Heritage sites ‘make you happy’

LONDON — If you want to feel better, go visit a heritage site. At least, that’s what a British study is suggesting.

English Heritage has released a study which suggests that sightseeing at historic towns and archaeological remains increases personal well-being more than a round of golf or a circuit of an art gallery.

The research, which measured the value of visiting eight types of heritage places, from historic towns to industrial buildings, places of worship and archaeological sites, also found that trips to historic towns and buildings had the greatest impact on a person. Figures showed almost three-quarters (73 per cent) of adults and 69 per cent of five to 15-year-olds visited historic sites in Britain last year.

People also benefit mentally and physically through volunteering for heritage projects, which boost self-esteem and give them new and better skills for other areas of their lives and a strong sense of belonging to their immediate neighbourhood, it found. And the survey showed that the vast majority of people who had seen investment or regeneration of their local historic environment thought it improved the area and boosted local pride.

And it also apparently helps the economy: In England, for example, heritage areas provided 134,000 jobs and produced £5.1 billion (S$10.3 billion) in economic output in 2011. THE DAILY TELEGRAPH