Meeting Visitor Needs at Archaeological Sites: A Multi-Site Study on Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Coast

Understanding visitors to archaeological sites is essential for effectively managing archaeotourism and sustaining the archaeological resource. This paper aims to identify visitor needs at archaeological sites. Visitors to six case study sites along the west coast of Ireland were surveyed through an online questionnaire. The findings offer valuable insights into tourists’ motivations and satisfaction levels at archaeological sites, emphasising their distinct needs as ‘archaeotourists’. As a novel contribution, insights from the Irish context reveal how visitor characteristics influence motivations that extend beyond the site itself to include the surrounding landscape, which impacts emotional experiences and enhances satisfaction levels. The findings also identify a clear link between the availability of onsite interpretive information, satisfaction, and conservation. This paper underscores the critical role of informed, visitor-centred management in the strategic management of archaeological sites and contributes to discussions on the sustainable management of archaeotourism and the evolving need to conserve archaeological sites.