Museum Experiences and Attitudes Toward Tangible Cultural Heritage in Kazakhstan: Evidence from Domestic and International Tourists

This study examined authentic tourism and museum experiences, and attitudes towards tangible cultural heritage values among local and foreign tourists visiting museums in Kazakhstan, by gender, age, and education. A comparative correlational survey model was adopted. Data were collected through a demographic information form, an authentic tourism experience scale, and an attitude scale towards tangible cultural heritage. An independent sample t-test compared participants' authentic tourism and museum experiences and attitudes towards tangible cultural heritage by gender. One-way analysis of variance compared the same scale scores across education level and age. Multiple regression analysis tested the relationships between participants' tourism and museum experiences and attitudes towards tangible cultural heritage. A significant difference was found only in the Experience Quality sub-dimension regarding gender. Female tourists reported higher experience quality than males. Regarding age groups, tourists under 35 had higher scores for objective authenticity and experience quality. As the education level increased, significant increases were observed in the sub-dimensions of authentic tourism experience and in attitude scores towards tangible cultural heritage. Regression analysis revealed that authentic tourism and museum experiences significantly and positively influenced attitudes towards tangible cultural heritage (β=0.431; R²=0.18; F=96.59, p<0.05). Because the results suggested that Museum experiences can strengthen cultural heritage awareness, museum managers should develop layered strategies for different visitor profiles.