Abstract
In medium-sized heritage cities, urban tourism often relies on cultural districts that are spatially dispersed and poorly organized. In such contexts, navigation is not merely about reaching a particular place; rather, it involves maintaining continuity in travel flows across fragmented urban spatial networks. Although numerous studies have examined wayfinding and urban legibility, limited attention has been paid to how navigation systems operate across cultural destinations in smaller cities. This study investigates the integration of wayfinding systems within the batik tourism network of Surakarta, Indonesia. It employs a qualitative evaluative methodology combining route-based observations and semi-structured interviews with non-local visitors to examine the sequential orientation process, from city access points to transitions between destinations. The findings reveal three forms of systemic fragmentation: local fragmentation within individual destinations, functional fragmentation between mobility systems and cultural sites, and referential fragmentation between formal and informal information sources. These forms of fragmentation complicate movement across routes, disrupt visitor experiences, and obscure the narrative coherence of the urban cultural landscape. This study extends wayfinding research, which has largely focused on cognitive mapping and urban legibility, by framing wayfinding as relational and narrative infrastructure rather than merely a collection of visual elements. It offers a systemic perspective relevant to medium-sized heritage cities and outlines practical implications for integrated tourism planning and inter-destination coordination.
Keywords: Heritage Tourism, Inter-destination Mobility, Medium-sized Heritage Cities, Systemic Fragmentation, Wayfinding Systems.