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Article
Publication date: 4 September 2017

Claudia Sima

The purpose of this paper is to identify and explore how different stakeholders represent communist and revolution heritage for tourism, with a case-study on Bucharest, the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify and explore how different stakeholders represent communist and revolution heritage for tourism, with a case-study on Bucharest, the capital city of Romania. The research attempts to identify gaps and tensions between representation makers on communist heritage tourism.

Design/methodology/approach

The research employs a range of qualitative methods in order to explore communist heritage tourism representation from different perspectives: content analysis of secondary data in the form of government, industry and media destination promotional material; interviews with a range of representation producers (government, industry and media); focus groups with potential tourists; and content analysis of user generated content under the form of blogs by actual visitors to Bucharest.

Findings

Findings reveal that there are gaps between the “official” or government representations of communism and revolution heritage and “unofficial” or industry, media and tourists’ representations. The research confirms and builds on Light’s (2000a, b) views that communist heritage is perceived as “problematic” by government officials and that attempts have been made to reinterpret it in a different light. The process of representation is made difficult by recent trends such as the increase in popularity of communism heritage tourism in countries such as Germany or Hungary. The potential of communist and revolution heritage to generate tourism is increasingly being acknowledged. However, reconciliation with “an unwanted” past is made difficult because of the legacy of communism and the difficulties of transition, EU-integration, economic crisis or countless political and social crisis and challenges. The “official” and “unofficial” representations successfully coexist and form part of the communism and revolution heritage product.

Research limitations/implications

The research attempts to look at the representation of communism heritage from different angles, however, it does not exhaust the number of views and perspectives that exist on the topic. The research only records the British and Romanian perspectives on the topic. The topic is still in its infancy and more research is needed on communism heritage tourism and representation.

Originality/value

The research identifies and explores gaps, agreements and disagreements over the representation of communist and revolution heritage in Bucharest, Romania.

Details

International Journal of Tourism Cities, vol. 3 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-5607

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 6 September 2019

Abstract

Details

Experiencing Persian Heritage
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78754-813-8

Book part
Publication date: 24 November 2010

Kazem Vafadari and Malcolm Cooper

Iran has significant potential for an international tourism industry based on culture and heritage. However, the rich fusion of Persian and Islamic cultures that distinguishes…

Abstract

Iran has significant potential for an international tourism industry based on culture and heritage. However, the rich fusion of Persian and Islamic cultures that distinguishes Iran from the rest of the Middle East is not easily promoted for tourism internationally, mainly as a result of successive American and European attempts at forcing Iran's isolation since 1979. Given that Japan was a significant inbound and outbound market for Iranian tourism in the 1980s and is a close trading partner of the group of countries aligned against Iran at present, this chapter focuses on the recent development of the Iranian inbound tourism industry with the history and current status of the Japan–Iran tourism connection.

Article
Publication date: 4 September 2017

Geoffrey Wall and Ning Ryan Zhao

The purpose of this paper is to describe and evaluate red tourism in China and, in doing so, shed light on the complex relationships between tourism, heritage and identity…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe and evaluate red tourism in China and, in doing so, shed light on the complex relationships between tourism, heritage and identity politics.

Design/methodology/approach

Mixed methods – literature review, document analysis, interviews with government officials, travel agents and tourists.

Findings

Red tourism is an initiative to preserve, promote and pass down China’s communist past that is underpinned by political purposes. It has resulted in an imbalance between the government’s designation of communist heritage sites all over the country and the concentration of visitors in a small number of popular destinations. Red tourism fosters allegiance to the Communist Party of China. At the same time, it is expected to bring economic opportunities to remote locations through tourism spending and the branding opportunities that it provides. However, a different emphasis can be discerned at the national and local levels, whereby the former emphasizes political cohesion and the latter stresses local economic development.

Research limitations/implications

Four sites are investigated in detail out of the hundreds that might have been explored.

Practical implications

Recommendations are made to: diversify the product, increase stakeholder involvement, enhance heritage conservation plans, improve interpretation.

Social implications

Many implications for relationships between governments at all levels and the Chinese population. Also implications for the economic well-being of places and people adjacent to red tourism sites.

Originality/value

One of very few papers in either English or Chinese that addresses the red tourism policy in detail and with substantial empirical materials.

Details

International Journal of Tourism Cities, vol. 3 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-5607

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 31 May 2016

Carolina Manrique, Tazim Jamal and Robert Warden

This chapter offers a new sustainability-oriented paradigm for cultural and heritage tourism studies: an integrated approach to heritage tourism and heritage conservation based on…

Abstract

This chapter offers a new sustainability-oriented paradigm for cultural and heritage tourism studies: an integrated approach to heritage tourism and heritage conservation based on resilience. Its extensive literature review examines resilience in a range of disciplinary areas, including heritage conservation and tourism studies. An important aim is to “make visible” often neglected parameters in the interactions among social, cultural, economic, and environmental dimensions of heritage conservation and tourism. Within the broader concept of resilience, “cultural resilience” was identified as a crucial bridge between conservation and tourism. The study argues that resilience in general and its cultural forms in particular offer a potentially valuable framework vital for an integrated approach between the two in the common pursuit to manage change and uncertainty in cultural and heritage destinations. The chapter concludes with directions for further development of sustainability-oriented paradigm studies.

Details

Tourism Research Paradigms: Critical and Emergent Knowledges
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-929-4

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 11 June 2021

Islam Elgammal and Hassan Refaat

Purpose: This chapter is exploring opportunities out of the coronavirus crisis and investigating how to turn the crisis into a stepping stone for enhancing heritage tourism in…

Abstract

Purpose: This chapter is exploring opportunities out of the coronavirus crisis and investigating how to turn the crisis into a stepping stone for enhancing heritage tourism in Egypt.

Design: A qualitative approach is adopted and thirteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with key stakeholders about cultural heritage activities before, during, and after COVID-19.

Findings: Main findings of the chapter are divided into management-related (cultural sites carrying capacity, interpretation of cultural heritage attractions, site accessibility, hygiene, and safety) and marketing-related (the limited number of exhibited destinations, using technology and promoting heritage tourism locally) challenges.

Research Limitations/Implications: This study is limited to the Egyptian context. Future research could investigate the challenges and opportunities for heritage tourism in more developed countries. Besides, the use of qualitative methods can be altered to surveys in future research to enrich the body of knowledge in this area.

Practical Implications: The study is suggesting practical steps to tourism authorities related to management and marketing aspects of heritage tourism.

Originality/Value: This study is based on original research that produces new knowledge by using the study approach in collecting data, reports and interprets the findings and discusses possible implications.

Details

Tourism Destination Management in a Post-Pandemic Context
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80071-511-0

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 June 2023

Maria Gravari-Barbas, Sandra Guinand, Yue Lu and Xinyu Li

Between 1840s and 1940s, 27 occidental concessions have been created in several cities in China which represented difficult signs and memories for Chinese. Nowadays, these…

Abstract

Purpose

Between 1840s and 1940s, 27 occidental concessions have been created in several cities in China which represented difficult signs and memories for Chinese. Nowadays, these territories are experiencing a joint phenomenon of heritagization and tourismification which makes them experimental theaters for modern urban life and identity. Taking the former concessions of Tianjin as place study, the purpose of this study is to analyze the role of the heritage and tourism in the former concessions in city branding and more specifically the actors, approaches and products of this phenomenon.

Design/methodology/approach

This research draws on the comparison and analysis of two place studies in China. The authors base their analysis on semi-structured interviews in Chinese with previously identified stakeholders. In all, 20 individuals, including developers, public authority representatives, business owners, academics and conservation association members, were interviewed. This research was completed, updated and triangulated by content analysis of Web-based materials; official documents such as urban plans, guidelines and urban and tourism strategies collected during the fieldwork, as well as non-intrusive spatial observations of the concession and its various developments.

Findings

The results of this study show that the heritage in the former concessions has become an attractive tool for the city branding through tourism development, often led by the public actors with the participation of private entrepreneurs.

Originality/value

This study looks at the hybrid dimensions of the former concessions in China. It provides a better understanding of the co-action of heritage and tourism in the processes of territorial rehabilitation, which contributes to both the practitioners and researchers in this domain.

Details

International Journal of Tourism Cities, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-5607

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 6 September 2019

Maria Isabel Roque and Maria João Forte

Iranian history, with roots in the oldest civilizations in western Asia, has provided significant heritage, both tangible and intangible, allowing the country to be considered as…

Abstract

Iranian history, with roots in the oldest civilizations in western Asia, has provided significant heritage, both tangible and intangible, allowing the country to be considered as a major cultural tourism destination for both nationals and foreigners. The focus on Iranian history and heritage aims to confirm the country’s potential for attracting international tourists, while a negative image prevails abroad of a radical theocratic regime with a hostile internal political environment, alongside the instable geopolitical situation of the region. However, the changing political situation, now more secure and safe, allows an attempt to remove these prejudices, which may be achieved through the promotion of heritage and cultural tourism.

Book part
Publication date: 11 December 2023

Nil Sonuç and Seda Süer

The conceptualization of smart emerged by technological advancements penetrated the tourism industry with the pace of globalization transformed the destinations providing…

Abstract

The conceptualization of smart emerged by technological advancements penetrated the tourism industry with the pace of globalization transformed the destinations providing digitalized products. Even though smart tourism destinations are initiated by advanced technologies, the notion evolved in embracing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) project economic, social, and environmental proliferation. A tourism destination is counted as “smart” which provides advanced technologies to improve the quality of tourists' experiences and enhance the residents' quality of life. The structure of a smart tourism destination is established on four basic pillars that cover technology, innovation, accessibility, and sustainability issues. Designating the notion of smart into tourism destinations is extremely vital since the shifting paradigm of tourists’ demands concern sustainability. The development of smart in a tourism destination is a crucial concern for destination management organizations (DMOs) integrating key destination components with the dimensions of a smart city to enhance the tourists' satisfaction and competitiveness of the destination. Therefore, one aim of this chapter is to elucidate the association between key destination components with the dimensions of a smart city to reveal the related smart tourism destination applications. Moreover, cultural heritage in smart tourism destinations forms an important part of tourism both with its tangible and intangible resources which have been involved in the emergent era of digitalization inevitably with all parties and processes. Hence, another aim of this chapter is to examine the dimensional shift in cultural heritage tourism within the framework of digitalization. Sharing cases of digitization of cultural heritage from different parts of the world, this chapter also reflects that it is inevitable to benefit from digitization and ICTs in order to reach the SDGs on the scale of smart tourism destinations. Analysis of academic publications and the national and international reports of the related authorities sums the methodology used to conclude the study with suggestions of future research paths to develop the field.

Details

Smart Cities for Sustainability
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-902-4

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 February 2020

Ibrahim Ajagunna, Mustapha Bello and Segun Arowolo

This paper aims to promote the development of a form of tourism product that can help to promote economic development at Ikare.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to promote the development of a form of tourism product that can help to promote economic development at Ikare.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was conducted at Ikare using a qualitative approach. Tourism assets were identified through interviews and visits to attractions.

Findings

Ikare has significant tourism assets that if well harnessed will over time, change the socio-cultural and economic outlook of the town. It is also imperative that the newly formed Ikare Tourism Action Club achieves the objective of this transformation by focussing on the promotion of local tourism assets through local participation.

Research limitations/implications

There were no limitations in conducting this research, however, there may be some limitations in relation to the Ikare Tourism Action Club’s ability to access the funds it needs to achieve its objectives in promoting development from international funding agencies with an interest in nature, cultural and heritage tourism.

Practical implications

Ikare is uniquely blessed with a number of spring waters or rivers as they are more often referred to. These spring waters are not common in any other part of Nigeria because of their unique history. Part of the history is that the springs run throughout the year, irrespective of the degree of drought, thereby providing a sustainable water supply to all the inhabitants of the town. Some of the springs serve specific purposes as they are connected to some of the town’s cultural heritage sites.

Social implications

Apart from its people, there are cultural assets that underline tourism that tourists look forward to in any destination. In terms of natural resources, there is a little problem because if compared to other towns in Ondo State that do not have such a natural resource base, then the future for Ikare would be quite bright especially if Ikare improves its natural attractions.

Originality/value

Ikare has never been promoted as an ecotourism destination. An aspect of the objective of the Ikare Tourism Action Club is to promote Ikare as a unique tourism destination. In so doing, the development of ecotourism activities in Ikare will offer a unique opportunity that will positively influence the conservation of protected areas and socio/economic development for local people.

Details

Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, vol. 12 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-4217

Keywords

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