TAL045-2: Cultural Heritage Management & Tourism Destination Report

This report critically analyzes the role of cultural heritage in the development of tourism destinations, focusing on Edinburgh as a major heritage site. It discusses cultural tourism as a growing trend where visitors immerse themselves in local culture and societal customs. The report highlights the importance of tangible heritage, such as historical sites and artifacts, in attracting tourists and boosting revenue. It also addresses the need for heritage management to preserve these assets while balancing the potential negative impacts of tourism, such as degradation and pollution. The report concludes that leveraging local heritage is crucial for destination development in the competitive tourism industry, provided it is managed sustainably.

Cultural Tourism and
Heritage Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................3
Cultural tourism..........................................................................................................................3
Heritage Management.................................................................................................................4
Role of tangible heritage in destination development and cultural tourism................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
INTRODUCTION
The tourism industry is quite broad and complex in scope and forms the backbone of
many country's economy and their foreign exchange reserves which is why the field has seen
continuous development and diversification over the years. Out of several new dimensions of

tourism, one of particularly important notice is cultural tourism which is a type of travel activity
wherein the main goal of visitors is to learn, discover and immerse themselves in the local
prevailing culture and societal customs of the location (Artal-Tur and Kozak, 2020).
This report will critically analyse the role of cultural heritage in the development of
tourism destinations globally and discuss whether or not using heritage of a local community to
promote cultural tourism campaigns is a practice worth following or not. The destination which
will be used in this report is Edinburgh which is a major heritage site of UK being the capital of
Scotland and the major focus of this report will be on tangible heritage.
MAIN BODY
Cultural tourism
Simply travelling for the purpose of conducting business or having holiday away from
society is no longer the basis of the tourism industry as the times have gotten increasingly
complex along with the reasons and aims for which people travel long distances. Some major
examples of such new classifications of tourism involve eco-tourism which involves
environmentally friendly and natural surroundings exploration oriented tours and cultural
tourism which has become the most prevalent reasons for travel on a global scale. Cultural
tourism involves the visitors involving themselves in the process of getting acquainted wit the
prevalent societal culture of a location by getting in touch with its historical locations and ancient
beliefs which have been passed down from one generation to another (Garofolo, 2019).
Even though the tourism industry has been hit very hard due to big blows to the UK's
economy such as Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic, cultural tourism is still one of the fastest
growing avenues of the market segment in the country and also on a global level. The popularity
of this concept comes from the fact that people are naturally curious about knowing about
various cultures and customs of different places as it often contains an aura of mystique and
allows them to take a glimpse into ancient history and traditions that such places have to offer.
One of the major backbones of UK's cultural tourism landscape is Edinburgh which is a
major destination of UK which receives regular traffic from visitors annually due to it being the
capital of Scotland and having a rich history since it has always been a significant region
throughout the history of UK. Edinburgh has a very rich culture as it has witnessed significant

events in Scottish history and there are many tangible remains of this rich history scattered
throughout the region. The local customs and beliefs are deeply integrated with ancient history
and folklore which when combined with the plethora of physical attractions the place had to
offer results in a very unique cultural experience (Leloup, 2019).
Edinburgh has a glorious historical amalgamation of different cultures as there is a blend
of local Scottish culture along with French and contemporary influences of other cultures of UK
which make it a place worth travelling for visitors all around the world. Cultural tourism of
Edinburgh has been developed heavily through its vast variety of historical sites such as castles,
museums as well as galleries which allow visitors to know the prevailing culture first hand.
Heritage Management
Every location and community have their own legacy which has been carried down to the
modern times from the ancient past known as their heritage which is a rich process which will
continue as we pass down our current heritage to the next generation and so on. When it comes
to enticing and attracting people internationally to come and visit a place, getting in touch and
experiencing the heritage which exists in the foreign premises is a major factor behind promotion
and marketing of destinations. Heritage is something which is very sensitive according to the
geographical and cultural make-up of the population and location which is why it can be both
tangible and intangible.
Tangible heritage is one of the most important drivers of cultural tourism on an
international scale as it includes physical artifacts and infrastructural wonders which are
produced and maintained intergenerationally in a society or location. These artifacts or findings
are often connected to the past and belong to ancient society and time long lost which attract
visitors who aim to experience the roots of heritage that a place has to offer (Ruhanen and
Whitford, 2019). Tangible heritage management is very important as such historical physical
specimens must be safeguarded and preserved to carry on the legacy of the community that
resides in the given places and to promote cultural tourism as such tangible objects can quickly
become world famous and go viral through social media nowadays.
When it comes to heritage management of Edinburgh, the government and tourism
authorities have made a concentrated effort to preserve the rich ancient tradition and historic
attractions that are found all over the place. A major example includes the world famous

Edinburgh castle which has although gone through restoration and a significant amount of
rebuilding for preservation of the city heritage but the place still retains the historical influence
and infrastructural significance which made it famous in the first place.
More examples of Edinburgh's heritage management includes the vast amount of
museums that are built and proudly displayed all over the city such as the National Museum of
Scotland, Museum of Childhood and Dynamic earth which are all dedicated to a different theme
and allow visitors to experience the culture of Edinburgh from a varied perspective. The rich
heritage of the city has also been preserved through its dramatic theatres and famous art galleries
which host both local and internationally inspired art pieces.
Illustration 1: The Edinburgh Castle
Illustration 2: National Museum Of Scotland

Role of tangible heritage in destination development and cultural tourism
The local heritage of a community or place should be definitely used to promote the
destination using developmental methods to highlight it as a hub for cultural tourism because it
helps the location's population and the presiding government in generating much higher revenue
and develop the place in a much more rapid manner (Santa and Tiatco, 2019). The tourism
industry is very competitive as there are many wondrous locations around the world to visit and
the cost associated with travel makes it so that only places with the strongest cultural heritage
sites are given priority by the visitors. Using heritage of a place to market it as a cultural visiting
destination can help it again significance quickly and allows the country or city to show its
hospitality and traditional customs to a global audience.
Cultural tourism and heritage management are interrelated concepts and their major
guiding principles both intersect and clash with each other as both these concepts need to be
applied together for proper destination development for the purpose of boosting tourism. The
monuments, historic sites, remains and objects which are observed and maintained through
tangible heritage management are done so for the purpose of them getting seen by visitors from
across the globe. On the other hand, cultural tourism is highly dependent upon the heritage
factors displayed by the local community such as their places of worship, languages and ancient
texts used, the relics and remains of their ancient institutions such as castles and cathedrals.
The development of Edinburgh as a cultural destination has been executed by heavily
marketing the Scottish heritage of the local population as sites such as the Edinburgh castle serve
as a great memory lane through ancient Scottish and British culture. The national war memorial
which resides inside the castle premises is also a major part of the cultural tourism tours and
packages offered by companies and it has been carefully preserved as there are many
nationalistic feelings of the local community attached to it.

Although complementary, cultural tourism and heritage management also clash with one
another as many a times, the greed incited by tourism can cause harm to local heritage sites and
rebuilding them often makes them lose their charm (Stark, 2020). Heritage sites can also
sometimes be adversely affected by the popularity they help channel through to cultural tourism
as increased visitor traffic leads to degradation and pollution of such important sites of
preservation.
CONCLUSION
The above report went into detail regarding the role of heritage of local communities in
propelling the tourism industry forward with added context of cultural tourism which is a
massively popular branch of travelling wherein people aim to familiarize themselves with the
ancient and current existing beliefs and customs of a location. The definition, scope and
importance of both tangible heritage management and cultural management were duly
highlighted along with the role played by the former in destination development and boosting the
latter's popularity. It was concluded that heritage of the local communities should be sued to
promote the culture of a destination whenever possible as such practices are needed to succeed in
a competitive industry.
Illustration 3: Scottish National War Memorial

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Artal-Tur, A. and Kozak, M. eds., 2020. Culture and Cultures in Tourism: Exploring New
Trends. Routledge.
Garofolo, I., 2019. Accessibility to Cultural Heritage Between Tangible and Intangible.
Leloup, M., 2019. Heritage protection as stabilization, the emergence of a new ‘mandated
task’for UN peace operations. International Peacekeeping, 26(4), pp.408-430.
Ruhanen, L. and Whitford, M., 2019. Cultural heritage and Indigenous tourism. Journal of
heritage tourism, 14(3), pp.179-191.
Santa, E.D. and Tiatco, A., 2019. Tourism, heritage and cultural performance: Developing a
modality of heritage tourism. Tourism Management Perspectives, 31, pp.301-309.
Stark, M.T., 2020. Collaboration, engagement, and Cambodia: Archaeological perspectives on
cultural heritage. Journal of Community Archaeology & Heritage, 7(3), pp.215-231.