Exploring Tourism and Heritage Management: A Comparative Analysis

This report provides a comparative analysis of tourism and heritage management in South Africa and India. The introduction defines heritage and its importance in communicating cultural aspects to visitors. The report then presents two blog posts. The first blog explores South African heritage sites, including The Freedom Park in Pretoria, Madikwe Game Reserve, and Tsitsikamma National Park, highlighting their historical and natural significance. The second blog post focuses on India's cultural diversity, featuring Amritsar's Golden Temple and Lucknow, along with brief mentions of Agra, Ayodhya, Varanasi, and Rishikesh. The comparison section contrasts the heritage of both countries, emphasizing South Africa's focus on flora and fauna and India's emphasis on religious beliefs and cultural diversity. The report concludes by highlighting the unique tourist attractions of each country and suggesting that visitors choose based on their interests in nature or history and culture. The report includes references to relevant books and journals.

Tourism and Heritage
Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Importance of communicating cultural heritage to visitors........................................................3
BLOG 1- Celebrate all things in South Africa.................................................................................3
BLOG 2- Cultural diversity of India ...............................................................................................5
COMPARISON...............................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Heritage refers to a legacy of various physical artefacts and different intangible attributes
which is related to a society or a group that is gained or inherited by old generations (Tsai, 2020).
However, it can be said that all the legacies that are passed on by past generations are not
heritage it usually depends upon selection by the society. Interpretation of heritage refers to
various ways in which information about education, various natural and recreational sites
including parks, science centres and museums is communicated to the tourists and visitors at that
location. There are also a number of different words like mediation or musicology used by a
number of different international authorities. There are a number of different heritage
interpretation centres such as art galleries, parks, historic sites botanical gardens, natural reserves
and so on.
Importance of communicating cultural heritage to visitors
Communication of heritage to visitors who are visiting a tourists attraction is necessary.
This helps in promoting the artists and different cultures of various tourist attractions. Heritage
also helps in understanding the events of past and how the places have evolved from the past.
There are a number of different heritage attractions that can be tangible, intangible, natural or
man-made. A number of different legends, myths, memories and traditions are attached to these
heritage sites. It is also important that while visiting these places the tourists do not hurt feelings,
values and believes of any culture due to which they are introduces to this heritage sites and also
the past which let it to this stage (Zhang and Smith, 2019). Heritage is a part of what a place or
person stands for. It is a major reason that forms identity of an individual. Heritage can be said
as keystone of culture which have major effects upon society, politics, business as well as world
view. Therefore it is also necessary to preserve it while communicating it to visitors.
BLOG 1- Celebrate all things in South Africa
When considering the tourists attractions of South Africa there are a number of different
culture, food, history as well as scenery. All these have successfully inspired me to go to South
Africa and visit a number of places in the country that are filled with cultural heritage in
company (Piscitelli, 2019). There are a few of such places I visited during my visit to country
and will be describing them.

The first one was The Freedom Park in Pretoria. There are very few people who know
about this. This is a place where honour is provided to all the brave hearts who gave their life for
country during any conflict in South Africa's history. The place is like a story book that is
describing stories and the symbols there fill the heart with deep thoughts. There is a wall of
names that describes the name of all these people. But the most touching place is Isivivane which
is the final resting place for all those who died for country. There are eight major wars that have
shaped South Africa for what it is today. The rocks and soils from all these wars have been
collected and spread over this place. In order to make sure that souls of all the victims of wars
come to rest the rock and soil has been cleansed first with a spiritual ceremony. It is a great place
to visit which is open 7 days a week and help from guides can also be taken who depart at 9 am,
12 noon and 3 pm.
Figure :The Freedom Park in Pretoria

Madikwe Game Reserve is another one of rich heritage site in South Africa. This reserve in
South Africa is a mixture of countries best diversity of wildlife land redevelopment as well as
community upliftment. This Game reserve was developed on a wasteland. 75000 ha of wasteland
was re-developed as a conservation and wildlife area. There were more than 8000 animals
brought in at this reserve. This happens to be one of the biggest project of wild life relocation
which have been carried out in history (van der Merwe, 2019). This was a great step which
generated high employment opportunities in country bringing in benefits for private sector,
government as well as the communities in surrounding. These are various facts and figures
which is now making Madikwe to be one of the best conservation area and heritage site in South
Africa.
Figure:Madwike reserve
The beautiful Tsitsikamma national park located at Garden route is yet another heritage
site to visit in South Africa. It is one of the most pristine reserves present in South Africa. It was
first introduces in 1964 and since then it have eventually extended its reach to water as well as
land. There are a number of places present to enjoy the site while fishing and looking at various
cliffs which are covered by beauty of the country. The view brings in picture waves of ocean that
can be seen through the rock cliffs. It clearly depicts the marine heritage of South Africa. There
are a number of natural monuments present at this site. The trail that is leading visitors through
the park is also known as famous Otter Trail. The trail is leading towards enriched marine

heritage of South Africa. The plants along with marine wildlife that is present in park reminds of
great diversity of wildlife in South Africa. It is necessary that South Africa is continuously
working to conserve its wildlife because the flora and fauna of country are a huge heritage
passed on to the present generation.
Figure:Tsitsikamma national park
BLOG 2- Cultural diversity of India
India is considered to be birthplace of some major religions and cultures throughout he
world. There are a number of cultural heritages and sites in India that are attracting tourists from
all around the world. There are a number of different traditions and rituals performed that are
contributing towards culture of country (Myambo, 2019). When visiting India in order to
experience the heritage of country the tour will go beyond picturesque hills, beach resorts and
lavishness etc. There are a number of form of arts, authentic food trials and historical places that
account to heritage of country.
Amritsar which is also known as the Golden city is one of the attraction of Sikh culture
famous around world. The city was established in 1574. a tank was excavated and turned into a
lake which is considered to be of holy water (Amrit). There are a number of museums, temples,
gurdwaras and narrow lanes that were created by local residents to provide protection at the
times of war. When taking a walk through the city one can find various places to visit such as
Durgiana temple, Akal Takht, Mata Lal Devi Temple etc. The Golden Temple have always been
the most attractive place in Amritsar. The Jallianwala Bagh, Wagah Border are some of famous
tourist places in Amritsar. The authentic punjabi cuisine food in Amritsar is delicious. One can

enjoy spicy punjabi food and dishes like Amritsari Kulcha, Lassi, Chhole Bhature etc. Visiting
these places I came to now how the ancestors and Sikh Gurus have passed on there heritage to
their next generations. It is necessary for people in the city to save their heritage for the coming
generations and the tourists who are visiting the place from various countries (Schnepel and Sen,
2019).
Figure: Golden Temple Amritsar
Lucknow is another city that attracted me in India. It is the capital of Uttar Pradesh and
have high heritage and culture when looking at India. The major reason of varied culture in this
city lies due to amalgamation of Hindu and Muslim culture in the city. A number of different art
forms and literary are also flourishing from Lucknow which makes it more rich in heritage. The
painting styles and craftsmanship that can be seen on ancient sculptures and monuments in this
city are breathtaking. A number of places can be visited in Lucknow including Bara imambara,
Chhota Imambara, Rumi Darwaza, Dilkhusha Kothi along with British residency complex that is
located in the city. The city of Lucknow is well known for its rich architecture that is a result of
influential ruling period of the Mughals, The Nawab of Awadhs, Delhi Sultanate and so on. The
culture and the etiquettes of people in city are also a result of heritage that is left by the ancestors
for their future generations. When taking into account the food in the city I enjoyed a number of
non- veg dishes along with a variety of Indian breads.

Figure: Lucknow City
Agra, ayodhya, Varanasi and Rishikesh are some of the other cities that derive the
cultural diversity and heritage of country. Agra was found by Sikander Lodhi in 16th century. The
heritage of Agra can be seen in its, art, music, dance, culture as well as architecture. Taj Mahal
which is the symbol of love and one of the greatest tourist attraction of city and country.
Ayodhya is also known as Rambhoomi (Somaya and et. al., 2020). This is a city in India where
religion flourished. Varanasi is another city that is located is located at the bank of river Ganaga.
There are a number of temples located in the city. The Ganga aartis in evening is a great
depiction of city's cultural heritage. Rishikesh is located at a height that is also known for yoga
and meditation other than the temples in city which contribute to culture of city and country.

Figure: Ayodhya City Figure: Agra City
COMPARISON
Both the countries have rich and varied heritage and a number of different tourists
attraction present. India and South Africa are rich in culture and heritage in their own unique
way. When comparing both of them it can be seen that the heritage of South Africa is majorly
developed based on the flora and fauna of that place. The heritage provided by their ancestors to
them is the huge variety of plants and animals who are co-surviving with them and helping them
to influence tourists towards them (Kalkreuter, 2020). The heritage that can be seen in south
Africa is people building natural reserves and making attractive places for tourists.
On the other hand when considering the natural heritage of India it is majorly based upon
the religious believes of people. There are a number of religions that took birth in India. All these
religions are forming base in various parts of the country and providing heritage through various
sculptures, architectural foundations, art, dance forms, food culture and so on. Both the places
have rich heritage and great tourists attractions in their own way. It depends upon the taste of the
tourist to choose from one. If a visitor is more inclined towards nature they can visit South
Africa. Whereas, if history of place, culture, various religions are major attraction for any visitor
they should visit India.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Zhang, R. and Smith, L., 2019. Bonding and dissonance: Rethinking the interrelations among
stakeholders in heritage tourism. Tourism Management, 74, pp.212-223.
Tsai, S.P., 2020. Augmented reality enhancing place satisfaction for heritage tourism
marketing. Current Issues in Tourism, 23(9), pp.1078-1083.]
Piscitelli, M., 2019. Promotion of Heritage Tourism Through Branding and Graphic
Communication. In Conservation and Promotion of Heritage Tourism (pp. 87-107). IGI
Global.
van der Merwe, C.D., 2019. The geography of heritage in South Africa. In The geography of
South Africa (pp. 133-141). Springer, Cham.
Myambo, M.T., 2019. Bloody Diaspora Theory for the Twenty-First Century: African and
Asian Heritage Migrants Return. Diaspora, 20(2), pp.123-144.
Schnepel, B. and Sen, T., 2019. Travelling pasts: the politics of cultural heritage in the Indian
Ocean world. Brill.
Kalkreuter, B., 2020. Anyone’s Heritage? Indian Fashion Design’s Relationships with Craft
between Local Guardianship and Valorization of Global Fashion. Fashion
Practice, 12(2), pp.264-287.
Somaya, B. and et. al., 2020. Managing the Twentieth-Century Modern Heritage: Conservation
and Management of Louis I Kahn Buildings at Indian Institute of Management,
Ahmedabad. Journal of Heritage Management, 5(1), pp.43-70.