Online tourist reviews and accidental conveyors of memories of the atomic bomb

Tourists visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) spontaneously convey its peace messages online under specific conditions, acting as 'accidental conveyors of memories' of the atomic bomb. This study analyzed over ten years of online reviews using interdisciplinary analytics, revealing that tourists often internalize and transmit the site's sociocultural significance when they perceive themselves as stewards of its legacy. The findings highlight the role of digital word-of-mouth in shaping public memory and heritage perception, with implications for how stakeholders communicate intended messages to visitors.

Luli, v. d. D., & Kawano, N. (2019). Online tourist reviews and accidental conveyors of memories of the atomic bomb. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 18(5), 514–531. https://doi.org/10.1080/14766825.2019.1702048