Demand for cultural tourism is increasing<\/p>\n
By Rita A. Widiadana<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Cultural and heritage-related tourism is a major
\npillar of the world tourism industry and will continue to be in
\ngreat demand in the 21st century.<\/p>\n
This new trend in tourism was revealed at the recent
\nInternational Conference on Tourism and Heritage Management in
\nYogyakarta.<\/p>\n
Attended by tourism and cultural experts of international
\nreputation, including American futurologist Alvin Toffler, the
\nconference recommended new strategies that countries will need to
\nmanage their tourism industries, which are becoming more
\ncompetitive as the 21st century nears.<\/p>\n
The first strategy is to learn the market's real demand.
\nResearch and studies by the European Commission show that
\ndeveloped countries' appetite for the traditional beach vacation
\nwill likely cease.<\/p>\n
R.W. Buttler, a professor at the University of Western Ontario
\nin Canada, said that between the l960s and l980s, the growth in
\ninternational tourism was characterized by a seemingly insatiable
\ndemand for sun, sand, sea and relaxation, for the lowest possible
\nprices, which boosted mass tourism industry.<\/p>\n
But in the l990s, travelers are searching for unique
\nexperiences. They want to learn about the cultural, historical
\nand political life of the country they visit rather than just lie
\non its tropical beaches, Buttler said.<\/p>\n
Heritage-based travel packages appear to be capable of
\nsatisfying the new demand, Buttler said. Cultural travel
\nopportunities satisfy the visitors' curiosity, and their search
\nfor knowledge, understanding, interpretation and insight, which
\nare now an essential part of both domestic and international
\ntourism.<\/p>\n
"A country that offers diversity of cultural and traditional
\ntreasures will likely get the biggest piece of pie in the tourism
\nindustry of the future," he said.<\/p>\n
The tourism industry is a significant part of the economy.
\nAccording to a report by the World Travel and Tourism Council
\n(WTTC), the travel and tourism is the world's largest industry,
\ngenerating an estimated gross output of US$3.4 trillion in 1995.
\nTourism is responsible for the employment of more than 211
\nmillion people, and produces 10.9 percent of the world's gross
\ndomestic product (GDP).<\/p>\n
The tourism industry is investing $693.9 billion in new
\nfacilities and equipment, and contributes more than $637 billion
\nto global tax revenue, according to the report. WTTC expects that
\nindustry revenues will skyrocket by 2005.<\/p>\n
If this report's predictions are accurate, countries must
\nrestructure their tourism development to meet the rapidly growing
\ndemand of cultural tourism, he said.<\/p>\n
But creating new tourism strategies is difficult because what
\nconstitutes 'cultural and heritage' travel is still ambiguous.<\/p>\n
Definition<\/p>\n
During the four-day conference, participants struggled with
\nthe definition of cultural and heritage tourism.<\/p>\n
They concluded that heritage is an inheritance or a legacy --
\nthings of value which have been passed from one generation to the
\nnext.<\/p>\n
UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
\nCultural Organization, defines heritage as "cultural property",
\nwhich includes both visible and non-visible cultural heritage.
\nThe non-visible properties are language, religion and customs,
\nwhile the visible aspects are distinctive natural and
\narchaeological sites.<\/p>\n
For tourism purposes, heritage has come to mean any product
\nthat can be the subject of tourist promotion. Good prospects for
\nheritage tourism include landscape, natural history, cultural
\ntraditions, archaeological sites, artifacts, architecture and
\nartistic buildings -- in short, all of what deserves protection
\nas a national, regional or local treasure.<\/p>\n
As the meaning of heritage tourism becomes more clear, tourism
\npromoters believe that any country which can identify heritages
\ncan develop and promote them as potential tourist attractions.<\/p>\n
The University of London's Richard Prentice, however, cautions
\nthat heavy tourist traffic will have a negative impact
\non heritage sites.<\/p>\n
Other serious effect will be the environmental degradation of
\nbuilding of infrastructure such as hotels, parking lots and other
\nutilities, he said.<\/p>\n
"Proper heritage management is needed to ensure that the
\nheritage sites are well protected and preserved. Once they are
\ndestroyed or lost, they can never be replaced," Prentice noted.<\/p>\n
Skill<\/p>\n
Heritage management is the skill or practice of controlling
\nthe heritage sites. It includes the restoration, conservation and
\npreservation of monuments, artifacts and historical sites.<\/p>\n
Management of heritage sites such as Jordan's Petra and
\nvarious places of archeological significance in Malaysia have
\nbrought in millions of dollars in foreign exchange every year to
\nhost countries.<\/p>\n
Tourism in Jordan relies mostly on cultural and archaeological
\nheritage. It now represents more than 50 percent of Jordan's
\ndomestic exports and is the second largest earner of foreign
\nexchange.<\/p>\n
Mohammad Al Najjar of Jordan's Ministry of Tourism and
\nAntiquities said the Jordanian government encourages community
\ninvolvement in its tourism development.<\/p>\n
"The government also conducts a series of public awareness
\ncampaigns to help communities to appreciate more and to protect
\ntheir cultural heritage. We are actively informing visitors about
\nthe local society, religious codes and behavior so that they
\nrespect our culture," said Al Najjar.<\/p>\n
Currently, Petra National Park in southwest Jordan, is
\nnation's premier tourist site. Listed as a World Heritage Site,
\nPetra is preserved and managed with great care by the Jordanian
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
The main source of income in this area was traditionally
\nagriculture and animal husbandry, but with tourism development
\nover the last ten years, more local people are earning money from
\ntourism-related activities, he said.<\/p>\n
Community involvement is a significant feature of heritage
\ntourism. Developers must include local residents in their
\nprojects as either employees or shareholders. Now there are 11
\nstar hotels, and 40 new motels employing more than 1,000 local
\nworkers.<\/p>\n
A World Bank study predicts that with proper management of its
\ncultural heritage, tourism will become Jordan's top income earner
\nand job provider.<\/p>\n
Malaysia is another success story. This year it has already
\nspent RM213.5 million ($84.6 million) on various tourism and
\nconservation projects.<\/p>\n
One of the country's tourism strategies has been to protect
\nand preserve archaeological and historical sites. Plans have been
\ndrawn up to ensure that conservation works are done in line with
\ninternational standards.<\/p>\n
Some of its major conservation projects are the Kampung Laut
\nMosque, the oldest wooden mosque in Malaysia, and Kota Johor
\nLama. Several archeological sites such as Bujang Valley has also
\nbeen conserved through reconstruction and restoration, which has
\nnow become Malaysia's main tourist site.<\/p>\n
Salah Wahab, of the University of Alexandria in Egypt, said
\nthat there is no contradiction between heritage conservation and
\ntourism development as long as the carrying capacity of each site
\nis maintained.<\/p>\n
"But, governments around the world should see their heritage
\npreservation projects as their efforts to promote their national
\npride and identity and not solely for tourism purposes," Wahab
\nsaid.<\/p>",
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