Cultural Tourism in India 05.11.2013

Cultural tourism

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Sibiu, Romania

The Arts Quarter in Beirut Central District, Lebanon

Tourists taking pictures at the khmer Pre Rup temple ruins, an example of cultural tourism.

Tourists in the courtyard of the Great Mosque of Kairouan (also called the Mosque of Uqba). Considered one of the most important and most prestigious monuments of Islamic civilization,^[1][2] the Great Mosque of Kairouan is located in the World Heritage city of Kairouan inTunisia.

Cultural tourism (or culture tourism) is the subset of tourism concerned with a country or region's culture, specifically the lifestyle of the people in those geographical areas, the history of those people, their art, architecture, religion(s), and other elements that helped shape their way of life. Cultural tourism includes tourism in urban areas, particularly historic or large cities and their cultural facilities such as museums and theatres. It can also include tourism in rural areas showcasing the traditions of indigenous cultural communities (i.e. festivals, rituals), and their values and lifestyle. It is generally agreed that cultural tourists spend substantially more than standard tourists do. This form of tourism is also becoming generally more popular throughout the world, and a recent OECD report has highlighted the role that cultural tourism can play in regional development in different world regions.^[3]

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'.^[4] These cultural needs can include the solidification of one's own cultural identity, by observing the exotic "other".

Contents

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• 1 Destinations
• 2 Key Principles
  • 2.1 Destination Planning
    • 2.1.1 Management Issues
  • 2.2 Destination Planning Resources
    • 2.2.1 Planning Guides
    • 2.2.2 Research on Tourism
    • 2.2.3 Sources of Data
    • 2.2.4 Key Institutions
• 3 Case Studies: Mountainous Regions of Central Asia and in the Himalayas
• 4 See also
• 5 References
• 6 Further reading

Destinations[edit]

One type of cultural tourism destination is living cultural areas. Visiting any culture other than one's own is a form of cultural tourism, such as traveling to a foreign country. Other destinations include historical sites, modern urban districts, "ethnic pockets" oftown, fairs/festivals, theme parks, and natural ecosystems. It has been shown that cultural attractions and events are particularly strong magnets for tourism.^[5]

Key Principles[edit]

Destination Planning[edit]

As the issue of globalization takes place in this modern time, the challenge of preserving the few remaining cultural community around the world is becoming hard. In a tribal based community, reaching economic advancement with minimal negative impacts is an essential objective to any destination planner. Since they are using the culture of the region as the main attraction, sustainable destination development of the area is vital for them to prevent the negative impacts (i.e. destroying the authentic identity of the tribal community) due to tourism.

Management Issues[edit]

Certainly, the principle of "one size fits all” doesn't apply to destination planning. The needs, expectations, and anticipated benefits from tourism vary greatly from one destination to another. This is clearly exemplified as local communities living in regions with tourism potential (destinations) develop a vision for what kind of tourism they want to facilitate, depending on issues and concerns they want to be settled or satisfied.

Destination Planning Resources[edit]

Planning Guides[edit]

Culture: the heart of development policy.

It is important that the destination planner takes into account the diverse definition of culture as the term is subjective. Satisfying tourists' interests such as landscapes, seascapes, art, nature, traditions, ways of life and other products associated to them -which may be categorized cultural in the broadest sense of the word, is a prime consideration as it marks the initial phase of the development of a cultural destination.

The quality of service and destination, which doesn't solely depend on the cultural heritage but more importantly to the cultural environment, can further be developed by setting controls and policies which shall govern the community and its stakeholders. It is therefore safe to say that the planner should be on the ball with the varying meaning of culture itself as this fuels the formulation of development policies that shall entail efficient planning and monitored growth (e.g. strict policy on the protection and preservation of the community).

Local community, tourists, the destination and sustainable tourism

While satisfying tourists' interests and demands may be a top priority, it is also imperative to ruminate the subsystems of the destination's (residents). Development pressures should be anticipated and set to their minimum level so as to conserve the area's resources and prevent a saturation of the destination as to not abuse the product and the residents correspondingly. The plan should incorporate the locals to its gain by training and employing them and in the process encourage them to participate to the travelbusiness. Travellers should be not only aware about the destination but also concern on how to help it sustain its character while broadening their travelling experience.