Cultural Tourism

Book excerpt: Cultural Tourism remains the only book to bridge the gap between cultural tourism and cultural and heritage management. The first edition illustrated how heritage and tourism goals can be integrated in a management and marketing framework to produce sustainable cultural tourism. The current edition takes this further to base the discussion of cultural tourism in the theory and practice of cultural and heritage management (CM and CHM), under the understanding that for tourism to thrive, a balanced approach to the resource base it uses must be maintained. An ‘umbrella approach’ to cultural tourism represents a unique feature of the book, proposing solutions to achieve an optimal outcome for all sectors. Reflecting the many important developments in the field this new edition has been completely revised and updated in the following ways: • New sections on tangible and intangible cultural heritage and world heritage sites. • Expanded material on cultural tourism product development, the cultural tourism market and consumer behaviour, planning and delivery of exceptional experiences • New case studies throughout drawn from cultural attractions in developing countries such as Southeast Asia, China, South Africa and the Pacific as well as from the developed world, particularly the United States, Britain, Japan, Singapore, Australia and Canada. Written by experts in both tourism and cultural heritage management, this book will enable professionals and students to gain a better understanding of their own and each other’s roles in achieving sustainable cultural tourism. It provides a blueprint for producing top-quality, long-term cultural tourism products.