Promoting Cultural Heritage in the Form of Events within the Tourism Industry

Introduction

Tourism became one of the propellers of the nations’ economy. With an aim to deliver the leisure for the foreigners, many industries are opted to serve by utilizing the natural resources, additional construction and facilities, and many others just to satisfy the visitors of the country. Because of the need for the additional investments on these projects, the tourism industry is looking for the effective way to deliver the kind of service and varieties of products that the visitor will surely won’t forget.

Background and Problem Statement

Every country offers different kind of tourism which is basically inspired by their natural culture. Therefore, the tourism is another way of introducing the best history and culture on the foreigners. But apparently, the connection between the culture and the tourism has been established. This joint force created an impact in the country which is both good and bad. The culture tourism is the beginning where the culture, its heritage and its value are not only introduced but can also experience. As defined by the World Tourism Organization (WTO), tourism comprises the activities of persons travelling to and staying in place outside their usual environment for not more than one year for leisure, business and other purposes. On the other hand, the cultural tourism is more about introducing the natural assets like sites and monuments and focused on the visitor’s motivations and perceptions. However, what would be the impact of the promotion of cultural heritage in the country? And how will it boost the tourism industry?

Research Aim and Objectives

The main aim of the study is to investigate the promotion of cultural heritage in the form of events in within the tourism industry. In order to gain the information regarding the stated problem, there are four objectives that can be used as guidelines. First is to determine the activities involved in cultural heritage for the tourism. Second is to recognize the countries that use this kind of strategy in their tourism industry. Third is to gain the ideas regarding the benefits and drawbacks of introducing the cultural heritage in the tourism. And fourth is to describe the potentials of the cultural heritage and the ways to reduce the drawbacks recognized.

Literature Review

The typical types of sites or attractions which are considered to attract cultural tourist are archeological sites and museums, architectures like ruins, famous building, or whole towns. The art, sculpture, crafts, galleries, festivals, events are also included. Music and dance whether classical, folk, or contemporary; drama in theatre, films, and even the dramatists are part of the natural heritage that can be introduce to the visitors. The language and literature study, tours, events, religious festivals, pilgrimages, cultures and sub cultures are the other attractions that the visitors might be interested are also offered in the cultural tourism program (Olsen, 2005; Uger, Gurer, and Sat, 2006). The promotion of cultural heritage is a good strategy to boost the tourism industry. However, there has been little attention paid to value the protection of the heritage sites that was destroyed by the commercial introduction of the cultural tourism. For many cultural heritage sites, an important component of values are the history that goes with it – in which nobody can assessed even if they try different market computations. The challenge now is how to preserve the existing value of every heritage founded in one country. Another issue that may arise is the restoration of the cultural values and heritage where nobody can ever assess on how much it will cost them (Rolfe and Windle, 2003). The restoration can only alter the authenticity of a cultural heritage and lose its value not only in the eye of the local residents but also in the eye of the visitors.

Methodology

The applied method in the study is the use of use both primary and secondary data collection methods which can supply quantitative and qualitative data. The secondary data can be collected through the use and review of the published works from books, newspapers and magazines, research reports and market surveys of tourism-related companies, and electronic sources like on-line databases, Internet that will be the subject for analysis and re-interpretation. The primary data is based on the surveys and interviews among the firms under the tourism industry and the specific information can help the study to analyze their perceptions and recommendation of strategies regarding the promotion of cultural heritage.

References:

Olsen, D., (2005) Issues in Cultural Tourism Studies, Journal of Cultural Geography, 23(1)

Rolfe, J., & Windle, J., (2003) Valuing the Protection of Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Sites, Journal of Economic Record, 79(245)

Ucer, A., Gurer, N., & Sat, N., (2006) Cultural Tourism as a Tool for sustaining Local Values: Beypazari Case. [Online] Available at: http://www.hsse.nie.edu.sg/staff/changch/seaga/seaga2006/proceedings [Accessed 29 September 2010].