Cultural And Heritage Tourism example essay topic

Tourism is a circumstance of worldwide significance. A prestige human characteristic is a curiosity to see various places, peoples and customs, which the travel and tourism industry has been very responsive. Raising obtainable income, leisure time, and technology have merged to encourage the inception up of sacred places to tourist visitation. While countries offer alike condition for tourists in term of accommodation and other tourist amenities, each place also offers an outstanding experience. For many countries, heritage attractions are staying at the heart of their tourist industry. This is a fact for a developed country such as [Canada] as same as developing countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar, or Jordan (Robinson et al., 2000, p. 433).

According to Howell et al., cultural tourism means "tourism based on festivals, carnivals, religious events, parades, and heritage celebrations of all kinds including re-enactments; all aspects of travel whereby people learn about each other way of life and thought; a mean of promoting cultural relations and international cooperation". (Howell et al., 2003) Heritage has been defined as "monuments, groups of buildings and moveable cultural property' which illustrate a 'unique artistic achievement and meet the test of authenticity' as claimed by UNESCO in 1972. (UNESCO, July 3, 2003) In brief, the definition of cultural heritage tourism means, "traveling to experience the places and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past and present. It includes irreplaceable historic, cultural and natural resources" as stated by N THP (Young, September 27, 2002). Preserving the world's natural and cultural heritage involves thousands of people every year in governments, non-governmental organizations, lobby and interest groups, as well as private individuals. Those who are mentioned in this report take the main roles in operate and maintain a valuable of cultural and heritage tourism.

The UNESCO World Heritage Centre was established in 1992. It organizes the annual sessions of the World Heritage Bureau and Committee, provides advice to States Parties in the preparation of site nominations, organizes international assistance upon request, and co-ordinates both the reporting on the condition of sites and the emergency action undertaken when a site is threatened. It is also responsible for the administration of the World Heritage Fund. Other tasks of the Centre include arranging technical seminars and workshops, updating the World Heritage List and database and developing teaching materials to raise awareness of the World Heritage concept, and keeping the public informed of World Heritage issues. It also works with the Cultural Heritage Division and Science Sector from the same organization. Currently, there are 754 properties, which the World Heritage Committee has inscribed on the World Heritage List (582 cultural, 149 natural, and 23 mixed properties in 128 countries) ICOMOS The International Council on Monuments and Sites was founded in 1965 after the adoption of the Charter of Venice, in order to promote the doctrine and the techniques of conservation.

ICOMOS provides the World Heritage Committee with evaluations of cultural properties proposed for inscription on the World Heritage List, as well as with comparative studies, technical assistance and reports on the state of conservation of inscribed properties. ICOMOS is one of the main partners in the World Heritage Information Network. ICOM the International Council of Museums, which founded in 1946, is devoted to the promotion and development of museums and the museum profession at an international level. ICOM is a non-governmental organization with around 13,000 members in 145 countries, many of which have World Heritage sites with museums. (World Tourism Organization, 2003) In the economic aspect, we need to understand the situation occurs that "what is good for conservation is not necessarily good for tourism and what is good for tourism is rarely good for conservation" (Kerr, 1994).

For this reason, it is quite difficult to estimate the economic contribution which cultural and heritage management does to the tourism industry. However, according to ICOMOS, tourism can capture the economic characteristics of heritage and harness these for conservation by generating funding, educating the community and influencing policy. Cultural and heritage tourism is the old asset of the "new" tourism phenomena. Since the days of the Romans, human have been traveling for visiting historical attractions, cultural landmarks, participating special events and festivals; however, they were never realized as being a discrete group of travelers before. Evidently, in the late 1970's, cultural and heritage tourism started to be accepted as a distinct product category when tourism marketers and tourism researchers recognized that some people traveled particularly to acquire a deeper understanding of the culture or heritage of a destination (Mckercher, 2002) Cultural and heritage tourism has a positive Impacts to the national and local economies because it can arise the pportunities to develop local economies to be more entrepreneurial and self-reliant.

Beside the revenue from tourism can be directed to local infrastructure improvement. Revenue from tourism also can be reinvested in documentation, planning, and management of heritage assets. This is important for the sustainability of assets that attract visitation. Moreover, the appropriate presentation of assets can assist the tourists' understanding of the need for the conservation and retention of important cultural heritage assets in general. This type of tourism also bring the reinvigoration of traditional culture to the tourists. Visiting the heritage attractions definitely bring the cultural exchange with tourists which can lead to greater tolerance of cultural differences in multicultural societies.

The first negative impacts is the attractions are overused by tourists. This displaces local residents; causes overcrowding; creates parking, litter, and noise problems; and generally overburdens shared resources, such as water and fuel. Moreover, the large sections of the community become dependent on tourism at the expense of other industries, leading to loss of self-reliance and traditional-style activities. In addition, tourists behaviour can have an negative impact if they are not aware of, or chose to ignore, visitor etiquette at an attraction, sometimes they may lack of courtesy or sensitivity to local customs; disrespecting sacred areas; drinking in public; etc. In the other hand an unplanned tourism infrastructure development may involves altering the amenities in the community to alter the visual appeal and visitor experience for tourists. Beside in some case an income just flows to limited sectors of the community; high leakages; creation of different and discontent within the community.

Losing of control over cultural property can occur in communities and tradition bearers, for example, motifs used in their crafts and arts or even music, if it is not under copy right or special protective legislation. The solution for negative aspects is 1) Limit number of visitors to the certain places. 2) Promulgate policies to protect cultural values from inappropriate tourism uses. 3) Use the least environmental invasive equipment and transportation. "What does the future hold for cultural tourism? Depending on our perspective, we might be optimistic or pessimistic about the future.

On one hand, cultural tourism is arguably the fastest-growing aspect of tourism. Demand is high for cultural experiences and will only continue to grow as tourists become more sophisticated and as more people can afford to travel globally. On the other hand, our collective cultural heritage, the raw material of cultural tourism, is under threat from many sources. War, natural disasters, increasing population, developmental pressures, lack of management resources, lack of clear policy guidelines in some jurisdictions, and use pressures all combine to create a sector under stress. Cultural and heritage tourism can survive only if its asset base is managed in a sustainable manner and sustainability can be achieved only if tourism and cultural heritage management work in partnership". (Mckercher et al., 2002, p. 220) Everybody should preserve and the heritage attractions or cultural festivals closely and information should be available about visitor etiquette in light of cultural sensitivities.

Such involvement also adds to a sense of authenticity about the "spirit of the places" and requires the visitor to be mindful of their presence in a memorable way to keep their "golden memory" forever.

Bibliography

Printed Sources Howell, et al. (2003).
Passport: An Introduction to the Tourism Industry, third Canadian edition, Toronto, Thomson Learning / ITP Nelson. Mckercher, B., & Du Cros, H. (2002).
Cultural tourism: The Partnership between Tourism and Cultural Heritage Management, New York, The Haworth Hospitality Press. Ravenscouri, N., Philips, D., & Bennett, M. (Eds.) (1998).
Tourism and Visitor Attractions: Leisure, Culture, and Commerce. Eastbourne, LSA Publications. Robinson, M. (2000).
Reflections on International Tourism: Tourism and Heritage Relationships: Global, National, and Local Perspectives, Great Britain, Athenaeum Press. Young, G. (September, 2002).
OPP I Conference London. Capitalizing on Cultural and Heritage Tourism. Retrieved from web Other Electronic Sources World Tourism Organization website. web UNESCO website. web World Heritage List. (2003).