Sounds of the Sacred : An Examination of Audio Guides in Religious Cultural Heritage Institutions in Spain

Abstract: This thesis examines the role of audio guide technology in four different Spanish cathedrals: La Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Tarragona Cathedral in Tarragona, La Seo Cathedral in Zaragoza, and Palma Cathedral in Palma de Mallorca. The thesis presents data about the audio guides at each of these sites in two ways. In the first data presentation, the author gives an overview of their own personal experience as a tourist in the space, using ethnographic methods to evaluate the audio guide and make observations on the behavior of other visitors within the space. In the second data presentation, online reviews from tourists at all four of these churches are compiled and evaluated using qualitative analysis to identify common trends in order to understand how audiences perceive the audio guide systems. Additionally, this thesis presents an overview of previous research on audio guides, tourism in Spain, and religious cultural heritage, while giving special attention to how technology fits into religious tourism contexts. To analyze the data from both collection methods, the thesis relies on two different theories. The first, and most significant theory is Schafer’s concept of Soundscapes. This theory is applied throughout the thesis to understand how sounds in touristic cathedrals impact both secular visitors and religious practitioners. The second theory introduces various motivations concerning why tourists choose to visit religious cultural heritage institutions. By applying both theoretical concepts in the data analysis, this thesis is able to: identify the special circumstances that audio guide creators must consider when developing these systems in religious cultural heritage sites, understand how the current audio guide systems impact visitors at the four selected institutions, and present a list of recommendations to future audio guide developers working in the Spanish religious heritage context.