Heritage Attractions and the Case of the Dutch Windmills

Author: Moufakkir, Omar

Source: Tourism Analysis, Volume 12, Numbers 5-6, 2007 , pp. 493-497(5)

Publisher: Cognizant Communication Corporation

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Abstract:

There are windmills in several countries in Europe; however, it is the Netherlands that is known as the country of windmills, because it has the largest concentration of windmills in the world. As heritage buildings, windmills contribute to national pride and to the tourism marketing images of the country. However, the number of windmills has been decreasing. The decrease has traditionally been the result of natural catastrophes. Today, windmills are facing other challenges. The problem with most windmills, as is the case with other backdrop heritage attractions, is that most of them do not have a direct use value. It has been a tradition that governments and associations fund windmills for their preservation as heritage objects, but governments downsizing for heritage has become a norm, especially when the economy is in recession. The purpose of this article was to learn more about the Dutch windmills. Two face-to-face unstructured in-depth interviews with a former windmill association president had set the ground for a telephone survey to collect information from millers. This resulted in information about (a) windmill ownership, insurance, and taxes, (b) windmill business, (c) millers and motivation, (d) windmill visitors, and (e) millers' opinion about the future of windmills.

Keywords: TOURISM ATTRACTIONS; HERITAGE; WINDMILLS; THE NETHERLANDS

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3727/108354207783227993

Publication date: 2007-12-01

More about this publication?

The aim of Tourism Analysis is to promote a forum for practitioners and academicians in the fields of Leisure, Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality (LRTH). As a interdisciplinary journal, it is an appropriate outlet for articles, research notes, and computer software packages designed to be of interest, concern, and of applied value to its audience of professionals, scholars, and students of LRTH programs the world over.