ABSTRACT
For today’s travelers, tourism and shopping are inseparable activities. In fact, shopping is considered the most preferred activity and an extremely important aspect of tourism (Law and Au 2000). From a heritage tourism perspective, it serves as a motivating factor for heritage travel (Timothy 2005). Many researchers claim that without shopping activity, a heritage tour cannot be a complete traveling experience (Cohen 2000; Kent, Shock and Snow 1983; Keowin 1989; Hitchcock and Teague 2000). As noted by Swanson, it is human nature to return from travel with a souvenir to serve as a “reminder of special moments or events” (2004: 363). Graburn states that “few tourists come home from vacation without something to show … as proof that they really did make the journey (1987: 395). The Travel Industry Association of America (2008a) reports that tourists spend one-third of their tourism expenditures on shopping, thereby demonstrating a high propensity to spend while on vacation. It is also an established fact that most heritage tourists have high disposable incomes and are inclined to make more purchases than their counterparts (Silberberg 1995; Chhabra et al. 2002; Chhabra 2005). Shopping of heritage merchandise serves many functions:
• Providing economic numerations in the area of production, distribution, and retailing (Timothy and Boyd 2003).
