Longing for the heritage treasure: reconnecting the self and the heritage site through nostalgic reminiscences and psychological ownership

Heritage tourism can enable tourists to indulge in a cherished past enriched with cultural-historical treasures. This study draws on theories pertaining to social identity, psychological ownership, and self-continuity to synthesize a model concerning nostalgic heritage tourism. The hypothesized framework was assessed using structural equation modeling with survey-based data secured from 30 heritage sites. Findings reveal that nostalgic heritage travel motivation is positively related to place identification and reminiscing enjoyment. Serial mediating effects of psychological ownership that bridges reminiscing enjoyment/place identification and future self-concept and travel behavior are also warranted. Furthermore, self-continuity is found to moderate the postulated relationships.