Gulag heritage conservation, visualisation and interpretation for tourism development: a multi-stakeholder perspective

In Kazakhstan, the development of a tourism sector that highlights the repressive historical period of Soviet domination is limited. This study investigates the managerial practices of the conservation, visualisation and interpretation of Gulag heritage for tourism development at Kazakhstani museums from a multi-stakeholder perspective. A qualitative case study research approach based on interviews with museum management, policymakers, NGOs, tour operators and historians of the Kazakhstani Gulags is adopted to examine stakeholders’ positions on practice. Various development and planning implications are identified: increase the cooperation between stakeholders for proactive cooperative fundraising for commercialisation and conservation of sites; and the need to consider the centrality of visual imagery in museum interpretation and initial multimedia development.