Unit 19 Heritage Cultural Tourism Management Assignment Solution

Unit 19 Heritage Cultural Tourism Management Assignment Solution

Introduction

The report Heritage Cultural Tourism Management Assignment Solution has been prepared to gain understanding of the heritage and cultural industry, the organizations within it, the purpose of attractions and methods of interpretation. The various aspects that have been included in the report are

• Understand the growth and development of the heritage and cultural industry within travel and tourism
• Understand the purpose of heritage and cultural attractions within the travel and tourism sector
• Understand roles, responsibilities and ownership of organisations in the heritage and cultural industry
• Understand the role of methods of interpretation within the heritage and culture industry

Based on these points the various aspects associated with the heritage and cultural industry have been discussed highlighting the importance and contribution of this industry to the tourism in UK and thus need to develop, manage and contribute to this industry by examining the various factors and components of this industry.

Task 1 - Understand the growth and development of the heritage and cultural industry within travel and tourism

The heritage and cultural industry form a very important part of travel and tourism. In this section of the report the analysis has been conducted for the growth and development of the heritage and cultural industry focusing especially on the UK. Further the discussion of potential conflicts in the conservation of heritage and cultural resources has also been conducted.

Analyse the growth and development of the heritage and cultural industry with special reference to UK

The heritage and cultural tourism is very important part of the travel and tourism industry. There are several benefits of cultural and heritage tourism. It not only contributes to the economic growth and development but also enables the preservation of the heritage sites and thus leads to enhanced community identity and bounding. Thus overall heritage and cultural industry has greater importance in comparison to the other industries of travel and tourism. with respect to UK, heritage sector is the backbone of the tourism industry of UK considering the overseas visitors market. According to Carr (1994), cultural and heritage tourism contributes around 28% in the generation of annual expenditure on tourism. Further it is the major growth area for tourism in UK.
According to Murphy and Boyle (2006), many cities such as Liverpool and Glasgow have been central in the development of tourism destination based on the cultural heritage of these cities. The heritage based tourism industry contributes to around £5 billion to GDP and more than 250,000 to the jobs in UK. The below table provides more detail on the contribution of heritage industry to tourism and economy of UK.

Apart from this there are other benefits of the cultural and heritage industry such as boosting the development of demand of other products in the economy and thus increasing the growth prospects. The growth and development of heritage tourism has been shown in the below table.

The above table shows that there has been considerable growth in the heritage tourism over the three year period and thus has been a major factor in the overall growth of the tourism industry in UK. Further analysis shows that the four major cities that are important from the point of view of heritage tourism are as follows
London: The dominator of UK heritage with museums, galleries and sites such as Tower of London.
Edinburgh: The capital of Scotland is the historical city famous for its castle and festivals.
Glasgow: European Culture Capital with major cultural festivals such as Mayfest, an art festival
Liverpool: The city has been home to several cultural events such as Victoria Museum and Gallery, Mathew Street Festival and National Museum.
It has been viewed that these four cities have been the pillars of cultural and heritage tourism wherein London and Edinburgh have been traditional cities and on the other hand Glasgow and Liverpool are being developed as culture capital (Liu & Lin, 2011). There has been tremendous growth in the tourism in Glasgow and Liverpool while in London and Edinburgh the programs are being developed so as to maintain the sustainability the interest of visitors. Thus overall the growth, contribution and development of heritage and cultural tourism have been huge in UK.

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

According to survey conducted it has been observed that history and culture have a strong influence on the choice made for holiday destination. The destinations part of the heritage and culture are likely to be high on the consideration by the tourists. According to Nation Brands Index UK is perceived to be fourth best nation considering the contemporary culture, seventh considering the rich cultural heritage of the country and eighth as a country that excel in supports. This shows that heritage and cultural resources are major source of income for UK and thus need to be conserved.
It is important to understand that there is a lot of cost and legal framework is associated with the conservation and development of cultural and heritage tourism. Apart from this there are various other factors such as interest and viewpoint of shareholders that leads to challenges in preservation and management. The heritage and cultural sites are exposed to various risks which can be natural or managerial risks. The natural risks involve calamities like floods and earthquakes whereas managerial issues arise as a result of different stakeholders that may be there. The first conflict that can arise is the level to which the constraint on usage has to be there so that the tourist sites are not impacted. For example the shrinking of the rivers and lack of rainfall are such factors that can be considered to be impacting the heritage sites. On the other hand the managerial issues involve the conflict in interest of various stakeholders. Thus the conflicts often result in dissonance and the level of involvement.
In order to understand the conflict in conservation of the heritage sites, the two case studies have been considered. First case study is of Central Jordan, where local and more institutionalised understandings of heritage havediverged. The Kingdom of Jordan separates heritage from history. All customs, foods, and buildings after 1700 CE are designated heritage, while the same before this date are consigned to history. These official definitions are often obscured in practice. Jordan depends greatly on revenue from its tourism industry and the Kingdom’s Ministry of Tourism and Department of Antiquities continue to work hard to transform the Kingdom’s ancient resources into revenue generators. However with the tourist development in the region, public access to sites is reduced. The balance has to be maintained wherein the international tourism is promoted and the locals are also not impacted. This is to say that if measures are taken by the government to control the activities of the tourists the investors may be impacted due to limited exposure to the tourists however the locals would be benefitted that the heritage site would be preserved. On the other hand the government can’t be aggressive and only promote the tourism without considering the damage that could be there. Further the level of investment will have to be considered as excessive investment, for which sufficient returns are not there will be impacted on the other had certain necessary investment will have to be made in order to conserve the heritage site.A second challenge is ensuring inclusive participation by all segments of the community, women and children included, in the site’s public representation and development. Their opinions need to be considered alongside the traditional power that includes foreign funding agencies, government representatives, and archaeologists.
The other case study that has been considered is associated with Northern Ireland. The various aspects related to heritage site that have been identified have been shown below.

As shown above the various factors that have to be considered is the balance between the public access & conservation, entertainment & economic viability, education & investment and lastly the visitor facilities & professional staff that will have to be developed. Thus the balance has to be maintained although some of the aspects may have to be considered for other tourist sites but certainly these are important aspects for cultural and heritage tourism.
Considering these aspects with respect to Northern Ireland it can be said that most of its sites such as Belfast and Gobbins isn’t open to public or has been left behind in times. Gobbins was a huge success during the pre Second World War period. The sites have been conserved but have not contributed to the economy by generating revenue from tourism as the public access is not there. On the other hand the site such as The Giant’s Causeway has been the most important tourist destination of Ireland and is UNESCO world heritage site. Such popularity is putting enormous pressure on preserving the site. Northern Ireland is struggling to maximize the tourism potential and at the same time protect the site from destroying. Greeks have been revolting to safeguard it from the development of household and infrastructure in the vicinity. According to the video after 1995 the number of tourists increased with expectation of around 1 million tourists per year. This was a huge number and immense potential and it is proposed to develop tourists centres in the area in order to safeguard the site and at the same time encourage tourists to visit the site.

Task 2 – Understand the purpose of heritage and cultural attractions within the travel and tourism sector

There are many factors that have an impact on the behaviour of the tourists and the demand of visitors for certain tourist places. In this section of the report these factors have been discussed and the considerations to these factors with respect to heritage and cultural attractions have been mentioned.

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

The various factors that impact the behaviour of the tourists and the demand of the visitors are socio-demography, economic benefit, geography and the behavioural pattern. These aspects provide the basis for the market segmentation. For example in case of Turkey, the importance of heritage sites amongst the domestic travellers is relatively low. Similarly the relation between cities and the surrounding areas has to be analysed for the cultural heritage ownership.
According to Garrod and Fyall (2001) in heritage tourism historic artefacts are presented. Thus the heritage tourism should be developed considering the relationship between the individual, heritage that is presented and the perception of the tourist. There are different aspects that can be considered as the purpose of heritage and cultural attractions for different customers that have been studied based on the observation and experiences from the trip to the Science Museum and V &A Museum in London. Firstly, as studied by Huh (2002) there has been increasing interest of the tourists in recapturing the past and thus provide them an opportunity to get associated with the culture. Secondly such cultural attractions provide an opportunity to the locals to get educated about regional history and traditions which can be shared with the tourists. These purposes that have been mentioned are with respect to the local population. The other purpose of development of heritage attractions is with respect to the place of heritage and cultural attractions.
From the viewpoint of visitors the cultural and heritage attractions may be for different purpose which may include general visit, sports, events, religious, or educational. General visit means the tourists are visiting the place as a result of interest to understand the different culture and thus are visiting the place due to curiosity only. This is explained by the Bywater’s Typology wherein three different types of cultural tourists are there i.e. culturally motivated, inspired and attracted. Various cultural and heritage places are associated with sports events like shooting, archery, wrestling etc. this is another purpose for which the visitors get attracted towards the heritage places. The religious beliefs and the will to attend religious ceremonies also attract visitors. For example tourist visits Italy mainly because of the historical churches and to attend the prayers delivered by Pope. Lastly the educations another major purpose that the cultural locations meet the need of the visitors. Thus overall the different purposes for which the visitors attend the cultural sites may be different but these requirements and the segment is completely different from other tourist places. Further purpose of tourist attraction has been provided in the McKercher’s Typology wherein there are five different types of tourists namely, purposeful cultural tourist, sightseeing cultural tourist, casual cultural tourist and incidental cultural tourist. Thus the purpose of the cultural attractions can also be studied based this typology.
Considering the museums, there can be different purposes as mentioned below
Object Centered: Based on unique objects that are owned or can be borrowed
Narrative: Use of different media to tell stories or depict incidents
Client Centered: Concentrated on individuals and small social groups and having focus on learning and developing experience
Community Focussed: These are focussed towards the different aspects related to community such as health, literacy, science and technology
National: Physical display of national aspirations highlighting the key factors, mostly positive, related to the economy.
It is important to note that no museum can fit in one category that has been mentioned above and is often can belong to more than one category. There can be different types of visitors visiting the museums such as
Explorers: Those who seek to satisfy the intellectual curiosity in a challenging environment
Facilitators: Those looking for meaningful social experience who care about emotionally supportive environment
Experience Seeker: Developing understanding with respect to certain aspect of interest
Professionals: professionals such as students visit museums for developing knowledge with respect to subject matter

Visiting for refreshment

Based on the above discussion the needs of different customers have been discussed. In case of Science Museum and V &A Museum in London both have different types of visitors. Science Museum is associated with application of basic concepts of science whereas V & A museum is associated with decorative art and design. The majority of the visitors for these museums have been students and the leisure visitors. One of the major point for the V & A museum is that it attracts the visitors that are culturally motivated, inspired and attracted. Apart from this during various events the number of visitors increased. For example the Science Museum organises Science Night for children in the age group of 8 to 11. Thus during such times families and schools visit the museum. Similar is the case with V & A museum. On the high level the visitors visiting these museums have already been discussed. Based on this study it can be said that there are many factors that have an impact on the behaviour of the tourists and the demand of visitors for certain tourist places. The factors that can generate the demand need to be accessed. In case of Science museum are students and the leisure visitors however in case of V & A Museum has certain section that visit the museum for the purpose of study. Also the age group of people visiting the V & A museum is different from that of Science museum. Overall the study of the user or potential customers of both the museums are different.

Task 3 – Understand roles, responsibilities and ownership of organizations in the heritage and cultural industry

Understanding roles, responsibilities and ownership in the heritage and cultural industry is very important aspect of the heritage and cultural tourism. In this section of the report the impact of different types of ownership on the management of heritage and cultural sites has been studied. This study is extended to analyse roles and responsibilities of organisations in the heritage and cultural industry.

Evaluate the impact of different types of ownership on the management of heritage and cultural sites

There are many organisations worldwide which take part in various campaigns and events to protect and conserve heritage attributes. The main function is preservation and conservation of heritage, but they also take part in various national and international campaigns. The ownership of the management of the heritage and cultural sites can be of three types i.e. public, private and voluntary. The aims of the three types of organizations are different. The aim of the public organization is to conserve the heritage sites and also educate the public about the importance of these sites. The aim of the private organizations is to generate profit and recreation by utilizing the heritage and cultural sites as recreation for the tourists. The aim of the voluntary organizations is similar to the public organization i.e. conservation and preservation of the heritage attractions.
The public organizations are owned and operated by government with primary objective, as discussed above, the conservation of heritage sites and at the same time provide public access and education to generate revenue and thus catalyst for tourism development. There are various governmental organizations in UK such as English Heritage, Historic Scotland, Northern Ireland Environment Agency (formerly the Environment and Heritage Service) and Manx National Heritage.
The public sector contributes to the conservation of heritage for economic reasons such as earnings, job creation, generating foreign investment and private sponsorship & ownership. The public sector contribution results in boost visitation, entertainment and public image enhancement.
The volunteer or not-for-profit organizations are also there such as Museums, cemeteries, trails, historic buildings. These organizations earn only for existence and maintenance of the sites and not for the purpose of generating profits. The various voluntary organizations are Architectural Heritage Fund, Churches Conservation Trust, Heritage Alliance, War Memorials Trust, National Trust and Public Monuments and Sculpture Association. The voluntary organizations generally have the same goal as that of public organizations but are self-funded and generate revenue for maintenance by charging entry fee and such small sources. However these are quite effective in development and contribute to the culture and heritage industry. Cooperation, collaboration and partnership amongst the different types of organizations is necessary to promote the principles and practices of sustainable development.

Analyse roles and responsibilities of organizations in the heritage and cultural industry

There are various organizations in the heritage and cultural industry which takes part in various campaigns and events to protect and conserve heritage attributes with an aim to preserve and conserve heritage. The two organizations that will be discussed in this section for the roles and responsibilities are ICCROM and English Heritage.
ICCROM is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to the conservation of cultural heritage. Its members are individual states which have declared their adhesion to it. It exists to serve the international community as represented by its Member States, which currently number 132. It is the only institution of its kind with a worldwide mandate to promote the conservation of all types of cultural heritage, both movable and immovable.
The aim of the organization is to contribute to the preservation of the cultural heritage in the world by working on five main areas
Training: development of new educational tools and materials, and organizing professional training activities around the world.
Information: The organization has published over 89,000 books, reports and specialized journals in more than 40 languages as well as a collection of over 17,000 images.
Research: Organizes and coordinate meetings to devise common approaches and methodologies and to promote the definition of internationally agreed ethics, criteria and technical standards for conservation practice.
Cooperation: Providing technical advice, collaborative visits, and education and training across the world.
Advocacy: Developing and providing teaching materials and workshops or other activities to raise public awareness and support for conservation.
The other organization that is being discussed is the English Heritage. It is an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport officially known as the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England. The organization holds the largest public archive for the historic environment of over 10 million items incl. photographs, documents, plans and reports relating to the historic environment of England. The roles and responsibilities of the organization are as follows

• Administration of the List of Buildings, the Schedule of Monuments, the Register of Parks and Gardens, the Register of Historic Battlefields
• Advises on nationally significant infrastructure projects and provides advice to Government on the implications for the historic environment of all new planning law and policy developments
• The National Heritage Protection Plan (NHPP) has been prepared by this organization, which is a national framework for bringing together work done by English Heritage and other heritage organisations
• Provides funding to help with the protection and promotion of the historic environment

The above discussion highlights two different types of organization having different responsibilities. This shows the importance of the different organizations and how the roles and responsibilities can be different based on the viewpoint with which the organizations have been created and developed.

Task 4 – Understand the role of methods of interpretation within the heritage and culture industry.

The development of understanding on the role of methods of interpretation within the heritage and culture industry is very important.This section of the report evaluates methods and media used for interpretation within the heritage and cultural industry for tourists.

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

Interpretation refers to communication about the heritage attraction and thus making these places more meaningful to the visitors. The interpretation is an educational activity with an aim to reveal the meaning relationships by using original objects and not only the simple communication of the facts associated with the cultural places. Thus it is the revelation of the main idea that is behind the statement of fact. There are various methods and media that are employed by museums, historical monuments, places and the national parks (Chutinan, 2008). These have been discussed below
Map, Brochure and Books: These are the original forms of interpretation that are available at the heritage sites. These are very important as the brochures and books provide concise and elaborate information respectively and thus suffice the needs of the visitors depending upon the level of interest. The books are also important source of income. Further the maps and brochure also assist in planning the sites that can be visited based on the interest level.
Signage: These provide very brief information about the place. Thus in case of signage the issue is that of the language and the level of interest that is generated. Thus the signage can be useful if the visitor has some prior information about the place which can be done by brochures and maps. Further these have to be used with other interpretation techniques such as audio visual media. Also, these have become outdated with digital technology overpowering this interpretation technique.
Guides:The guides are the most common and effective interpretation technique wherein commentary for the site that is being visited is provided. The level of information that is provided by the guides may depend on the interest level of the visitors. Thus general information may be provided and at the same time the presence of other interpretation techniques improves the effectiveness of guides as interpretation technique.
Auditoriums: The auditoriums are developed at several historical and cultural locations wherein the significance of the place is explained to the visitors. Such interpretation techniques improve the understanding of the tourists (Chutinan, 2008). The film is shown in the form of story that shows the various aspects associated with the heritage site.
Audio Visual Media: This is one of the modern techniques that is being used for interpretation. Visitors are offered audio visual media to go around the place and understand the key areas associated with it. The biggest advantage of the audio visual media is that it can be developed in various language and thus increases the tourists visiting the place as it leads to better understanding of the culture (Chutinan, 2008). To add to the attractiveness of this media various quizzes are organized as part of the complete cycle for which the audio visual media is provided.
Trails:This is the interpretation technique that is used more at the national parks wherein map and booklet will provide the major attractions and the trails can be followed. To this interpretation technique the audio visual media can also be used which provides information wherever the trails are there. Thus various options are there that can be used along with the trails as interpretation to improve the utility and contribute to the understanding of the visitor.
Reconstruction Videos: This is one of the innovative interpretation techniques wherein a scene is created in the past at the actual site. A computer model is used to recreate ruins and thus construct how it was there in the past. The artists move in the dresses and perform the tasks that were performed at that time. Thus the visitors develop complete understanding without any need of communication.
Light and Sound Show: This is another animated and modern interpretation technique that is employed wherein the light and sound shows are organized at particular time during the day during which the tourists can understand about the various aspects of the place and thus can explore it later on. Further it may add to the knowledge of the tourists who have visited the place and thus come to know about the historical facts about the place by way of story shown by the light and sound show.
Performing Arts: This is quite similar to reconstruction video except that it is used to portray culture and tradition of the heritage site. However in case of reconstruction video live performance isn’t there and is recorded. The various other components such as dance, song or short plays can be developed as part of performing arts in the form of a story with which the tourists can associate themselves.
All the techniques that have been discussed above are quite different and thus increase the visitor’s awareness and appreciation of natural or cultural heritage resources. It also communicates messages relating to nature and culture, including natural and historical processes and involves people in nature and history through first hand (personal) experience with the natural and cultural environment. Thus interpretation enables visitors to make connections between the information being given and their own knowledge and experience.
Both Science Museum and V & A Museum employ these interpretations although the extent of usage may differ. For example in case of Science Museum audio video is used extensively. Further the special auditoriums have been developed to show the scientific process associated with solar system and universe and the biological process. Further signage and maps are also employed to explain the various aspects and the events that are being covered. In case of V & A Museum performing art and light and sound shows are quite popular. Lastly guides are used providing the commentary for the museum as the different locations are visited. However Use of maps and brochures is quite common in both the museums. This clearly explains the various interpretations that have been used in the two museums.
The above discussion clearly shows that although use of maps and brochures is quite common in both the museums. However it is important to note that there is difference in interpretation used by both the museums. This is to say that performing art and light & sound show is used extensively in case of V & A museums. Reconstruction videos and the audio visual media is also used extensively. On the other hand the Science museums has more utility in Audio Visual media wherein interaction or communication with the audience is essential and encourages audience participation. This is to say that light & sound show can attract audience but doesn’t require application which is quite important in science museums and thus audio video interpretation is more important and appropriate for science museum..

Conclusion

The report provides an understanding of the heritage and cultural industry, the organizations within it, the purpose of attractions and methods of interpretation. The various aspects law that have been included in the report arethe growth and development of the heritage and cultural industry within travel and tourism, the purpose of heritage and cultural attractions within the travel and tourism sector, roles, responsibilities and ownership of organizations in the heritage and cultural industry and the role of methods of interpretation within the heritage and culture industry.
The above discussion shows that there has been considerable growth in the heritage tourism over the three year period and thus has been a major factor in the overall growth of the tourism industry in UK. It has been viewed that these four cities have been the pillars of cultural and heritage tourism wherein London and Edinburgh have been traditional cities and on the other hand Glasgow and Liverpool are being developed as culture capital. There has been tremendous growth in the tourism in Glasgow and Liverpool while in London and Edinburgh the programs are being developed so as to maintain the sustainability the interest of visitors. Thus overall the growth, contribution and development of heritage and cultural tourism have been huge in UK.
The other sections of the report highlight the importance and contribution of this industry to the tourism in UK and thus need to develop, manage and contribute to this industry by examining the various factors and components of this industry.

References

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