Attitudes and Willingness to Donate towards Heritage Restoration: An Exploratory Study about Bulgarian Socialist Monuments

Abstract

In this exploratory study, an attempt was made to clarify the role of the visitors’ perception of the socialist era in relation to their 1) perception of socialist monuments’ maintenance level, 2) willingness to visit socialist monuments, 3) willingness to present socialist monuments for tourism purposes, 4) willingness to pay towards a visit to a socialist-era monument, and 5) willingness to donate towards socialist era sites’ restoration. Based on a quantitative study with 236 Bulgarians at Buzludzha peak, the findings suggest that the perception of the socialist era is relevant to the understanding of the individual’s willingness to visit socialist monuments, presenting them to international and local visitors, the evaluation of their maintenance level, and the willingness to support their restoration. The findings’ theoretical and practical contributions are discussed, highlighting the importance of the individuals’ perception of a heritage site when revealing their attitudes towards its restoration.

Keywords: communist heritage, socialist heritage, Bulgaria, willingness to pay, willingness to donate