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Cultural
Tourism 101
Some
definitions first - So, what is Cultural tourism?
Cultural
tourism is: Travel directed toward experiencing a combination
of the arts, the nature, the history, the heritage and special character
of a particular place.
Cultural
tourism is essentially the interacting of a mosaic of traditions,
art forms, natural resources, celebrations and experiences that
portray a nation, or a region, or a town and its people.
"We
need to think about Cultural Tourism because really there
is no other kind of tourism. It's what tourism is...People don't
come to America for our airports, people don't come to America for
our hotels, or the recreation facilities....They come for our culture:
high culture, low culture, middle culture, right, left, real or
imagined -- they come here to see America." (Garrison Keillor
, in an address to the 1995 White House Conference on Travel &
Tourism)
"Cultural
Tourism is a genre of special interest tourism based on the
search for and participation in, new and deep cultural experiences,
whether aesthetic, intellectual, emotional, or psychological"
(Stebbins 1996).
"Cultural
Tourism - The relationship between culture, heritage, the environment
and tourism has received a great amount of attention throughout
the world. Yet rarely have individuals or organizations representing
these special interests worked together on a local, regional, or
national basis to define their common interests and discover ways
in which they can develop a strong and mutually beneficial working
relationship that conserves natural, cultural, and human resources."
Sharr Steele-Prohaska, University of New Haven
Cultural
tourism (also culture tourism) is the subset of tourism
concerned with a country or region's culture, especially its arts.
Cultural tourism includes tourism in urban areas, particularly historic
or large cities and their cultural facilities such as museums and
theatres. It can also, less often, include tourism to rural areas;
for outdoor festivals, the houses of famous writers & artists,
sculpture parks, and landscapes made famous in literature. It is
generally agreed that cultural tourists spend substantially more
than standard tourists do.
Demand
for Cultural Tourism - A study
This
is a nice study that has tried to bring a qualitative and quantitative
prospective to a bunch of gobbly gouck. The title of the study was
"Demand for Cultural Tourism" and it was commissioned
by the New Zealand Government for they realized that Cultural
tourism needed to have further development to reach its maximum
potential. Let me summarize some of the intersting points they make:
1.
It seems that the perfect "victim" … I mean "target"
for cultural tourism is the "Interactive Traveler" [however
after careful examination we concluded that the term "Interactive
Travelers" used here, equals our well known word … Yuppies]
So let me substitute Yuppies to Interactive Travelers and make
the reading of this chat a bit snappier.
2.
Yuppies (or Interactive Travelers) have an enduring and increasing
demand for holidays (every year the average citizen of the world,
but especially the yuppie generation, spend more time recreating);
Interactive Travelers (or Yuppies) consume a wide variety of tourism
product, do more while vacationing, stay longer and seek diverse
explorations during their holidays.
3.
Yuppies use a wide variety of accommodations and transportations
while on holiday; they pre-plan their holidays more than normal
travelers; Yuppies travel both independently or use traveling
packages; and - at the end - polls show that they are more satisfied
with their vacations.
4.
Interactive Travelers (Yuppies) are also higher users of the
Internet as a source of travel information. Well, we knew that,
that is why they like Top Rated Adventures!
5.
Interactive Travelers (Yuppies) and International Visitors (foreign
Yuppies) tend to be more likely to plan ahead than their domestic
counterpart, particularly when it comes to cultural events, museum
visits, and shopping for souvenirs.
Thus,
while the "normal tourist" has been so far historically
attracted by natural wonders, physical outdoor activities and the
traditional wildlife related sports such as hunting and fishing,
more and more Yuppies add "cultural products" to their
trip's menu. Cultural products that seem to generate Yuppies interest
are:
- Learning
about the way of life of people from a different culture (this
also means that they are interested in learning the life of red-necks
- after all we are a cultural phenomenon)
- Experiencing
a country's local cuisine
- Wine
tasting, beer tasting and/or any local farm product tasting
- Visiting
local sites that are important to a country's indigenous people
- Visiting
local sites that are important to a country's history
- Exhibitions
of national history
More
time, the better
A key
barrier to visitors participating in cultural products seems to
be the lack of vacationing time (especially when natural wonders
and physical and traditional outdoor activities are the main attraction
of their trip). Notably, visitors who stay longer exhibit higher
participation rates for a number of cultural products. Thus the
fact that the International Yuppies visit considerably more cultural
products during their holiday compared to Domestic Yuppies is likely
to be due to both differences in interest levels and length of their
holiday.
Is
there something for my business here?
This
is all good, but is there something for my business here? Good question!
The answer of course is YES. Our National Park system, the National
Forest Service Lands, the Beaureau of Land Management areas, our
State Parks and other natural wonders attractions have been swamped
by a steady and in some cases alarming growth. The pressure caused
by this increasing flow of conventional tourism to traditional venues
is undermining in some instances the very existence of the local
touristic business itself. This is the classic case of too much
of a good thing ends up killing you. We have already seen some of
the popular areas limited to an 'access quota' (river have been
the first example but more are soon to follow) thus limiting the
potential for income. "But where are we going to take our clients?"
Here is where the Cultural Tourism will come into play a bigger
role in all outdoor realted businesses.
I was
born in Verona Italy; the town of Shakespeare 's Romeo and Juliet
and Shakespeare. Home of the largest producers and exporters of
italian wines, with a great tradition of opera, roman history, historical
invasions and so forth. However being exposed to all this I was
totally attrackted by the US. When I arrive here, a new wolrd opened
in fornt of my eyes. I saw things that never would have imagined.
How remember the first time that I saw a 'mobile home' [a portable
house cut in two pieces and loaded on an 18 wheeler] on the US Highway
going north to Alaska in 1981. I laughed so hard, that I almost
crashed. I follw them to the next rest area and I took tons of photos.
And I remember the first time that I saw a house being built with
2x6 "stick frame" construction. I took 2 rools of pictures;
my folks back home will never believe that houses and NOT made of
bricks or stone.
The
point I want to make here is that what it looks 'normal' to us -
it could be astonishing, precious, funny and worthy of touristic
attentions, to many. The, New Yorker, the Italians, the yuppies,
may have never seen a horseshoer at work. A logger that bucks trees
"for scale" on a landing in the nearby forest will be
a fenomenal memory for many of them. The local historian or the
representaitve of the local american indian tribe will be a speaker
that they will never forget.
In
a way the tremendous success of the "Working Ranches-Dude Ranches
Guest Ranches" has paved the road for the others businesses
to follow suit. Ranching is a very tough way of making a living,
but opening the ranch doors to the public has 'saved' and froze
in time our ranching heritage forever. This is a fulgid example
of cultural tourism.
Some
european friends could argue that in Europe the same thing was called
Agro-Tourism and it has been around for ages. True, but they did
not have the Duke - John Wayne!
So,
learn from the cow-pokes: start thinking Cultural Tourism. First
of all is a very PC word …. that is Politically Correct word.
Additionally when you start using fancy words like this, people
will like you more. Let them know that you have broaden your narrow
minded red-neck up-bringing with a couple of 'distant learnig classes
via internet' to increase your sofistication level. Or better yet
you have done all that by reading this issue of the Top Rated Outfitter
Gazette.
Enough
of that, here is a short list of suggestions that could re-brand
your business as an example of the new local touristic trend - Cultural
Tourism. To earn this coveted title you should:
- Talk
the local history buffs and invite them to your place to give
a speech to your guest about the historical points of interest
of your area. How it was 100 years ago; the names of the first
settlers, the names of some of the old businesses that are still
surviving, the oldest boat in port., etc.
- Distribute
maps and handouts and instruct your guests to a guided or self
guided visit to the point of interest illustrated by the local
historian
- Contact
the local people that provide products such as honey, eggs, cheese,
apples, and meat to the local farmer's market. Ask them to be
part of your client's stay, in whichever form they feel comfortable
with. It could be a visit to their facilities or a short talk
on your place. Think with the mind of person that has never seen
many of the things that you take for granted in your daily life.
- Find
out from the local Historical Society, which one of your local
buildings is listed in the National Registry. Bring your clients
to see these places or give them directions, a map and other pertinent
material.
- Is
there such a thing as a "local cuisine"? Find out what
early immigrant, the local American Indian tribe use to cook and
make sure to include few of these recepies in your menu. Better
yet, invite a local expert to give your clients a of "local
cuisine".
- Contact,
invite and support local artists, musicians, writers, painters,
historian, or any local artist that could interest your clients.
Well,
if you are already doing all this, thank you for reading this piece
and congratulations. You have shown one more time to be well ahead
of the game. Have fun in our wonderful outdoors. I will see you
on the trail.
Maurizio
(Maurice) Valerio, Founder and CEO of Top Rated Adventures
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