Academic Article

Amplifying archaeological outreach: the impact of Wikipedia and collaborative initiatives on cultural tourism

Title: Amplifying archaeological outreach: the impact of Wikipedia and collaborative initiatives on cultural tourism
Creator(s): Piergiovanna Grossi See all items with this value; Serge Plata See all items with this value
Date: 2024
Is Part Of: Archeologia e Calcolatori
Volume: 35
Issue: 2
Pages: 19-28
Language: eng
Rights: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
DOI: https://doi.org/10.19282/ac.35.2.2024.03
URI: https://www.archcalc.cnr.it/journal/articles/1323
Zotero BiDiAr: https://www.zotero.org/groups/5293298/bidiar/items/G4XVPQ4Y/item-list
Abstract: This paper examines the impact of Wikipedia and Wikimedia Foundation projects on archaeological heritage dissemination and cultural tourism enhancement. It focuses on two initiatives: a 2017 Public Archaeology event and a 2023 project extending into 2024. The 2017 initiative, in collaboration with the University of Verona and the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio per le Province di Verona, Rovigo e Vicenza, involved creating Wikipedia entries for key archaeological sites in Verona. Visitor data analysis, from these sites, showed an increased number of visits after the entry creation. The ongoing 2023 project, backed by Wikimedia Italia and the Superintendency, aims to refine Wikipedia entries for all supervised sites. Preliminary assessments indicate enhanced visitor engagement correlating with article updates. The study particularly analyzes visitor data for Corte Sgarzerie (Verona) and Criptoportico Romano (Vicenza), assessing both electronic and physical visits. Results indicate a significant statistical increase in site visits, following the availability of Wikipedia articles. Further, a significant correlation was found between electronic access to articles and actual visits to these sites. The findings suggest a substantial impact of Wikipedia on cultural tourism, highlighting the role of open access, free software, and open data in promoting and preserving knowledge.
Spatial Coverage: Vicenza; Verona
References: Wikipedia; GLAM/Public archaeology
Zotero References Collection: https://www.zotero.org/groups/5293298/bidiar/collections/X4W58PH3
Cites: Public Forecast Information Sharing in a Market with Competing Supply Chains; World Heritage sites on Wikipedia: Cultural heritage activism in a context of constrained agency; Augmenting Couples' Communication with Lifelines: Shared Timelines of Mixed Contextual Information; Privacy preserving actions of older adults on social media: Exploring the behavior of opting out of information sharing; eTourism: Critical information and communication technologies for tourism destinations; Cultural Tourism, Young People and Destination Perception: A Case Study of Delphi, Greece; Public archaeology a Verona. Un percorso sperimentale lungo la via Postumia; Wikipedia matters