Intangibles: enhancing access to cities' cultural heritage through interpretation

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to utilise commodification for the conservation and promotion of cultural heritage in cities by developing interpretative strategies, specifically enabling access to intangible cultural heritage through its tangible parts.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, three case studies were conducted in the cities of Amsterdam, Genoa and Leipzig, through a workshop cycle with destination and local tourism stakeholders and citizen representatives, to develop interpretative strategies for the cities.

Findings

The paper identifies tangible and intangible cultural heritage of the three cities, and integrates them into stories and outlines the development of an interpretative strategy for destinations independent from, but aligned with, the current marketing and positioning strategy development level.

Research limitations/implications

Future research should examine the integration process of interpretative strategies and heritage interpretation of cultural heritage in marketing strategies, and in particular focus on the intangible aspects.

Originality/value

The article integrates and highlights the value of intangible cultural heritage and interpretation of cultural heritage in general for marketing purposes through the development of an interpretative strategy improving access to destinations' cultural heritage supporting destination management. The article adds to the research discussion of the commodification of cultural heritage.

Citation

Mitsche, N., Vogt, F., Knox, D., Cooper, I., Lombardi, P. and Ciaffi, D. (2013), "Intangibles: enhancing access to cities' cultural heritage through interpretation", International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 7 No. 1, pp. 68-77. https://doi.org/10.1108/17506181311301381