an in-depth appreciation and understanding of different aspects of the culture and heritage of the places they visit. Cultural heritage tourists are in search of authentic experiences associated with a variety of cultural traits that are linked to distinct geographic locations. Dallen [19] highlights this diversity, stating that cultural heritage tourism "encompasses **built patrimony, living lifestyles, ancient artifacts and modern art and culture**". The importance of culture and the importance of the cultural experience may also vary among visitors [20], the scale and depth of the information that the tourists have regarding this place likewise.

Recent years have seen the growing digitisation of cultural heritage, leveraged by innovative information technologies (imaging technologies, multimedia, virtual reality etc.). Advanced digitisation, and digital preservation and accessibility have been instrumental in transforming conservation and scientific research methods in the field of cultural heritage, as well as people's experience of cultural heritage assets, relics, and monuments. Digitisation and immersion technologies are already in use in the context of cultural tourism in museums and on location. At the same time, a manifold of new applications and services can be generated from the adoption and adaptation of relevant technologies already applied in other sectors (e.g. 2D/3D digital scanning technologies applied in the construction industry).

On the consumer side, technology is driving change in lifestyles. New forms of tourism are emerging in the place of conventional tourism. Alsos et al. [13] note a transition of the tourism sector towards more experience-based products. Experiences are inherently personal. When a person buys an experience, they pay for a memorable event staged by the experience provider to engage them in an inherently personal way, on an emotional, physical, intellectual, or even spiritual level [21]. Stamboulis, and Skayannis [22] further explain that in this experiencebased exchange the tourist enters into a multifaceted interaction with the actors and the setting of a narrative staged by the local community.

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation [23] concluded that "Culture and tourism have a symbiotic relationship". This symbiotic relationship is increasingly facilitated by information and communication technologies. Overall, the economic valorisation of cultural heritage through tourism implies incorporating cultural heritage into the tourism supply [24], which means viewing cultural heritage as a component in the production of heritage-related tourism products and services. Given the high market interest of cultural tourism, local destinations strive to leverage what makes their societies unique, promote the region's cultural identity, in order to boost economic growth. According to Opačić [24], tourism valorisation of cultural heritage includes several steps, starting with the identification of cultural heritage suitable for conversion into tourism attractions.

**Communicating cultural heritage to visitors in understandable and engaging ways is challenging**, yet it represents an increasingly important aspect of tourism destination marketing. Presently, the relationship between tourism and culture is transformed by the affordances of new technologies. Advanced learning technologies can accommodate the provision of value-added cultural experiences to tourists, improve representation, engage visitors with content in innovative ways, support cultural revitalisation and increase the overall attractiveness of heritage sites. Cultural locations and spaces can be enriched by scanning and overlaying virtual annotations on top of these places. Digital applications can provide cultural tourists

with fast knowledge acquisition: immediate cultural location-based information of specific points of interest.

Advanced digital technologies for cultural heritage management, study and analysis, conservation, restoration, and preservation, access and communication, are transforming conservation and scientific research methods in cultural heritage, as well as people's experience of cultural heritage relics, monuments and events. At the same time, digital technologies are enhancing the experiential and interpretive dynamics of the cultural heritage representations and creating innovative environments for consumers to discover, capture and experience cultural heritage and events, thus promoting the creation of new value chains for tourism through the digitisation of cultural heritage. Integral to this is the combined use of innovative digitisation technologies and affordable consumer electronic equipment, which is making innovative cultural heritage experiences accessible to all.

Following a literature review methodology, in the subsequent sections, our research will provide a critical appraisal of carefully selected work from recent scientific literature and contribute to the systematisation of the current knowledge in the field towards the identification of key challenges and the extraction of new insights in terms of potential for practical applications and future research directions in the area.
