Prospects and Challenges of Cultural Heritage Tourism in Port Louis

THIS ASSIGNMENT ENCOMPASSES OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE POTENTIALS AND CHALLENGES THAT CAN BE MARKETED IN THE NEAR FUTURE. ITS IDENTIFIES SOME HERITAGE ASSETS IN THE REGION OF PORT LOUIS THAT COULD GENERATE NEW SOURCE OF REVENUE AND WILL BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO RESTORE OUR CULTURAL LEGACY.

INTRODUCTION TO TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT MODULE CODE: TMGT1101B ACADEMIC YEAR 2010/2011 SEMESTER 1 BTHM/10B/PT GROUP F

Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Mr Gowtam Raj Chintaram, our lecturer who has given us the opportunity to work on this assignment, where we have all of us discover some facets of our Culture left as an inheritage from our ancestors. It is no doubt that through this study we have understood that our cultural heritage is being lost and that we can contribute to revive our traditional values and legacy. A special thank to .

2|Page

Contents
Acknowledgements .................................................................................... 2 Contents...................................................................................................... 3

Introduction................................................................................................................4 History of Port Louis .................................................................................................5 Port Louis - Capital City of Mauritius - Nowadays...................................................6 Problems Statement....................................................................................................8

3|Page

Introduction
Cultural Heritage Tourism has long history and its roots in the Grand Tour (Richards, 2003). It is one of the forms of Tourism that most policy makers seem to be betting on for the future. The World Tourism Organisation, for example asserted that Cultural Tourism accounted 37% of global tourism, and forecast that it would grow at a rate of 15% per year. Such figures are often quoted in studies of the cultural tourism market (e.g. Bywater, 1993), but are rarely backed up with empirical research. In Mauritius recent cultural heritage development is fostered to be one of the tourism marketing strategies of the policy makers since two cultural heritage sites have been inscribed UNESCO `s World Heritage List respectively; The `Aapravasi Ghat` (stepping stone of immigrants) on the 13th July 2006, earlier known as the `Coolie Ghat` and Le Morne Cultural Landscape on the 6th July 2008 , a rugged mountain that just in the southwest of Mauritius was used as a shelter by runaway slaves, maroons, through the 18th and early years of the 19th centuries. These inscriptions to the World Heritage Sites of UNESCO represent an excellent opportunity to promote cultural heritage tourism. This study will broadly portray the potentials and challenges of `cultural heritage tourism` in the City of Port Louis. Cultural tourism has been defined as 'the movement of persons to cultural attractions away from their normal place of residence, with the intention to gather new information and experiences to satisfy their cultural needs'. Richards, G. (1996) Not every community can have a successful cultural heritage tourism program. Communities that have lost too much of their heritage, or not nurtured their cultural potential may not have the historic, cultural and natural resources it takes to develop a program that will attract cultural heritage visitors. When cultural heritage tourism development is done right, it also helps to protect our nations natural and cultural treasures and improve the quality of life for residents and visitors alike. Linking tourism with heritage and culture can do more for local economies than promoting them separately. Thats the core idea in cultural heritage tourism: save your heritage and your culture, share it with visitors, and reap the economic benefits of tourism.

4|Page

History of Port Louis

Port Louis was already in use as a harbour in 1638. In 1735, under French government, it became the administrative centre of Mauritius and a major reprovisioning halt for French ships travelling around the Cape of Good Hope. The Port is named in honour of King Louis XV. The first Governor was Count BertrandFranois Mah de La Bourdonnais. Port Louis has conserved many historic and colonial buildings through the years. One of them is a fortification named Fort Adelaide or La Citadelle, built by the British in 1835. The latter dominates the city. From there, one can observe most of the city's architecture. Port Louis is surrounded by a mountain range, called the Port Louis Moka Range. Among its most famous mountains are Le Pouce and Pieter Both which stand about 800 metres from sea level. One of the most popular attractions is the country's national derby called Champ de Mars, which is the oldest race course (1812) in the Indian Ocean and the second oldest in the southern Hemisphere. Other famous destinations include the Police Barracks known as Les Casernes and the Port Louis Waterfront. Attractions include the Caudan Waterfront, Port Louis Bazaar, the Mauritian Chinatown and the old Port Louis theatre. The capital has also three museums which are: the Mauritius Natural History Museum, the Blue Penny Museum and the Mauritius Stamp Museum. The biggest and oldest post office in Mauritius is found near the Caudan Waterfront. Situated in the heart of the city, near the State Bank Tower, the Place d'Armes is easily recognizable by its tall palm trees. It is the main entrance to and out of Port Louis. Port Louis is the busiest city of the country. It faces heavy traffic congestion as there is only one motorway which leads in and out of the city. The busiest hours are 8am and 5pm, which roughly correspond to the working hours for the majority of enterprises. Parking is another big problem the city faces. The financial centre is also located there, with the Bank of Mauritius, the Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd and the State Bank of Mauritius, all having their headquarters there. The busiest street is Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Street, formerly known as Rue Desforges. It leads directly to the Municipality of Port Louis, the Jummah Mosque, and Kadafi Square, which is a hot place for local food. Ornately and colourfully decorated Tamil temples such as the Kaliammen Kovil and the Tamil temple of SaintCroix overlook the port. The city morgue at the Kit Lock is located in the centre of the city.

5|Page

Port Louis - Capital City of Mauritius - Nowadays

Port Louis District is the Capital and one of the district of Mauritius. It includes many community areas including Plaine-Verte, Vallee Pitot, China Town, Ward4 and Camp Yoloff. The city is surrounded by villages like St Croix, Roche Bois, Grande Riviere North West. Port Louis has the biggest harbour on the island. A sugar terminal has been built very near to the harbor for the exportation of sugar-cane which is the number one pillar of Mauritian economy. The harbor has over the decades been extended through reclaimed land. The Caudan Waterfront for example which is just next to the harbor has been built over these reclaimed pieces of land. The city is also the biggest business hub on the island and most government departments are situated in Port Louis. Given the number of people that work in Port Louis, this leads to a chaotic situation traffic-wise on week days. People from all over the island travel to Port Louis and many roads become congested. The skyline of Port Louis has completely changed in the last fifteen years mainly due to construction booms in the 1990s and 2000s, where many of the tallest high-rise buildings have been built. The city centre has the tallest buildings in Mauritius, including a few skyscrapers, which is unusual for a small island in Africa. Port Louis is currently undergoing a major construction boom with the extension of the Caudan Waterfront and new towers. The main sites of interest of Port Louis are best appreciated if one follows an itinerary which leads to the many historical and cultural sites Places DArmes Historical Centre of the city, Place DArmes links the port to the government house with a thorough esplanade lined by palm trees and cannons. Statue of Mahe Labourdonnais The statue of the French governor Mahe de Labourdonnais can be found at the entrance of Place DArmes Government House Built in the time of the Governor Nicholas de Maupin ( 1729-1735) Theatre of Port Louis Built in the 19th Century, one of the oldest theatre in the region Champ De Mars Popular racetrack, oldest in the Southern Hemisphere. Horseracing every Saturday or Sunday afternoons from March to December.

6|Page

Citadel- Fort Adelaide Situated on a hill overlooking the city and the harbour. Built in 1835 by the British to watch out for potential riots in Port Louis before the abolition of slavery. Today, it hosts concerts and shows of both local and visiting artists from all over the world. Aapravasi Ghat A UNESCO World Heritage site that pays a special tribute to the thousands of immigrants who came from India.

7|Page

Problems Statement
Some problems have been encountered during the study. We have contacted MTPA, the Tourism Authority and the National Heritage Trust Fund to enquire about tourism visits statistics on the different cultural heritage sites all these authorities said that no statistics are available or are being prepared. Furthermore on the 23rd August 2010, the Municipal Council of Port Louis have launched a Heritage Trail that will be made available to tourist and locals, we have met Mrs Mona Busgeet Head of Urban dwelling, she mentioned that the map could be made available but due to budgetary constraint.

Ref guide : http://www.grand-tour.org/history.htm http://books.google.mu/books?id=LXgdr3hbkgC&pg=PA339&lpg=PA339&dq=Richards, +G+(2003)+What+is+Cultural+tourism&source=bl&ots=QCup7wt_NN&sig=jqx4R BChVgyo2syDxMwehUmxWE&hl=en&ei=1BKsTJzbHZP44AaS9tWZCA&sa=X&oi= book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=Richards %2C%20G%20(2003)%20What%20is%20Cultural%20tourism&f=false http://www.Sustainability-Journal.com Sustainable Heritage Development: Cultural Heritage Tourism in Mauritius Ramesh Durbarry, University of Technology Mauritius, Port-Louis, Mauritius Gowtam Raj Chintaram, University of Technology Mauritius, Mauritius THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL, CULTURAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Louis http://theindependent.mu/2010/08/23/heritage-map-of-port-louis/

8|Page