Heritage Tourism: Cultural and Heritage Attractions in the UK

This report explores the cultural and heritage attractions in the UK, with a focus on The Tower of London. It covers conservation practices, types of heritage tourism attractions, key issues faced in conservation, and the importance of authenticity and distinctiveness in heritage tourism.

Heritage Tourism

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Heritage and Cultural Attraction in the UK.................................................................................3
Conservation Practices followed by The London Tower............................................................4
Types of heritage tourism attractions...........................................................................................5
Key issues faced in conservation of heritage...............................................................................6
Importance of authenticity and distinctiveness in heritage tourism.............................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Heritage tourism refers to travelling mainly for the purpose of exploring the heritage and
the history of a place. It is one of the most fastest growing sector in global tourism. Cultural and
Heritage attraction, reflects the way of living followed by a community and carry on from
generation-to-generation (Park, 2019). It includes custom practice, object, places and values. It
provides connection to certain social beliefs, values, custom, and religion. Heritage refers to sites
to travel which represent history, people identity or inheritance. It includes monuments, ancient
temples, museums, etc. Cultural Heritage gives people with sense of unity and belonging, allows
them to know and understand previous generation and the history. In the era of modernization
cultural heritage support the past culture and value it.
This report will reflect the cultural and heritage attraction in UK, where there are number
of heritage sites in United Kingdom and Overseas Territories. It will analyse and interprets about
The Tower of London, one of the prime pace in London. It also covers the practices and
measure taken by the authority in order to conserve it and their visitors management strategy. It
also shows the key challenges that are being faced by the heritage tourism.
MAIN BODY
Heritage and Cultural Attractions in the UK
Heritage environment is defined as the buildings, relics, places, precincts of state
significance (Bec and et.al., 2019). It includes natural built heritage, objects, aboriginal places,
cultural heritage like events inherited in past ans story tradition. It is protected for its aesthetic,
historic, social, environmental and economic values. Heritage and Cultural Attraction allows
visitors to explore the physical and intellectual creation. Heritage and Cultural tourism include
the several sites which represent community or people's history. It is basically divided into three
categories: cultural, natural and built.
In United Kingdom, London is most visited place. There are several places in UK which
reflect the custom and ideology of people. Currently there is 31 heritage sites in United Kingdom
and in its overseas territories. Out of total heritage place 18 of them are located basically in
England. The top heritage sites in the United Kingdom include: Stonehenge Wiltshire, The
Tower of London, Warwick Castle, Warwickshire, Old Royal Naval College, Chatsworth House,
etc.

The Tower of London is a heritage site located at the north bank of River Thames in
London. It was founded 1000 years ago at time of Norman Conquest. It covers the area of 12
acres with a height of 27 meters (AT THE TOWER OF LONDON, 2021). It is owned by The
Crown Estate belongs to Queen Elizabeth II. As of 2019, it has 2.98 million visitors. The Tower
of London itself covers 21 different towers, and each of them has stories behind them, where it is
the oldest tower among those 21 towers and also known as Tower of Torture. It is the most
popular tourist place and played a most prominent role in history. The Grand Tower is early in its
history, it also served as a royal residence. Tower covers the several sets of building include two
rings of defensive walls and moat. The Tower of London world Heritage Site is to sustain its
universal value and present it to public and upcoming generation.
Conservation Practices followed by The London Tower
The Tower of London, is used to be protected by detachment of the regiment at
Buckingham Palace and St James' Palace. Its guard includes the one officer, 6 NCO and 15
soldiers. Yeoman Warders are guarding The Tower of London since Tudor Times, and
recognized as a nickname 'Beefeaters'. The word Beefeaters comes from the French word
bufferer, and they are guards who protect the heritage place The group of 32 men and women
drawn from armed force (Light, 2017). In earlier times, the tower concealed the generations of
defences, palatial accommodations, taverns and stores. With the wonderful condition it is evident
from its strong foundation base and other remains, that are below the visitor' feet. The prodigious
depth and wealth of the remains of the tower's are prestigious, which has enhanced strong
potentiates towards safety standards.
The construction of the London tower began in the 11th century. In the beginning of the
planning, it was lay within the earlier walls of the Roman city, but with the subsequent
development , mainly in the 13th century, its boundaries were carried towards the east walls.
Presently, it covers an area of 18 acres. It is one of the most ancient building in the Norman
keep. It is divided into two wards (Santa and Tiatco, 2019). The inner ward is enclosed by wall
that contains around 13 towers, that were used as shelters as there is only one surviving entrance
to these towers that is still being in use which is located in the south wing of the Bloody tower.
On the other hand, the outer ward has been surrounded by a second wall that is flanked by six
other towers that are faced in the direction of river, also by two semi-circular parapet situated in
the north-east and west corners. This tower was mainly occupied as a palace by every ruler and

queen. Presently the tower is unoccupied and open for public that contains royal armouries,
crown jewels, and is known for high precise safety standards. Also, it is the headquarters for
Fusiliers, the royal regiment as well as accommodation of resident staff.
In the 20th century the tower was marked as a tourist attraction and its role as a military
store was diminished. However during the second world war military used the tower to confine
the prisoners of war. But in the late 20th century heritage tourism came to dominate the tower.
Therefore areas of towers were altered for the visitors display such as the Roman wall shop.
Hence, there was a change in the philosophy of conservation, with the massive expansion in the
archaeological below and above ground (Zhang and Smith, 2019). However in the 21st century
recognition of the significance of the tower led development of the Tower Environs Master plan
that envisages substantial work around the surrounding areas for conservation of the London
tower.
Types of heritage tourism attractions
According to the NTHP, heritage tourism means travelling to places, activities,
monuments, artefacts which authentically has a story to be represented that involves ancient
history and significance (Megeirhi and et.al., 2020). In other words it can be said it is a type of
travel that is based on the understanding level of how the ancient times were like. It includes all
the resources such as historic, cultural and natural resources. There are three types of heritage
tourism that are:
1. Natural heritage tourism
2. Cultural heritage tourism
3. Mixed heritage tourism
Cultural heritage tourism is a branch of tourism that is oriented towards the culturally
aspect of a heritage of a place where tourism is occurring. It has always played a major role in
travelling from the 16th century after the Grand tour (Timothy, 2018). Also, cultural attraction
plays a major role in attracting heritage tourism at all levels that is from the global world cultures
to the underpin attraction identities. It is one of fastest growing tourism in the heritage tourism as
tourists are seeking interest and in the ancient history and archaeology that can be seen from the
evident rise in the volume of tourists. Cultural tourism is very important in the heritage tourism
because it has socially positive impact on the economy and it also establishes identities. Thus,
helping in preserving the heritage.

On the other hand, natural heritage tourism is a branch of tourism that enhances and
sustains the geographical character of a place. These characters include a place's environment,
aesthetic etc (Jung and et.al., 2018). Natural heritage is an ecotourism concept that focuses on
agritourism and nature that is it focuses on the agriculture lifestyle. There are various benefits of
the natural heritage tourism that is it helps in building cultural and environmental awareness and
integrity. It also, helps in empowering the local tourism which benefits the local people. Whereas
the mixed heritage tourism is a the of heritage that contains both the elements of natural as well
as cultural heritage.
Key issues faced in conservation of heritage
Heritage conservation is the process that refers to safeguarding and protecting the cultural
elements defining a historical heritage. It helps in increasing the property values and attract more
tourism (Ghermandi, 2020). With the investment in heritage conservation it leaves as a reward of
invaluable resources for the future generation. However, heritage conservation has become a
bigger challenge in the global society. There are various challenges and issues that are being
faced in conservation of ancient heritage. Issues such as technical, environmental financial as
affected the conservation process of heritage.
 One of the most important issue that has been faced in heritage conservation is the
environmental issue. It consists of the challenges that are being faced due to the
economic pressure (Zheng and Ritchie, 2020). Condition of the building location, third
party interference etc. with the continuous change in the economic development it led to
creating development pressure in the rural and urban areas. In the European countries,
with the urban regeneration it has led to high degree of redevelopment of building that
are located in the central areas because off the higher land values. However heritage
located outside the central areas are facing survival issue as the main focus if given to the
central areas.
 Among the biggest issue that is being faced by the heritage conservation is the limited
availability of resources. With the insufficient availability of resources it is affecting the
redevelopment in the conservation of the heritage. Also, heritage conservation has been
facing issue in terms of shortage of labour and material for the redevelopment purposes.
It has been reported that due to the lack of conservation skills and lack of experience and

expertise has led to 60% redevelopment of historic building by inexperienced and
inexpert personnels.
 Another challenge that has been faced by the heritage conservation is the lack of financial
support that is unavailability of funds to redevelop the historic architecture. Because of
the unpredictable nature of conservation work, it is very difficult to identify the final cost
of any project (Asmelash and Kumar, 2019). As to predict a price for the product which
has not been built yet, with no recruitment of labour it becomes very difficult. And also,
conservation of these architectures is already very costly due to its ancient architect.
 Another important issue that is being faced in conservation of heritage is the lack of
master plan that is except the heritage sites such as tower of London, Bath, Stonehenge,
Hadrian's wall, palace of Westminster etc. other historic architectures are facing a
negligence. And because of the lack of appropriate master plan, historic monuments are
loosing their charm. Also, with the lack of conservation, biological agencies like fungus,
mosses, algae etc. are affecting the construction of the monuments,
Importance of authenticity and distinctiveness in heritage tourism.
The concept of authenticity is becoming a predominant trend tourism that is due to the
contemporary tourist looking for experiences that not only pulsate their world but provides a
break from their daily routines (Lin, 2018). Significantly more number of people are visiting
culturally heritage sites as to expose themselves to novel information and thus, satisfying their
cultural needs. Because of the authenticity of these cultural sites tourist like to visit these sites.
The cultural suppositions and the vagueness of the authenticity concept has become a guiding
principle in the heritage tourism.
In the recent years, there have been wide debates about the cultural heritage tourism
being authentic and its significance in value of authenticity in heritage tourism. Authenticity is
not only a means of prosperity and growth of a heritage site but it is a necessary obligation for
the survival and differentiation from the other tourist site attractions. The importance of
authenticity in the heritage industry is that these monuments present and promote the true story
related , with it alongside providing real objective and value which appeals the tourist in desiring
to visit these sites.
The interpretation and authenticity of a heritage setting differ in context with different
individual tourists. For example; two individuals visiting the London Tower may have a different

interpretation of the authenticity of the monument depending on their own view points , attitudes,
beliefs and values. This does not imply that authenticity in not central in formation of eccentric
experiences but is important in relation with the heritage sites.
On the other hand, distinctiveness is the fundamental element in shaping the identity of a
heritage tourism (Tsai, 2020). In other words essential aspect in shaping the identity of an
monument is through its distinctiveness and appearance. The distinctiveness of any heritage
comprises its attributes that comprises its physical appearance, cultural influence and variety of
activities and events that are taking place in the monument. Distinctiveness consists of mainly
four elements that is the landmark, uniqueness, its special character and the different perceptions
of people.
For example; Tower Of London, Stonehenge are some historic monuments that are
known for its uniqueness which distinguish them from other historic monuments. However, one
of the most crucial aspect in distinction of heritage sites is dependent on the history and
background related to that place. With regard to the heritage tourism distinctiveness is a self
enhancement social aspect that helps in shaping the identity of a cultural site. It is used as a tool
in distinguishing between various heritage on the basis of tourists experiences. It mainly includes
the natural properties and the long term evaluation of the place constructed. However,
distinctiveness is mainly concerned with the enhancement and preservation of the uniqueness of
the heritage site.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that heritage tourism is a type of travel that is
done for exploring the heritage history and significance of a place. Heritage and culture are all
connected with the beliefs, customs, values of a place. There are various place of attraction in
UK. Tower Of London is one of them which was founded 1000 years ago. In the ancient times it
was used for the military purposes and after ward sit was turned into a cultural heritage. It can be
summarized that conservation of these architectures and monuments is becoming very important
as it helps in increasing its authenticity and distinctiveness, which are the most important
elements in the heritage attraction of a place. Also, heritage tourism comprises three types of
attraction that is the cultural, natural and mixed heritage. Each of them has its own significance

on the heritage tourism. At the end, it can be concluded from the report that there are various
issues and challenges that are being faced in the preservation and conservation of the heritage
sites and monuments and with the lack of conservation practices of these monuments it has been
drastically affecting the construction of the places.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Asmelash, A.G. and Kumar, S., 2019. The structural relationship between tourist satisfaction and
sustainable heritage tourism development in Tigrai, Ethiopia. Heliyon, 5(3), p.e01335.
Bec and et.al., 2019. Management of immersive heritage tourism experiences: A conceptual
model. Tourism Management, 72, pp.117-120.
Ghermandi, A., Camacho-Valdez, V. and Trejo-Espinosa, H., 2020. Social media-based analysis
of cultural ecosystem services and heritage tourism in a coastal region of
Mexico. Tourism Management, 77, p.104002.
Jung and et.al., 2018. Cross-cultural differences in adopting mobile augmented reality at cultural
heritage tourism sites. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
Light, D., 2017. Progress in dark tourism and thanatourism research: An uneasy relationship with
heritage tourism. Tourism Management, 61, pp.275-301.
Lin, Y.C. and Liu, Y.C., 2018. Deconstructing the internal structure of perceived authenticity for
heritage tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 26(12), pp.2134-2152.
Megeirhi and et.al., 2020. Employing a value-belief-norm framework to gauge Carthage
residents’ intentions to support sustainable cultural heritage tourism. Journal of
Sustainable Tourism, 28(9), pp.1351-1370.
Park, E., Choi, B.K. and Lee, T.J., 2019. The role and dimensions of authenticity in heritage
tourism. Tourism Management, 74, pp.99-109.
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.
Timothy, D.J., 2018. Making sense of heritage tourism: Research trends in a maturing field of
study. Tourism Management Perspectives, 25, pp.177-180.
Tsai, S.P., 2020. Augmented reality enhancing place satisfaction for heritage tourism
marketing. Current Issues in Tourism, 23(9), pp.1078-1083.

Zhang, R. and Smith, L., 2019. Bonding and dissonance: Rethinking the interrelations among
stakeholders in heritage tourism. Tourism Management, 74, pp.212-223.
Zheng, D., Liang, Z. and Ritchie, B.W., 2020. Residents’ social dilemma in sustainable heritage
tourism: The role of social emotion, efficacy beliefs and temporal concerns. Journal of
Sustainable Tourism, 28(11), pp.1782-1804.
Online references
AT THE TOWER OF LONDON, 2021. [Online]. Available through
<https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/whats-on/?
types=&date=&from=&to=&palaces=1137&sortType=0&pageNumber=1>E TOWER
OF LONDONAT THE TOWER OF LONDON