Importance of Heritage and Culture in Travel and Tourism

This research explores the growth and development of the heritage and culture industry, potential conflicts in the conservation of heritage and culture resources, purpose of heritage and culture attractions, impact of different types of ownership on the management of heritage and cultural sites, and methods and media used for interpretation within the heritage and culture industry for tourists.

Heritage
1

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1.................................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Analyze the growth and development of the heritage and culture industry...............................3
1.2 Discussing potential conflicts in the conservation of heritage and culture resources using the
case study of Lhasa, Tibet................................................................................................................3
TASK 2.................................................................................................................................................5
2.1 Purpose of heritage and culture attractions in meeting needs and wants to customers.............5
TASK 3.................................................................................................................................................6
3.1 Impact of different types of ownership on the management of heritage and cultural sites.......6
3.2 Roles and responsibilities of organizations in the heritage and cultural industry......................6
TASK 4.................................................................................................................................................6
4.1 Methods and media used for interpretation within the heritage and culture industry for
tourists..............................................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................................9
2

INTRODUCTION
Heritage is important in understand the story of the nation in terms explaining its history,
identity and its people. It is the combination of both intangible and tangible which presents in
different forms such as places, landmarks, spaces, buildings and contents, views and the stories
linked with them (Smith and Richards, 2013). The management and retention of heritage places are
playing a significant role in defending the environment, creating vibrant societies and sustaining
local economics. It is also giving contribution in the quality of life and culture identity of
communities. Gardens, schools, churches, hotels, halls etc are some heritage places which are
generally focal point for gathering of people. Revitalising and utilization of these landmarks or
buildings help in generating the employment opportunities for the local people. Heritage places are
boost up tourism trend at the particular locations by creating them valuable assets (Whelan, 2016).
The present research is based on heritage where to understand its importance, London as a heritage
and culture destination is taking into the consideration. Objectives that will cover under the current
research are growth and development of the heritage and cultural industry, purpose of historical and
culture attraction, roles and responsibilities of organizations to save inheritance etc in within travel
and tourism sector.
TASK 1
1.1 Analyze the growth and development of the heritage and culture industry
Attached in Poster
1.2 Discussing potential conflicts in the conservation of heritage and culture resources using the
case study of Lhasa, Tibet
To attract the tourists, it becomes important for Tiber government to preserve the heritage
and culture resources. State Administration of Cultural heritage has formulated some principles for
the preservation of various heritage sites in Lhasa, Tibet because it has become impossible for the
local people to protect legacy places (Pignaton and et. al., 2016). Conservation of heritage and
cultural resources of this destination has helped in growth and development of economy of Tibet. In
this context, the government has tie up with the some public and private organizations at national
and international level which are working in the direction of protecting inheritance.
Lhasa, Tibet is a place where large numbers of tourist have come to visit the place from
across the world (Quattrone, 2015). It is the second most popular city on country which counts in
most religious and administrative capital of Tibet. There are many historic places in Lhasa such as
Sera Monastery, Potala Place, Norbulingka etc. But there are some potential conflicts in the
3

conservation of heritage and culture resources of this destination. First resource in this direction is
art and religion of country. With the passing of time, a Buddhist artist tradition has shifted several
times in the 20th century. In the past time, religious images were considered very faithful in terms of
material objects and actual physical embodiments (Whelan, 2016). But with the new conceptions
and use of art have been changed relationships to religion and images of Tibetans. This has brought
the culture revolution that has able to introduce a new perception related to art. It has created
potential conflict in conserving heritage and culture resources in Lhasa.
Second one conflict related to protection of heritage and culture resource of Lhasa is clashes
between local people and the developers. Many of the companies are looking the great potential at
this place and earn good profits. In this context, they are coming up with the some new projects
such as hotel development, creating visitor centres etc (Labadi and Long, 2010). It has created
conflicts between local communities and external developer parties. Due to this, Lhasa has still
faced overdevelopment issues but it’s enriching with natural beauties cannot be easily protected by
local residential and government only (Chen and Chen, 2010).
On the other hand, uneven distribution, growing population and migration of people from
one location to another location of the nation etc have increased the pressure over the culture and
heritage properties (Alberti and Giusti, 2012). In some areas of Tibet, industrial revolution and
technology advancement are taking place at the high level because those sites are rich from natural
sources. It has forces the people to shift to those places to get the new employment opportunities. It
has brought the culture and heritage of different destinations such as Lhasa under pressure. This has
created a problem in the direction of the conservation of heritage and culture of this place. So, it can
be said that the development of location in technology and industrial aspects have generated
conflicts in the conservation of heritage and culture resources of Lhasa (Boukas, Ziakas and
Boustras, 2013).
Brown field versus gee filed has also created a potential conflict at the time of preventing
heritage and culture resources of Lhasa (Chhabra, 2010). As per the research, it has found that IHG
which is one of the top leading hotel chains is planning to invest their money to develop paradise at
this destination that will contain 1000 rooms for the visitors. This project has mainly focused on the
green fields to setup of the actual project in the outskirt location that can able to attract large
number of travellers from across the world (Lhasa Faces ‘Disneyfication’ Specter With Hotel Plan,
2013). But the local communities and government has do not want such kinds of projects in green
field because it will affect the nature that result in not help in conserving the culture and heritage
resources.
4

TASK 2
2.1 Purpose of heritage and culture attractions in meeting needs and wants to customers
Main aim of culture and heritage attractions is to secure the culture of the particular place
for the long time and make that site more attractive for the travellers to visit that destination. British
Museum and The Royal Academy of Arts are two heritage buildings of London, UK (De Vita,
Ragozino and Simeone, 2015). These are the best representation of culture and history of the
development of legacy of the nation. Both are protecting by the government and other public as
well as private organizations. The aim of conservation of British Museum is to provide the
information to the visitors about the culture of UK and develop the opportunities of tourism in the
country (Dahles, 2013). It tells the past ancient history of the culture and other heritage
development to the visitors. While, Royal Academy of Arts in London is one of the leading places
of UK that attract the attention of different kinds of travellers at large number in which most of
them are students. This responsible for the cares of more than 80 million specimens with the aim of
preventing the heritage and culture of UK (Farmaki, 2013). Purpose of British Museum and The
Royal Academy of Arts attractions in meeting needs and wants to students are as follows:
Education: Aim of British Museum and The Royal Academy of Arts is to spreading the
knowledge and education to the students about the culture and heritage so that they can aware about
these two things. It has developed the basic knowledge in the travellers of national and international
students (Haven‐Tang and Jones, 2012). There are also lectures and workshops for this purpose.
Research: British Museum and The Royal Academy of Arts are the best destinations of UK
for those students who are working in the research area of culture and heritage. With the help of
these visiting places, the learners have gained the knowledge about the culture and heritage of the
UK and its development phases. They can carry out the investigation over the various artworks of
ancient time (Ismagilova, Safiullin and Bagautdinova, 2014).
Recreation: British Museum and The Royal Academy of Arts workers as recreational
activities for various types of travellers such as students, families and people interested in arts to
spend the time. With the recreation activities, visitors can easily gain the knowledge about the
culture and heritage and their importance (Lacher and et. al., 2013).
Entertainment: Both British Museum and The Royal Academy of Arts provides
entertainments to visitors. By organizing various arts exhibitions and culture events, these historical
places have attracted the travellers. With the help of these ideas, it becomes easy for the nation to
give a good growth to UK. Along with this, it enhances the knowledge level of the visitors by
delivering culture and heritage information (Newland and Taylor, 2010).
5

TASK 3
3.1 Impact of different types of ownership on the management of heritage and cultural sites
Attached in Leaflet
3.2 Roles and responsibilities of organizations in the heritage and cultural industry
With the passing of time, travel and tourism sector is attaining the growth and development.
In this context, culture and heritage sites are giving their highest contribution. To promote these,
private and public organizations of UK are working on it (Nguyen, Camacho and Jung, 2017). They
are working in the direction of the care and conservation of heritage and culture for the long time
for future generation. There are many of the attractions in UK which are taking care by UK
government itself with the aim of promoting the travel and tourism in the nation. Government
bodies are also looking the renovation and maintenance of heritage buildings and places with the
time. Along with this, there are some culture and heritage sites that are falling under private
ownership where they have not focus over the recreation and renovation activities. Their motive
behind this is to make profit rather than meet the requirements of the visitors. Due to this, the
travellers do not like to revisit those destinations (Richards and Munsters, 2010). This has affected
image of UK and has decreased the number of visitors at those places. ON the other hand, public
ownerships have taken the responsibilities towards maintain and promote culture and heritage of
UK at national and international level. The impacts of different types of ownerships regarding the
management of culture and heritage destinations are as follows:
Government ownership: There are various destinations of UK which have fall under the
government authorities. They have taken decisions in the direction of management of culture and
heritage sites of the nation (Salazar, 2010). The impact of the following ownership is it has brought
the improvement in services offer by inheritance places to make them more popular at national and
international level. They have developed the destinations for recreation, education and research and
entertainment purpose. Government ownership to conserve heritage and culture places has helped in
generated more profits which have given strengthen to nation economy. Along with this, these have
enhanced the knowledge level of the travellers regarding the destination (Timothy, 2011). Thus, the
responds and contribution of UK government ownership has made the positive impacts over the
management of heritage and cultural sites.
Private ownership: Under this type of ownership, heritage and cultures destination have
owned and managed by different private organizations in various ways. These are following the all
instructions and rules of UK government to maintain culture and heritage places in an effective
manner (Prideaux, Timothy and Chon, 2013). Private agencies have invested the huge amount of
6

funds on various maintenance activities of the buildings, landmarks, sites etc to attract the large
numbers of travellers. They have focused over the renovation and recreational events so that they
can earn the more profits and revenues. Some of time, private organizations have paid by UK
government for maintenance and other work of culture and heritage destinations. These actions
have increased the job opportunities for the local communities. So, it can be said that private
organizations have made the positive impacts over the management of heritage and cultural sites
(Alberti and Giusti, 2012).
TASK 4
4.1 Methods and media used for interpretation within the heritage and culture industry for tourists
By taking the experience from the trip of The British Museum and The Royal Academy of
Arts, it has been determined that with the help of various media and methods can be used to attract
the visitors towards the culture and heritage destinations. These techniques are drama, published
materials, interactive technologies, language translations etc. These have used for interpretation
within the heritage and culture industry for tourists (Prideaux, Timothy and Chon, 2013). With the
help of published materials such as travel magazines, government articles, newspaper, journals etc,
it becomes easy to understand the different information about the culture and heritage industry of
UK for travelers. These sources have able to deliver the complete and important information about
the destinations to the visitors. By these, tourists have understood the significance about the place or
landmarks such as The British Museum and The Royal Academy of Arts in terms of part history and
other related stories of them (Pignaton and et. al., 2016). Apart from this, role plays and drama have
also helped The British Museum and The Royal Academy of Arts to communicate the important
information about these destinations for tourists. It has increased the knowledge of the travelers by
overcoming the barriers related to language. With the help of technology, information of culture and
heritage industry has translated into different languages so that the visitors can understand that
information in an effective manner.
CONCLUSION
From the above research, it can be concluded that heritage and culture tourism has played an
important role in the direction of development of economy of a nation. It has considered the source
of generation of profit, revenue and employment opportunities for the country and its local people.
With the time, government and other private as well as pubic organizations have taken actions in the
direction to preserve the heritage and culture of destinations. There have various roles and
responsibilities of ownership firms in the context of protecting the places, landmarks etc which
7

were built in ancient time. ON the other hand, the aim of heritage and culture destinations has to
increase the knowledge of the travellers and creates awareness in them towards the place or a
landmark.
8

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Alberti, F. G. and Giusti, J. D., 2012. Cultural heritage, tourism and regional competitiveness: The
Motor Valley cluster. City, culture and society. 3(4). pp.261-273.
Boukas, N., Ziakas, V. and Boustras, G., 2013. Olympic legacy and cultural tourism: Exploring the
facets of Athens’ Olympic heritage. International Journal of Heritage Studies. 19(2).
pp.203-228.
Chen, C. F. and Chen, P. C., 2010. Resident attitudes toward heritage tourism development. Tourism
Geographies. 12(4). pp.525-545.
Chhabra, D., 2010. Sustainable marketing of cultural and heritage tourism. Routledge.
Dahles, H., 2013. Tourism, heritage and national culture in Java: Dilemmas of a local community.
Routledge.
De Vita, G.E., Ragozino, S. and Simeone, M., 2015. Community engagement for cultural
landscapes: a case study of heritage preservation and tourism development. BDC. Bollettino
Del Centro Calza Bini. 15(1). pp.131-150.
Farmaki, A., 2013. Dark tourism revisited: a supply/demand conceptualisation. International
Journal of Culture, tourism and hospitality Research. 7(3). pp.281-292.
Haven‐Tang, C. and Jones, E., 2012. Local leadership for rural tourism development: A case study
of Adventa, Monmouthshire, UK. Tourism Management Perspective. 4. pp.28-35.
Ismagilova, G.N., Safiullin, L.N. and Bagautdinova, N.G., 2014. Tourism development in region
based on historical heritage. Life Science Journal. 11(6s). pp.363-367.
Labadi, S. and Long, C. eds., 2010. Heritage and globalisation. Routledge.
Lacher, R.G. and et. al., 2013. The Role of Heritage and Cultural Elements in Coastal Tourism
Destination Preferences A Choice Modeling–Based Analysis. Journal of Travel Research.
52(4). pp.534-546.
Newland, K. and Taylor, C., 2010. Heritage tourism and nostalgia trade: a diaspora niche in the
development landscape. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.
Nguyen, T.T., Camacho, D. and Jung, J.E., 2017. Identifying and ranking cultural heritage resources
on geotagged social media for smart cultural tourism services. Personal and Ubiquitous
Computing, pp.1-13.
Pignaton, A. and et. al., 2016. Analysis of the Reuse of Architectural Heritage to Cultural Tourism
Sustainability.International Journal of Scientific Management and Tourism. 2(4). pp.321-
348.
9

Poria, Y., Reichel, A. and Cohen, R., 2011. World heritage site—Is it an effective brand name? A
case study of a religious heritage site. Journal of Travel Research. 50(5). pp.482-495.
Prideaux, B., Timothy, D. and Chon, K., 2013. Cultural and heritage tourism in Asia and the
Pacific. Routledge.
Quattrone, G., 2015. Combined Management Strategies For The Valorisation And Reuse Of
Defence Cultural Heritage And The Promotion Of Sustainable Cultural Tourism. WIT
Transactions on Ecology and the Environment. 193. pp.953-962.
Raj, R. and Griffin, K.A. eds., 2015. Religious tourism and pilgrimage management: An
international perspective. CABI.
Raj, R., Griffin, K. and Morpeth, N.D. eds., 2013. Cultural tourism. CABI.
Richards, G. and Munsters, W. eds., 2010. Cultural tourism research methods. CABI.
Salazar, N. B., 2010. The glocalisation of heritage through tourism. Heritage and globalisation,
pp.131-145.
Smith, M. and Richards, G. eds., 2013. The Routledge handbook of cultural tourism. Routledge.
Timothy, D.J., 2011. Cultural heritage and tourism (Vol. 4). Channel View Publications.
Whelan, Y., 2016. Heritage, memory and the politics of identity: New perspectives on the cultural
landscape. Routledge.
Online
Lhasa Faces ‘Disneyfication’ Specter With Hotel Plan. 2013. [Online]. Available through: <
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/lhasa-07022013164131.html>. [Accessed on 2nd
February 2017].
Thomas, N., 2013. Heritage tourism generates £26.4bn towards UK economy. [Online]. Available
through: <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/leisure/
10172008/Heritage-tourism-generates-26.4bn-towards-UK-economy.html>. [Accessed on
2nd February 2017].
Youell, R., 2000. Travel and Tourism. Pearson Education Limited. Cultural Heritage Rights: From
Ownership and Descent to Justice and Well-being. 2013. [Online]. Available through:<
http://muse.jhu.edu>. [Accessed on 2nd February 2017].
10

11