Cultural tourism

Cultural Tourism

The Partnership Between

Tourism and Cultural Heritage

Management

First published 2002 by The Haworth Press, Inc

This edition published in 2012 by Routledge

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McKcrchcr, Boh.

Cultural tourism: thc pal1ncrship betwecn tourism and cultural heritage management / Bob

McKercher, Hilary dll Cros.

p. cm.

Includes hibliographical references (p. ).

ISBN-13: 978-0-7890-1105-3 (hc. : alk. paper)

ISBN-IO: 0-7890-1105-0 (he. : alk. paper)

ISBN-13: 978-0-7890-1106-0 (phk. : alk. paper)

ISBN-IO: 0-7890-1106-9 (phk. : alk. paper)

I. Heritage tourism. I. Du Cros, Hilary. 11. Title.

G I565,H47 M35 2002

338.4'791-dc21

2001039564

Publisher's Note

The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint

but points out that some imperfections in the original may be apparent.

To Eve-Louise

ABOUT THE AIJTHORS

Bob McKercher, PhD, is an Associate Professor in Tourism in the

Departnlent of Hotel and TourislTI Management at the Hong Kong

Polytechnic University. He has been a tourism acadelTIic since 1990,

working in both Australia and Hong Kong. Previously, he worked in

the Canadian tourism industry. His industry experience includes poJ￾icy and advocacy work as the executive director of Canada's largest

regional nature-based tourislll association, as well as operational ex￾perience in the nature-based touriSlTI sector.

Dr. McKercher has published more than 100 scholarly papers and re￾search reports on a variety of topics, including nature-based tourislTI,

regional tourisln development, tourislTI marketing, and touriSITI edu￾cation. He received his PhD fro111 the University of Melbourne in

Australia, a l11aster's degree frolll Carleton University in Ottawa,

Canada, and his undergraduate degree fronl York University in To￾ronto, Canada.

Hilary du eros, PhD, is a cultural heritage analyst and acadelTIic liv￾ing in Hong Kong. She worked for nearly 15 years as a heritage con￾sultant in Australia and owned one of the largest heritage consulting

firlTIS in that country.

Dr. du Cros is a Inember of the International Council on MonUlnents

and Sites (ICOMOS) International Scientific Committee on Cultural

Tourislll. Between 1997 and 1999, she was an executive comlnittee

melnber of the ICOMOS Australian chapter. In 2000, Dr. du Cros

was engaged as a sociocultural analyst for a World Tourism Organi￾zation tourism master plan in Yunnan, China. She is currently assist￾ing UNESCO as one of its cultural heritage experts advising on tour￾ism projects in the Asia region.

Dr. du eros received her PhD from Monash University in Melbourne,

Australia, and her undergraduate degree frolll the University of Syd￾ney. Her nearly 40 publications include Much More than Stone and

Bones: Australian Archaeology in the Late 20th Century and WOlnen

in Archaeology: A fenlinist Critique.

CONTENTS

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xiii

Chapter 1. Introduction 1

Defining Cultural Tourism 3

Conceptualizing Cultural Tourism-A Thetnatic Approach 6

The Key Issue: Linking Cultural Heritage Management

and Tourism Management 9

Chapter 2. Challenges in Achieving Sustainable Cultural

Tourism 11

Introduction 11

Culture and Tourisln-Collaborators or Competitors? 11

The Independent Evolution of Tourism and Cultural Heritage 13

Seven Possible Relationships Between Tourism and Cultural

Heritage Management 15

The Consequences 21

The Solution? 23

Chapter 3. How Tourism Works

Introduction

The Nature of Tourisnl

Attractions Drive Tourism

Factors Influencing Visitation Levels

Tourist Behavior

CuItura) Tourism

Conclusion

Chapter 4. Cultural Heritage Management

Introduction

Core Concepts

Cultural Heritage Management and Tourisnl

25

25

26

31

33

36

39

42

43

43

44

58

Negative and Positive Impacts of Tourisln 60

Conclusion 63

Chapter 5. Tangible Heritage 65

Introduction 65

Process-Driven Conservation of Tangible Cultural Heritage 66

The Scope of Tangible Heritage Assets 67

Cultural Significance of Heritage Assets 71

Authenticity 73

Tourisln, Authenticity, and Commodification 76

Visitor Accessibility to Tangible Heritage Assets 79

Consultation As an Important Element of the Management

Process 81

Chapter 6. Intangible Heritage and Its Management 83

Introduction 83

Recognition of Intangible Cultural Heritage Management 84

Intangible Heritage Assets-Managelnent and Tourism

Issues 88

Authenticity and Cultural Space 94

TourislTI and Changes to Intangible Heritage 96

Culturally Appropriate and Sustainable Use of Assets 97

Stakeholder Consultation in Setting Managenlent Priorities 98

Chapter 7. Cultural Tourism Products-A Regional

Perspective 101

Introduction 101

Products 102

Benefits of Adopting a Marketing Approach to Product

Development 107

Hierarchy of Attractions 109

Developing Cultural TourislTI Attractions 110

Conclusions 114

Chapter 8. Commodification, Environmental Bubbles,

and Culturallburism Products 115

Introduction 115

Consulnption-Strangeness versus Familiarity

and the Environlnental Bubble 116

Creating Cultural TourisI11 Products or Attractions 122

Tactics 127

Conclusions 134

Chapter 9. The Cultural Tourism Market: A Cultural

Tourism Typology 135

Introduction 135

Who Are Cultural Tourists? 135

A Typology of Cultural Tourists: Recognizing Different

Shades of Cultural Tourists 139

Five Types of Cultural Tourists 144

Testing the Model: Hong Kong As a Case Study 147

Implications for Cultural TourislTI 150

Chapter 10. Gatekeepers 153

Introduction 153

Using Cultural and Heritage Assets to Brand a Destination 155

The Role of Gatekeepers in Conveying Messages 162

Effect of Many Gatekeepers on the Message Passed

to the Tourist 169

Chapter 11. Assessment 171

Introduction 17 1

Assessing the Tourism Potential of Assets 172

Considering the Wider Context 173

Understanding the Asset in Its Setting 176

Asset Specific Issues: "Place" and Cultural Spaces 177

Stakeholder and Consultation Issues 180

People, Skills, and Financial Resources 183

Conclusions 184

Chapter 12. Asset Auditing and Planning 185

Introduction 185

An Audit Model 185

An Audit Procedure 189

Testing the Procedure-Hong Kong 192

Planning 195

Chapter 13. Marketing 201

Introduction 201

Marketing As a Managelnent Tool 201

Unique Features of Marketing in Cultural Tourisnl 204

Thinking Strategically 205

Sustainable Competitive Advantages 208

Role of Research 209

Putting It Together-The Marketing Plan 211

The Four Ps-The Marketing Mix 212

Conclusions 214

Chapter 14. Presentation and Management of Heritage

Assets 215

Introduction 215

Reinvesttnent of Revenue in Conservation As One Benefit

of Tourisnl 220

Fees and Levies Raised at the Source 223

Epilogue 231

References 233

Index 255

Preface

In ourjourneys around the world over the past nUlnber of years, we

have been continually amazed that cultural tourism and cultural heri￾tage management (CHM) operate as parallel activities in most places,

with remarkably little dialogue between the two. 'This fact relnains

even though CHM professionals and the tourism industry have mu￾tual interests in the managelnent, conservation, and presentation of

cultural and heritage assets. Instead of working together to produce

truly outstanding products, this historic isolation results in cultural

tourism that is poorly provided for and executed.

The result is nlany lost opportunities to provide quality visitor ex￾periences while managing rare and fragile resources in a socially, en￾vironlnentally, and ethically responsible and sustainable Inanner.

Sometimes, this loss results in sonle (and we stress sonle) unscrupu￾lous tourisln operators exploiting local cultures and heritage assets

for their own personal gain, while providing little in return for the

host or the continuing care ofthe assets. Likewise, senne cultural heri￾tage Inanagers have a deep' hatred of tourism and do whatever they

can to thwart it. In these situations, tourists also lose, as visitor expe￾riences are often well below.their expectations. Finally, if the assets

and host are no longer able to support a quality tourisnl experience

and Ineet visitors' expectations, those visitors go elsewhere.

In most cases, though, the underperfornlance of Inany cultural

tourism activities can be attributed to a lack of awareness and naivete

about each sector. We have seen far too many cases in which well￾meaning cultural heritage 111anagers have struggled with the roles of

manager and pr01110ter of cultural tourism attractions when they have

assumed or have had those roles thrust upon them. On the other hand,

we have seen far too luany tour operators and tourism nlarketers show

incredible cultural insensitivity about local cultural and heritage

assets-again, mostly out of naivete. We have also witnessed far too

many tourists acting in appropriate ways, again not out of malevo￾lence, but largely because either they are responding to signals given

Xl

xu ClJLTURAL T()[JRISAI

to them by the tourislll industry about accepted behavior or they have

not been informed about how to act otherwise.

We have written this book in an attelnpt to bridge the gap between

cultural heritage managenlent and tourisill. The book has been con￾ceived so that professionals and students from each field ofstudy can

read it and gain better understandings of the roles of their own disci￾pline in cultural tourism management and of the needs, interests, and

values that drive the other discipline. Most inlportant, it outlines how

touriSlll and cultural heritage management can work in partnership to

achieve mutual benefits.

In a very real sense, the book represents a marriage of tourism and

cultural heritage management. The book adopts both tourism market￾ing and cultural heritage management perspectives and includes our

observations of what actually happens at nlany cultural sites as well

as theory. Bob McKercher has devoted much of his professional life

to tourislll, first in an operational role and more recently as an aca￾denlic. Hilary du eros has devoted most of her professional life to

cultural heritage nlanagelllent, as the owner of one of Australia's

leading consulting archaeology and heritage management firms and

more recently as an academic. Together, over the past decade, we

have also devoted lTIuch of our lives to understanding each others'

unique perspectives in these fields. For each of us, this book repre￾sents both vocation and our avocation.

Acknowledgments

Many organizations and individuals have contributed to this book,

either directly or indirectly. For a start, we nlust thank the Hong Kong

Special Adlninistrative Region of China governnlent, and especially

the University Grants Comnlittee, for funding a large ongoing study

of cultural tourisnl in Hong Kong. In addition, thanks goes to the

Lord Wilson Heritage Trust for its foresightedness in funding re￾search into planning for sustainable cultural tourism in Hong Kong.

We would also like to thank Chris Johnston of Context Proprietary

Ltd. Cultural Heritage Planners in Melbourne, Australia, and Billie

Chow So Ming and Palnela Ho Sau Ying froln Hong Kong for their

comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript. We would also like to

thank the many hundreds of cultural heritage lnanagers, owners, and

operators of tourism attractions and academics with whom we have

spoken formally or inforlnally over the years. Finally, we would like

to thank Oscar, Lily, Poppy, Ben, and Mimi for their love and support.

Although many people nlust share in any success this book has, we

alone must be responsible for any of its weaknesses.

Chapter 1

Introduction

Cultural touriSI11 is arguably the oldest of the H new" tourism phe￾nOlnena. People have been traveling for what we now call cultural

touriSlTI reasons since the days ofthe Ronlans; it isjust that they were

never recognized as being a discrete group of travelers before. Visiting

historic sites, cultural landmarks, attending special events and festi￾vals, or visiting museunlS have always been a part ofthe total tourislTI

experience. Indeed, all travel involves a cultural elelTIent. By its very

nature, the art of traveling removes tourists from their hOlTIe culture

and places them temporarily in a different cultural milieu, whether in

an adjacent city or in a village halfway around the world. But cultural

tourisrTI is seen as offering something more or different both to the

tourist and the cOlnmunity that hosts the tourist.

Cultural tourism began to be recognized as a distinct product cate￾gory in the late 1970s when tourislTI tTIarketers and tourislTI research￾ers realized that some people traveled specifically to gain a deeper

understanding ofthe culture or heritage of a destination (Tighe 1986).

Initially, it was regarded as a specialized, niche activity that was

thought to be pursued by a small number of better educated, more af￾fluent tourists who were looking for sOlnething other than the stan￾dard sand, sun, and sea holiday. It is only since the fragmentation of

the mass market in the 1990s that cultural tourism has been recog￾nized for what it is: a high-profile, mass-ITIarket activity. Depending

on the source and the destination, between 35 and 70 percent of inter￾national travelers are now considered cultural tourists (Richards

1996c; Antolovic 1999). Based on these figures, as many as 240 nlil￾lion international journeys annually involve sonle element of cultural

tourisnl. Today, arguably, cultural tourism has superseded ecotourism

as the trendy tourisln buzzword. It is not surprising, then, that desti￾nations are clamoring to get on the proverbial cultural tourisrn band-