Unit 19 Heritage and Cultural Tourism Management Assignment

Unit 19 Heritage and Cultural Tourism Management Assignment

Introduction

Heritage is the terminology that is being utilized with the something that as its inheritance from the past and gives pride to us. There can be cultural heritage, natural heritage or many other types of heritage. Culture and the kind of things that are related to the culture forms the basis and the level of travel and tourism in the country. United Kingdom is a country that has really got a lot of past museums, artefacts and various other places that have heritage and cultural importance for not only itself rather act as a major source of revenue due to being the part of the travel and tourism sector. This assignment has been divided into 4 tasks. All would be answering about the heritage and culture of UK in travel and tourism sector. Task 1 would be discussing on the level of growth in this sector and the potential conflicts that occur in the conservation of the heritage and cultural resources. Task 2 would be defining the purpose of heritage and cultural attractions in meeting the needs of the various customers. Task 3 would be analysing the different types of ownerships that exists for these heritage and cultural places and even the role of various organizations in the travel and tourism sector. Task 4 is giving a light on the methods and media that could be used for the interpretation within the heritage and cultural industry. All these tasks would be based on the case study of United Kingdom as a part of the country that is into heritage and cultural tourism (Boyd, 2002).

TASK 1

P1.1 Analyse the growth and heritage of the heritage and cultural industry with special reference to UK

It was in the year 1994 that the meaning of the Tourism was defined by a world renowned person named William F Theobald. He said that Tour has been derived from a Greek word Tornos and Latin word Tornare. The meaning of this word is circle or a lathe. This also refers to the movement around an axis or a point that is central. It was in the Manila declaration that the significance of Tourism was laid down in 1980. International arrival of the tourists was increased from 940 million in 2010 to 1.035 billion in 2012. As per the world tourism destination, the top ten tourist’s destinations are: France, United States, Spain, China, Italy, Turkey, Germany, United Kingdom, Russia and Thailand. It was in the Middle Ages that pilgrimage visit and tour was made important with respect to Buddhism, Islam and Christianity.  Modern Tourism could be called as the Grand Tour which was the major tourism to Europe mainly Italy and Germany. The above mentioned table shows that there has been increase in the tourists arrivals in the above mentioned places and accordingly the history has helped in generation of more revenue and profitability for department of tourism.
United Kingdom has enormous potential for the growth and development in the travel and tourism sector. The table one shows the data of 2012 and the various places where the visitors had been visiting. The major attractions have been British Museum, Tate Modem, National Gallery, Natural History Museum and the V&A (South Kensington). Graph two shows the year one data on the arrival of the international tourists till 2009 in the country of United Kingdom (Richards, 2001). It has shown the increase in the curve in all the years. Heritage and Cultural Tourism has been one of the greatest sources of revenue for the country in the last decade. The government of the country has been involved in the various ways in which the heritage and the culture of the country could be conserved and maintained so that a lot of people from the international origin are attracted towards the country. The statistics show that around 10 million people have been visiting UK every year. Out of these 10 million around 4 million people are the ones who are attracted to the country to see the heritage and cultural tourism and its significance in the country. UK has all its cultural and heritage related places which are of great historic, artistic and beauty orientation. These have been built by the ancestors of the UK Citizens and are now maintained by either the public or the private organizations. Government of the country has been taking very significant steps in this regard like it has been involved in the planning and implementation of bringing improvisation in all the sectors that are associated with travel and tourism. These are transportation, media, education, infrastructure and the communication sectors. As observed for the last 3 years there has been an increase in growth of 3 percent every year in this sector in UK. Unless there is growth and development in all the major sectors that are associated with travel and tourism there can never be development in it. This sector has been giving employment to around 115000 people in the country. When the statistics are seen for various tourism are as follow: sports comprising of 10 %, Museums with around 23 %, and 10 % for the theatre and cinemas. The major places of attraction in the country are: Tower of London, National Art Gallery, Westminster Abbey, York Minister, Canterbury Cathedral and Roman Bath etc. (Brown, 1995).

P1.2 Discuss potential conflicts in the conservation of heritage and cultural resources referring to the case studies.

It has been see that the sector of cultural and heritage tourism has enormous potential and growth. At the same time there are various conflicts that are associated with the conservation of the heritage and cultural resources that have to be done in United Kingdom. This sub task will discuss on the two case studies of Central Jordon and Giant Causeway. Although government of the country has been taking many steps to preserve the cultural and heritage of the country yet there are few historical and significant monuments that have not been conserved, preserved and maintained. These are getting spoiled or destroyed with the industrial wastes, pollution and the throwing of wastes by the visitors who gather to see them. Central Jordon and Giant Causeway are the two most important places that are facing the potential conflicts related to their conservation. The discussion of each has been done separately as under:  
Central Jordon:  Central Jordon has been getting spoiled because of the non-maintenance and irresponsible attitudes that are shown by the visitors or the foreign tourists. They have been throwing wastes here. There has been even the pollution that has caused the spoiling of the properties due to the industrial discharge that is generated from the various industries that are located nearby. The conflicts that are of importance and have to be attended related to this property are: control over the behaviour and the attitude of the visitors, control over the number of visitors entering the city and its significant places and monitoring and controlling the city with the help of enough security to ensure safety and upkeep of the city as a whole. Although a lot of actions have been taken in this regard but there is a far more way to be travelled in this regard (Ashworth & Larkham, 2013). There should be regular check on the people and the kind of people who are visiting these heritage places. This will help in keeping a check and control.
Giant Causeway: This place is also facing challenge with respect to the number of visitors entering the property and keeping a control over their ill actions so that the property is prevented. It does not have enough security and presence of the housekeeping people that should be present to maintain the property. The major issues that have to be addressed with respect to this place are: increased environmental pollution, issues for the enough finances for management of the place, industrial and environmental pollution, and appointment of enough security and housekeeping people to control the safety of the property. There is lack of technology that can help monitor the number of people who are entering the property. These conflicts will remain if no action has been taken in this regard and there would be always fall in the number of people or the visitors to visit these heritage places. It is essential that these are prevented form getting spoiled. There should be introduction of technological advanced equipments to keep track of visitors and make the sound generating equipments installed everywhere these heritage monuments so that in case any visitors tries to harm them then there is sound and these are conserved and preserved.
When both these places are observed and studied through their case studies, it could be analysed that majorly the reasons for their spoiling have been same. The major challenges have been environmental & industrial pollution, large number of visitors visiting these places and spoiling the wastes by throwing the wrappers and lack of technology available for monitoring and controlling the security and safety of these places.
When these conflicts are controlled and attended to then there would surely be better travel and tourism in the country.

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TASK 2

P2.1 Assess the purpose of heritage and cultural attractions in meeting the needs of the different customers

When income and profits from the travel and tourism sector has to be obtained then at the same time it is also essential to maintain and conserve them for their cultural and heritage significance. It is essential that the number and kind of visitors entering these properties has to be kept in mind so that security and safety of the place is also ensured. UK has enormous potential in terms of the tourism and travel management but in case all this potential has to be harnessed then there should be development for the technology, security and the people who are deployed for the release of funds for the upkeep of these properties. The heritage and cultural tourism comprises of the museums, physical attractions, travelling that is thematic oriented, attending of the heritage and cultural events and programs etc. There has been formed a list of the places that have to be included into the heritage and cultural significance for the enhancement of the travel and tourism in United Kingdom. These are: heritage Holiday, Art themes, Museums, places of ancestral origin, industries that were handled and operated in the past, places of cultural and heritage events forming the villages of its own kinds (Nuryanti, 1996).
In order to study the accessibility, Science Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum have been studied in this task. These museums fulfil and cater to the needs of the children, youngsters as well as the scientist researchers in the country of UK. They are therefore visited for entertainment, research and the fun purposes. Science Museum is located in Kensington City of UK. It is very famous museum of the country. It has all the required materials, models, principles, practices and the processes that are explained for the science and research purposes. Annually around 2 million visitors visit this museum for their own purposes. It is given funds by the government and even by the public through means of the entry ticket that has been imposed. It is accessible to all kinds, levels and types of people. This means that this museum being visited by so many people needs to be maintained and controlled well so that it lasts and remain conserved. The museum has in total 5 floors. Each floor has its own theme and significance with the latest science and technology. The latest technology that is deployed is first jet engine, 3 – D cinema and steam engine. Theatre pod, energy hall and force field etc. are prsesent on the ground floor. Mathematical and computing themes with the various equipment are present on the first floor of the museum. 18thcentury theme is for the third floor and even the medical equipment forms the basis of the theme for the 4^th floor. It is visited and is accessible to many people; therefore it is essential that it is conserved and maintained well. It is majorly visited by the visitors who have come for the domestic and international tour.  
V & A Museum is also a great masterpiece for the art. This place is also accessible to almost all kinds of people. There are 4 million objects, arts and crafts related things that are present in this museum that is seen and admired by all the visitors visiting this museum. All these things kept are around 5000 year old in the country. There are around 150 galleries that are present in this museum that have various art, craft and designs of objects hang or displayed in them. Architecture, Drawing, Games, Jewellery, fashion accessories and the paintings form the basis of the arts and designs that have been displayed in this museum. This museum is also visited for the research and developmental purposes (Leslie & Sigala, 2005).
Due to their accessibility and availability for the visiting by all kinds of people, it is essential that these museums have to be operated, monitored, controlled, maintained and funded well so that proper care is done for them. Purposes could be any but their upkeep is essential and on priority. It is essential to impose the latest technology that can monitor the visitors and even the various parts of these museums so that the management keeps a control. These museums are visited by various groups of school students and university faculty and even the researchers from the various fields. Hence in order to conserve them it is of importance to keep a strict control on their maintenance.

TASK 3

P3.1 Evaluate the Impact of different types of ownership on the management of heritage and cultural sites

The cultural and heritage places of UK are being owned by a lot of people of various types. These are basically divided into three types: Private Ownership, Public Ownership and Public-Private Ownerships.  Few of these organizations are: Edinburgh World Heritage Trust, Bank Giro Loterji and Piraeus bank Group Cultural Foundation etc.
Public Ownership – Here the stakeholders are pertaining to the government representatives. The heritage and cultural places that are owned under public ownership are being managed, monitored, controlled and maintained by the government funding. All the investments in the upkeep and maintenance of these places are being done by the government.  
Private Ownership– These are the places that are being owned, managed, controlled and monitored by the private organizations or the group of individuals. They manage their expenses from their own pockets.
Public- Private Ownership – It is said to be a combination of the government as well as individual ownerships. In this case it may be run, operated, controlled, managed and organized by the private people or the individuals but when required for extra funds may even be funded and approved from the governmental side (McKercher et al, 2002).
Voluntary Ownership – This is the kind of ownership which is voluntarily done by the general public or the people who are the tourism entrepreneurs. There are no restrictions or the force that is imposed on them. They can themselves decide on the contributions and inform the heritage office or administration for their interest which would then be followed and taken further.
Each kind of the ownership has its own significance as well as loopholes. Private ownerships do not have to depend on the governmental approvals or funding rather is being released by the individuals or the groups immediately. On the other hand public ownerships have to depend on the funds and the financial approvals being given by the government in order to take care of the property. The approvals may delay or sometimes even take more time. The major factors which decide on the kind and the benefits of these ownerships are: approvals and spending of the financial resources, promotional efforts, maintenance and repair and even the process that is followed for the conservation. The best model that is operated and run is the Public Private Partnership model. In this ownership way, the benefits of both kinds of ownerships are combined to form the best combination.  In case the approval for the money is not received from the governmental authorities then even the private parties who also own the property may create and use their private funds. Private parties will spend their time, money, technological resources and even various other aspects for the maintenance of these properties. Government may help in the large amounts funding when the approvals may come.
In travel and tourism industry, heritage and cultural tourism plays a great role. In case it will not be conserved and maintained then the income from this sector could not be obtained. This sector should have appointment of competent and skilled manpower that can not only help these places by financial spending but also upkeep, conserve and manage them well. If all these aspects are realized and observed then it could surely be said that public-private partnership is the most suitable and opera table way to manage these properties of cultural significance. This will help in the way that the benefits of both kinds would be combined together thereby removing or eliminating the loopholes of each one. There is only the requirement that certain responsibilities and roles need to be assigned to the ownerships based on their expertise so that the industry operates well. The major responsibilities could be training of the manpower appointed, funding for the upkeep of the properties, generation of the new ideas for publicity, promotion and maintenance of the properties. This model will best suit the requirements when the benefits are seen.

P3.2 Roles of organizations in tourism sector

There have been many kinds and types of organizations that have been significantly contributing to the tourism. They help in the repair, maintenance, conservation and promotions of the heritage and the cultural properties. Few of the examples are: Media and Sports, Department of Culture, Nature England, English Heritage, Art Council, Heritage Lottery Fund etc. All these organizations have been formed with the objective of heritage and cultural tourism and have been assigned several responsibilities for that matter. Each organization performs certain specific functions. In this task a discussion on majorly two types of organizations would be done: Art Council and Nature England. We will discuss on their specific roles, responsibilities and the major tasks that they have to perform. They are formed so that the operations, upkeep, management and the monitoring of these properties are being done properly. They have certain rules, regulations and the specific standards being formed that help them giving directions in their operations. They are gaining their funds for the management both from the governmental as well as private funding methods.
Nature England has been formed with the objective of conservation, management and upkeep of the heritage and the cultural tourism in the country of United Kingdom. This organization is getting both the private as well as the public funding. They get certain specified fund amounts from the government that is used to preserve and safeguard the nature of the country. Besides this they are also involved in the private creation and the development of funds by organizing certain activities like: events, programs and various heritage and cultural activities that attract major tourists to it. They have been spreading the cultural and heritage awareness throughout the world for the country by developing and implementing various cultural shows and events. They try to build the policies and the standards so that all the heritage places operate in a specific manner safeguarding all the properties.  
On the other hand Art Council is one of the non-profit organizations that have been assigned the objective and task of the promotion of the preserving and maintaining the art and culture of the country. It is also getting its funding from both the sources and has been building art galleries and maintaining them. This foundation is also creating funds through sponsorships by organizing various cultural programs and events at important places. These funds are used for the purpose of upkeep, control, management and organization of these cultural and art galleries (Zeppel & Hall, 1991).
Both these organizations are working on the public –private ownership model and have been successful in their operations. They get their funds immediately as if one source cannot give immediate approval then other is being available for it. Besides being dependent on the private and public funds, they are themselves being involved in the organization of the activities, events and the cultural programs.

TASK 4

P4.1 Evaluate methods and media used for interpretation within the heritage and cultural industry for tourists.

Heritage and Cultural industry has been one of the greatest revenue sources for the country of United Kingdom. These are being used as the future reserves as the country has been able to maintain its national income from them. In these properties there have been various ways, methods and techniques that are being utilized for the spreading of the information, communication and even the display of the useful data. Few of the techniques are: signage display, kiosks, print as well as the non-print media. The level, amount and kind of information vary from the organization to other foundation. There has been a great advancement in the technology that is enabling effective communication and information exchange but at the same time it all depends on the amount and level of funds that are available to be exploited for these purposes. The media sources utilized for the expression of the information are: Publications, Print media, websites and the social media. Print media helps in the design and distribution of the various pamphlets, brochures and the hand-outs that the customers can read and get aware of the places. The way this information is spread and interpreted is very important to be selected. These organizations are ensuring that information is being spread and communicated to the right set of audiences so that the best results are being obtained (Fladmark, 1994).
Stories, role plays and the thematic representation have been the major ways in which the information has been displayed and communicated in V & A and Science museum. Not only this there is signage boards and the details being represented in the form of print boards before all the items with the date of their occurrences. These stories are related with their past existences and also through form of stories people feel interested and remember as well. Interpretation is defined as the communication of the data and information for the origin, nature and purpose of the heritage related places or the items. It is performed in the various heritage and cultural related places, museums and gardens. Visual media in the form of the LED’sare also been utilized that are consistently using and displaying the useful information on these places, items and objects of heritage and cultural significance. The methods most commonly used are: display boards, signage, print media, visual media, and stories written on pamphlets and even engraved on the walls. Thematic Interpretation is one of the most popular ways of building a remark and the communication style. Themes create an innovative and creative approach for the exchange of the information. These places have been circulating and keeping the innovatively and creatively designed brochures, books, stories, pamphlets and the information guides that attract most of the tourists in reading them. Themes have been made as per the existences of these objects in the past. Interpretations and themes majorly attract and help in communicating the information in a much simpler manner or the style (Middleton & Clarke, 2012).
There have been the utilization of online stories and the internet that are also utilized for the guide to the visitors to these places. People who visit these places act as the major source of writing their views and the blogs for their experiences visiting these places. A lot of social networking sites like twitter, face book, chats are very useful sources of gathering the information on the benefit of visiting these places as many people have been writing their experiences.
As per the case study, various museums, Gardens and the places of heritage and cultural significance are given beautiful interpretation so that the visitors visiting these places may get the clarity on the entire information.

Conclusion

The sector of heritage and cultural tourism has been one of the major sources of revenue for the country of United Kingdom. There are a lot of places of the ancestral and past origin that have either been maintained or have to be maintained well so that they are able to get increased number of tourists from all over the world. This tourism sector is now no more in the hands of the public ownerships only rather they are being managed and operated by the private associations which are able to give more attention in their upkeep than the public organizations. On the other hand in case public as well as the private ownerships join hands together than they will add on and combine the benefits of both the associations and give travel and tourism a new picture for the development. The business of travel and tourism has relation with various other segments and the sectors like education, construction, printing and media etc. Once travel and tourism would be at boom, there would be increase even in these sectors as visitors or the travellers would be giving income to them as well. The potential conflicts and the problems associated with this sector have to be attended and resolved so that this sector remains at boom in the country of United Kingdom. It is essential that not only the public and the private organizations should contribute to their progress rather even the general public or the citizens of the country have to join their hands. They have to give their services and support to the preservation and maintenance of these heritage places. This would help in their upkeep and further promotion and branding among various people in the entire world. In the nutshell it could be said that this sector has enormous potential only thing that is essential is support, cooperation and help as a combined effort from the various authorities, public and the private parties and the citizens. This would help in making the heritage preserved and maintained forever forming a completely successful industry (Prentice, 1993).

References

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