Cultural Heritage and Tourism

MISS ANN MARGARIT P. BERSANO

Learning Objectives:
After reading this chapter, you should be able:
1. Identify some of the earliest manifestations of heritage
tourism.
2. Understand the meaning of heritage and what it entails.
3. Understand the characteristics of cultural tourism and
heritage tourism.
4. Recognize the commonalities between cultural and
heritage tourism.
5. Be familiar with tangible and intangible elements of culture.
6. Be aware of the difference between serious and causal
cultural heritage tourism.
Introduction
 Since the beginnings of human
history, people have journeyed
away from home for a multitude of
reasons.
 One of the earliest form of travel
was hunters following their prey
and trading with other hunters.
 Transhumance – seasonal
migration of pastoral people with
their herds
 Eventually, trade in
foodstuffs, furs, and other
animal products, precious
metals, spices, textiles and
other important commodities
led merchants further afield in
search of consumer items
and profits.
 In Asia, religious devotions to
early forms of Hinduism and
Buddhism was manifested in
pilgrimages long before the
Christian pilgrimage
movement to the Holy Land.
 During the medieval period, global explorations and
colonization began
- leading to more areas being “discovered”
 All human eras have contributed to the common
understanding we have today of travel and tourism.
- E.g. roads and highways (road signs & roadside inns)
 The notion of different types of tourism began early on with
pilgrimage, educational travel, & cultural tourism already
being well established by the 15th century.
 Travel for leisure/pleasure purposes began in the post-
industrial era of the 20th century.
 The cultural heritage of humankind is one of the most
important resources upon which travel is based and
appeals to many underlying motives for travel.
 Pilgrimage – earliest forms of heritage
tourism
- religious or spiritual places, burial
sites, places of spiritual heritage
 Biblical and other ancient accounts
provides evidence of the noble classes
travelling to view old sites Muslim Hajj Pilgrimage to Mecca

Christian Pilgrimage to Jerusalem Burial site of Pope John Paul II

 The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were popular
attractions in the ancient days of the Greek and Roman
empires
 Earliest Greek guide books were known to have included
reviews:
1. Pyramids of Giza
2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon
3. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
4. Colossus of Rhodes
5. Statue of Zeus at Olympia
6. Mausoleum of Maussolos at Halicarnassus
7. Ishtar Gate (later replaced by the Lighthouse of Alexandria)
 The Grand Tour is another
important historical phase of
heritage tourism.
- common from 1600s to mid-
1800s
- often travelled for months or
years
- learning languages, art, history,
and architecture was among the
objectives Grand Tour at Paris Louvre

- journeys took them to Paris,

Rome, Venice, Florence, and other
historic cities known for their
architectural wonders and great
works of art.
 The best-known modern
origins of heritage tourism
were the experience of
Thomas Cook, the father of
modern travel agents, tour
operators, and group tours.
 In 1860s, he began offering
ship-and train-based tours of
Europe, Egypt, Palestine and
the USA.
- he led a group of 500 people
to attend a special event in
England and 350 English
people on a tour of Scotland.
 Today, heritage properties
and living creatures are
among the most popular
attractions.
 Nearly all package tours
include heritage sites, &
cultural areas are among the
most prized destinations
among independent
travellers.
A matter of Definition: A cultural and Heritage
Tourism

- It is what we inherent from the past and use in the

present day
 In broad terms, it includes both
natural and cultural heritage.
 NATURAL HERITAGE – includes
naturally-occurring phenomena, e.g.
canyons, rain forests, rivers, glaciers,
mountains, deserts, and coastlines.
 CULTURAL HERITAGE – is the past
created by humankind and its various
manifestations.

Top: Grand Canyon (Arizona)

Down: Desert Safari (Dubai)
 The cultural heritage we use today includes both tangible and
intangible elements.
 It comes in the form of material objects as buildings, rural
landscapes and villages, cities, art collections, artifacts in museum,
historic gardens handicrafts, and antiques, but it encompasses non-
material elements of culture, including music, dance, beliefs, social
mores, ceremonies, rituals, and folklores.
 All of these are important components of heritage that are used for
tourism and other purposes.
Heritage tourism: What is it?
 Some people define heritage tourism simply as people
visiting heritage places or viewing historical resources.
 HERITAGE TOURISM refers to travellers seeing or
experiencing built heritage, living culture or contemporary
arts.
- visits are motivated by a desire t enhance one’s own
cultural self, to learn something new, to spend time with
friends and family, to satisfy one’s curiosity or simply to use
up excess time.
- one effective way of viewing heritage visitors is their level
of interest in elements of the past.
 Serious cultural tourists are people who visit heritage
places or cultural events because it is their hobby; they
want to learn something new or expand their personal
skills, and they are enthusiastic about heritage.
- more than a laid-back stopover at a castle, etc.
 Causal heritage tourists are people who do not
necessarily plan to visit a heritage site or museum while on
vacation but decide to attend once they discover it, while in
the destination for other purposes.
- curious about the attraction but are not active seekers of
heritage places and cultural experiences.
- Stebbins (1996)
 Some of the world’s premier performing arts centers, such as the Sydney
Opera House and the Grand Ole Opry, have become important heritage
sites in their own right.
 The same is true with Louvre, the Hermitage and the Metropolitan
Museum of Art.
 Also temples built a millennium ago.

Sydney Opera House Grand Ole Opry (Nashville, Tennessee)

 Paris Louvre Museum St. Peterburg Hermitage Meseum

Ney York City Metropolitan Museum of Art Bangkok Wat Pho Temple
Cultural Heritage tourism
 Cultural heritage tourism encompasses built patrimony, living
lifestyles, ancient artifacts and modern arts and culture.
 Summary & Conclusion
 Cultural Heritage, whether built or living, is one of the most salient
elements of the global tourism systems. Many destinations rely
almost entirely upon art, culture and built patrimony for their
economic well-being, and even the most devout non-heritage
destinations have some elements of culture that can be shared with
visitors as part of the tourism product mix.
 Heritage tourism encompasses all elements of human past and the
visitors and desires associated with them.
 Serious heritage tourists seek meaningful, educational or spiritual
experiences, or a combination of these.
 Causal heritage visitors tend to look more at museums, art galleries,
archaeological sites and other cultural attractions as ancillary to their
primary attractions of interest or their other motives
 Reference
Timothy, D. (2011). Cultural Heritage and Tourism: An
Introduction. Great Britain: Channel View Publications.