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The aim of this paper is to investigate a specific type of tourism associated with cultural heritage through the analysis of the key segments that define it. The conducted research is related to a specific area through which it highlights its applicative value. The first part creates a broader context in which cultural tourism should be a part of the tourist offer. The second section focuses on a specific tourist destination, the city of Ohrid, which defines the necessary activities in order to ensure successful development of the cultural tourism. The analysis is based on the application of the SWOT methodology, applied for the wider area of Macedonia, with a detailed case study elaboration for the Ohrid area as most suitable for development of cultural tourism. The analysis differentiates the basic areas: the supply side, the scope of governance, marketing and promotion, with numerous indicated activities necessary to ensure the sustainable development of cultural tourism in an area protected by UNESCO. Generally it should be accepted that if cultural tourism is a complex type of tourism, then for its development the cluster approach should be essential which will ensure involvement of all stakeholders. If a variety of relevant activities are provided in the basic domains of operation which are addressed to each participant in cultural tourism, then its success will be very certain.
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Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 44 ( 2012 ) 104 – 113
1877-0428 © 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality
doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.05.010
Service sector in terms of changing environment
Cultural tourism in Ohrid as a selective form of tourism
development
Saso Korunovski
a
, Naume Marinoski
a *
a
Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality – Ohrid, University “St. Kliment Ohridski” – Bitola, Kej Marshal Tito 95, Ohrid 6000,
Republic of Macedonia
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to investigate a specific type of tourism associated with cultural heritage through the analysis
of the key segments that define it. The conducted research is related to a specific area through which it highlights its
applicative value. The first part creates a broader context in which cultural tourism should be a part of the tourist
offer. The second section focuses on a specific tourist destination, the city of Ohrid, which defines the necessary
activities in order to ensure successful development of the cultural tourism. The analysis is based on the application
of the SWOT methodology, applied for the wider area of Macedonia, with a detailed case study elaboration for the
Ohrid area as most suitable for development of cultural tourism. The analysis differentiates the basic areas: the supply
side, the scope of governance, marketing and promotion, with numerous indicat ed activities necessary to ensure the
sustainable development of cultural tourism in an area protected by UNESCO. Generally it should be accepted that if
cultural tourism is a complex type of tourism, then for its development the cluster approach should be essential which
will ensure involvement of all stakeholders. If a variety of relevant activities are provided in the basic domains of
operation which are addressed to each participant in cultural tourism, then its success will be very certain.
© 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Faculty of
Tourism and Hospitality - Ohrid
Keywords: Cultural tou rism; Ohrid; manage ment o f prot ected area s; clu ster approach.
1. Introduction
This paper is the result of the research done as part of the Revision and Implementation of the National
Tourism Development Strategy 2009-2013 for Macedonia. The existing need for the revision of the
*
Saso Korunovski. Tel.: +389-78-246-611.
E-mail address: saso.korunovski@uklo.edu.mk.
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
© 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of the Faculty of
Tourism and Hospitality
105
Saso Korunovski and Naume Marinoski / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 44 ( 2012 ) 104 – 113
strategic approach towards tourist products design, methods and implementation of Macedonian tourism,
led to the application of the cluster approach. The main interest in the paper is set on the cultural tourism.
The Republic of Macedon ia of toda y is the result of a rich and diverse history, which highlights a wealth y
multicultural heritage. Macedonia’s development has clearly been funded on successive historic and
cultural identities (Antic, Mediaeval, Late Medieval), whose remains are still visible today. That is why
cultural tourism presents a great asset of Macedonian tourism development which focus is put on. The
example of cultural tourism in Ohrid has been examined through the scope of clustering. Researched are
all stakeholders in the destination Ohrid which together direct their strategies towards a common goal.
The practical implications are evident of this contemporary approach. First because competition on the
tourist market is getting tougher and second, it is the result of changes in the tourism industry in the past
decades where the traditional methods of operating can not be applied any more. Hence, this cluster
approach besides Ohrid as a pilot spot used in the revision can be used to other regions as well.
The main purpose of this paper is to improve the current methodology for strategic development of
regions in a tourism sense. Ohrid as a pilot spot for implementing the cluster approach will be a
successful example for other cultural destinations as well. It will show that communication between all
stakeholders is essential for success. Thus, through the case study of the Ohrid cluster, this paper is
aiming to enhance and widen the existing knowledge in tourism research done in Macedonia and to show
the positive impacts and benefits this approach has.
2. Macedonian cultural resources
Diversity in Macedonia is the main word to qualify its tangible and intangible heritage. The major
stake of tourism development in Macedonia is now to find the appropriate sustainable marketing offer s
and enhancement tools to reveal them as key tourist resources. Macedonia first determines itself by the
variety and number of cultural heritage sites, directly inserted in its rural, mountain and urban landscapes.
On its small geographical area of only 25 713 km2, presently exist: Thousands monuments of culture
from the Neolithic to the Ottoman historic periods; numerous archeological sites (with hundreds that are
protected; memorial monuments; excellent examples of urban, rural and commercial architecture; vast
number of churches and monasteries; medieval buildings, fortresses, bridges, towers; also a large number
of mosques; as well as other objects from the 15th till the 19
th
century; unique religious masterpieces of
great cultural importance – numerous icons inside the churches.
The visibility, accessibility, and knowledge by the Macedonians themselves of these cultural heritage
resources and sites are generally little developed, and above all contrasted. Whereas the UNESCO-
registered Ancient Town and Lake of Ohrid has highlighted some now popular heritage facilities, and
apart from major Macedonian archaeological sites, many other heritage spots of major historic value
remain almost unknown, due to their maintenance conditions, geographic location, or/and poor
accessibility due to lack of transport connections.
The tourism development’s paradoxical stake in Macedonia shows through this symbolic anecdote:
Macedonia has now to justify and build contents behind its popular name, present in most foreigners’
minds with historic and gastronomic connotations but with very few related actual contents. It has to build
a coherent and overall tourist strategic pr oduct on a major asset – diversity.
3. Past activities regarding cultural tourism in Macedonia
Several relevant examples of decentralized cooperation already illustrate the needs and the capacity of
the Macedonian actors at local and regional level to enter such programs and benefit from a direct transfer
of know-how and of best practices. The example of the French Region of Lower Normandy is certainly
106 Saso Korunovski and Naume Marinoski / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 44 ( 2012 ) 104 – 113
an excellent practice, covering, among others, the topic of heritage and sustainable tourism development,
and present, in particular, in Berovo and in Mavrovo. This cooperation is briefly presented: “Cooperation
between Republic of Macedonia and French Region of Lower Normandy - Cultural Heritage and
Sustainable Tourism”
The institutional cooperation between the French region of Lower Normandy and the Republic of
Macedonia is based on a three-years-long term Program developed by the combined work of several
French and Macedonian associations, working in tandem, and together with the support and the
involvement of local bodies such as public institutions, schools and other associations. The Program is
supported by the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs and is coordinated by the Association of Local
Democracy Agencies (ALDA).
The project targets to develop new actions in the field of the local governance, and this in particular
within the following fields of interest: new information technologies, youth, media, cultural exchanges
and cultural heritage & sustainable tourism development. The aim of the program is to contribute to a
better and long lasting relationship between the French region of Lower Normandy and the Republic of
Macedonia, and this throughout the institution of a specific platform enhancing all relations and
exchanges between these two territories while opening them and their cultures to the world.
The local governing remains the centre of the project aiming at the reinforcement the territorial
dynamics between the two countries involved by capacity development on institutional and associative
level. This local development dimension of the project has become wider and more evident thanks to the
active participation of all local representatives involved in the project actions. The fifth component of the
overall cooperation program is focused on Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Tourism, with the following
intervention logic.
Objectives:
Reinforce local authorities capacities in order to develop alternative tourism in their municipalities
Reinforce municipalities abilities in preserving cultural heritage
Reinforce local population’s awareness about their cultural heritage
Activities:
a) Development of alternative tourism
Animation of group of municipalities willing to work together on the topic of sustainable t ourism
(questionnaires);
Workshop 1 (for the employees in the local administration) to identify the needs for development of
sustainable tourism on local level;
Worksh op 2 about the development of a specific kn ow-how about alternative tourism
b) Heritage preservation
Heritage inventory in Berovo;
Youth training about houses renovation with traditional materials in Mavrovo
4. Analysis of cultural tourism
There exist a vast number of possibilities for successful development and implementation of cultural
tourism in the Republic of Macedonia. “An overview of their current state of development as well as
development opportunities and objectives will be detailed in the following segments”. Potentialities of
Macedonian cultural tourism can be presented through several segments of interest that are essential:
Segment A – cultural heritage resources:
Technical Assistance in Revision and Implementation of the National Strat egy for T ourism D evelop ment of the
Republic of Macedonia – Final Report (2011)
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Saso Korunovski and Naume Marinoski / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 44 ( 2012 ) 104 – 113
Macedonia as biblical land; Macedonia as crossr oad of cultures and civilizations; Abundance of
cultural heritage originating from all periods of human history (Neolithic, Early Antic-Bronze and Iron
Age, Antic period – Late Antic-Early Christian, Medieval – Byzantine, Late Medieval – Ottoman, XIX
Century Revival, XX Century – Modern); Good inventory of heritage resources – digital database in
creation; and so on.
Segment B - tourists:
Image of living history; Challenge to explore and participate into something unrevealed; The country
situated on current crossroads; No-commodification of the cultural heritage resources; Several regions
with significant cultural heritage have developed good tourist infrastructure (accommodation, services,
transportation); Warm hospitality of the recipient community; etc.
Segment C – state/local community:
Awareness of cultural tourism potentials; Defined stakeholders in cultural tourism cluster (Ministry of
Culture, Institute for protection of the cultural heritage, Religious organizations, Business sector,
Professional associations, Local government); Existence of professional bodies at relevant stakeholders
connected with cultural tourism and so on.
Essential for the current state of development is to present also:
Segment A – cultural heritage resources:
Insufficient research activities in cultural potentials of Macedonia; No existing list of the cultural
heritage that have development potentials in cultural tourism; No analysis of the current state of usage of
the cultural heritage in tourism activities; Misunderstanding that cultural heritage is automatically
touristic resource; Absence of cultural heritage management plans; etc.
Segment B – tourists:
Cultural tourism brand on national level is not established; Faint image of the country on the
international markets connected with cultural tourism potentials; The great number s of the tourist
agencies are interested in outgoing instead in incoming tourism; Week tourist products based on cultural
heritage.
Segment C – state/local community:
Insufficient communication between stakeholders; Deficiency of qualified human resources in the
most of the regions in the country; not established cultural tourism network; undeveloped techniques to
collect data about visitors in cultural tourism (numbers, motivation for visit, level of satisfaction etc.);
Segmented and divided stakeholders; etc.
The threats that exist in cultural tourism development can not be excluded:
Unstable accession process in the EU and NATO;
Lack of financial assets in the infrastructural projects;
Strong political division of the country that sometimes causes problems in communications on the
national versus local government;
Disputes und unsolved issues with some of the neighboring countries.
As a third part of this analysis that is important to mention are the development opportunities and
objectives:
Segment A – cultural heritage resources:
To develop coordinative research strategy; To develop relevant methodology conn ected to valorization
of the cultural heritage for cultural tourism – possibilities and restrictions; To improve the presentation of
the cultural heritage to the public; To facilitate the access and utilization of the existing database of the
cultural heritage in Macedonia; To make management plans prerequisite for involvement of tourist
activities into the protected buildings and sites; etc.
Segment B – tourists:
108 Saso Korunovski and Naume Marinoski / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 44 ( 2012 ) 104 – 113
To make distinctive brand of the country based on cultural heritage resources; To develop strong and
innovative cultural tourism products; To create materials that are supporting the brand and created
cultural tourism products; To carry out advertising, publicity and media plans for the brand and cultural
tourism products; and so on.
Segment C – state/local community:
To ensure that cultural resources will be a tool for sustainable development on national/local level; To
establish a network of the stakeholders in the cluster of cultural tourism; To improve the communication
between stakeholders; To appoint national/local leaders who will be ambassadors and advocates about the
benefits of cultural tourism; To appoint national/local leaders who will act as decision-makers in cultural
tourism; To educate the local communities about the essence of the cultural tourism and other.
5. Cluster approach and market targeting
Tourism marketing for strategic development purposes is about linking different markets to different
tourist products. First there is a need of identifying markets’ needs and assigning the tourist products
which are matching their expectations. Our belief is that all tourist products do not necessarily match all
targeted markets. Targeted markets indeed have their own specific needs, and then will not be attracted to
products which do not suit their own expectations. More specifically, we must be aware and accept that
Western European market will not be attracted by all tourist products. The selection must indeed be made
at tourist product levels before making any targeted market prioritization in the absolute. This will also
have an impact on the promotion tools’ contents which will be addressed to each market.
We will consider with equal consideration 3 targeted markets:
Domestic/national market
International regional market
International Western European/ EU market
Table 1 . Overvie w of ma rket targ eting
Domestic
market
International –
Regional
market
International –
Western Europe
market
Cultural
tourism ++ ++ +++
As shown in the table, it can be concluded th at a greater emphasis must be put on targeting the
international western European markets.
Domestic markets are eager to take advantage of all their countries’ resources and opportunities. The
diversity of Macedonian tourist products is more propitious to increase and further develop domestic
tourism. Among all clusters, lake tourism is probably the one which makes them stay in Macedonia for
tourism purposes. Cultural tourism can be also attractive since there is space for increment of public
awareness about the cultural resources.
International-regional market can equally be impacted with renewed and identically strong tourist
products of Macedonia. Being the most identity-related one, rural tourism must impact them on a higher
degree, for its customs sharing and inhabitants meeting aspects. Cultural tourism can act as an accelerator
of the development on the basis of the common interest for the mutual history of the Balkan people.
International-western European market’s expectations are obviously more focused. Their criteria of
choice will prioritize discovery and pleasure, respectively embodied by cultural tourism and wine
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Saso Korunovski and Naume Marinoski / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 44 ( 2012 ) 104 – 113
tourism. A strong desire of authenticity and cultures discovering must attract some segments of this
market to rural tourism.
6. City of Ohrid as a cultural tourism cluster in Macedonia
Built between the 6
th
centuries BC and 19
th
centuries AD, from the Antique City of Lychnidos, the
City of Ohrid is one of the oldest settlements in Europe. Registered in the UNESCO World Heritage list
in 1980, the cultural and historical core of the City of Ohrid, overhanging the eastern shore of Ohrid Lake
(registered to the UNESCO in 1979) [7], appears as a cultural centre of great importance for the history of
the Balkan Peninsula, for all nations of the Slavic tongue and more broadly for world history and
literature.
Marked by the heritages of St Naum and St Clement’s works who founded there at the end of the 9th
century AD a Slavic church and university, Ohrid has a strong religious and historical echo, within a
valuable and protected natural mountains and lake landscape.
6.1. Cultural resources of Ohrid
Ohrid has a large variety of cultural facilities. As a city of UNESCO since 1980, it represents an
important attraction for cultural tourists worldwide.
Ohrid is one of the most ancient human settlements in Europe, with wider area containing Neolithic
archaeological sites as well as others from the Bronze Age and the Ancient period. With its numerous
prehistoric sites and its traces of the material culture of more than 5,000 years ago, Ohrid is indeed an
archaeological treasury and the surroundings of the lake can be styled a magical land of archaeology.
An important part of the cultural treasure that Ohrid has to offer is the fact that Glagolitic writing,
education and Slavic culture – have a common start from this city in the 9
th
to 19
th
centur ies. It is a
cultural centre of great importance for the history not only of this part of the Balkan Peninsula, but also
for all nations of the Slavic tongue and for world history and literature, with precious manuscripts and
other rarities. This city and its historic-cultural region are located in a natural setting of exceptional
beauty, while its architecture represents the best preserved and most complete ensemble of ancient urban
architecture of the Slavic lands.
Within the center of the present city of Ohrid lies the antique cit y of Lichnid – the old town. The
ancient city Lichnid was renamed into medieval Ohrid in the period of the 6
th
to the 9
th
century, still
presenting one of the most significant medieval cities in the Balkans. The Ohrid cultural remains prove
the beginnings of the Slavic literacy and culture in Ohrid through the works of St Clement and St Naum;
St Clement is worshipped as a patron of the city: his three decades of work in the city (886-916) initiated
the foundation of the Clement School – today celebr ated as the first and oldest Slavic university in
Europe.
The Ohrid today has around 30 churches which are made into cultural museums and can be easily
visited by tourists. The actual number of all the churches in the Ohrid region is much larger.
Besides there exist three significant monasteries, more than 800 Byzantine-style icons dating from
the 11th to the end of the 19th century in the Ohrid churches, remains of ancient monuments and
basilicas as well as numerous churches and chapels, built from the 2
nd
century BC to the 19th century.
Also important to mention are 4 museums and 1 gallery of icons.
110 Saso Korunovski and Naume Marinoski / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 44 ( 2012 ) 104 – 113
7. Actions required for the Ohrid cluster
Based on the conducted research there can be differentiated and defined the actions needed for
successful implementation of the cluster approach in Ohrid as a cultural destination.
The targeted geographic markets would be:
Local peoples, first concerned by heritage enhancement;
Domestic and regional tourists spending their holidays in Ohrid or near or coming in Ohrid for city-
breaks;
Tourists from Europe or all over the world visiting th e Balkans (within guided tours or on their own)
or making a broader visit tour of cultural European destinations.
Targeted market segments:
Couples
Seniors
The product’s philosophy of Ohrid must also be determin ed. This philosophy would be:Ohrid, City
of cultural continuity”. We can differentiate here between needed objectives and offer.
Objectives:
Creating a spatially coherent cultural product;
Boosting the development of Ohrid and enlarging its “tourist daytime” to the night period in the high
season;
Broadening and boosting Ohrid to the concept of multicultural city;
Improving visitors’ cultural understanding and comfort.
Offer:
a) Creating a spatially coherent cultural product.
Needed in this sense is upgrading and modifying the existing road signs in the Old City and to the
cultural spots located in other parts of the City and municipality; setting up and tracing 2 general cultural
tracks (1 long, 1 short) and several thematic cultural routes (archaeological, customs…) in the Old City of
Ohrid with appropriate road signings connecting all spots and proposing a sense of visit; drafting a
feasibility study to set up a specific and adapted signage for the general cultural tracks and thematic
cultural routes in all the municipality of Ohrid; elaboration of a feasibility and programming study for the
creation of an Interpretation facility/ museum about Ohrid history and intangible heritage, using ICT and
media technologies.
b) Boosting the development of the Old Town of Ohrid and enlarging its “tourist daytime” to
the night period in the high season.
Different research are necessary such as: making an urban study of the accesses to the Old Town of
Ohrid and of car park spaces around; making a feasibility study about public lighting in the Old Town of
Ohrid and elaborating a “Light Plan for Ohrid Heritage”; tracing an “Ohrid by night” pedestrian
track/route in the Old Town; elaborating a Trade and Urban Plan for the Old Town to fix spaces/facilities
for the creation of quality small tourism facilities in the Old Town: accommodation in typical housing (in
traditional private apartments or small hotels) and traditional restaurants; setting up an investors tender to
the installation of identity stores in the upper Old Town, including a very restrictive list of stores fields:
cultural shops and libraries, art galleries, etc.
c) Broadening and boosting Ohrid towards the concept of multicultural city.
In this sense there must be done undertakings such as: drafting a feasibility study for the development
of the street culture by government subsidizing the artists through state-sponsored spectacles (producers
of icons and crafts, national dance performers, selling souvenirs connected to cultural sites, Macedonian
music selling); setting up a detailed program of day and night cultural and folklore events from Spring to
Autumn in the Old Town – light and sound shows based on historic periods (“antic theater”,
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Saso Korunovski and Naume Marinoski / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 44 ( 2012 ) 104 – 113
reconstitutions of traditional feasts with local music and costumes…). Of course they must be with an
adapted frequency (weekly programme during summer time), etc.
d) Improving visitors’ guidance, understanding and comfort.
This can be done through open ing a real Tourism Office; installing signposts in front of every cultural
spot (written or media cartels, in Macedonian, English, German and Italian); developing guiding services
(in spots or through the Tourism Office); building essential facilities in/near to cultural spots: toilets
facilities, souvenir shops, food and drink outlets; developing small interpretation signs (in Macedonian,
English, German and Italian) near the main archaeological excavation spots and so on.
In order to achieve success of the product there must also be undertaken several actions in the fields of
governance, marketing and communication / promotion.
Governance:
Enhancing cultural heritage protection and management.
For this to be put into reality several actions have to be implemented such as: making management
plans prerequisite for involvement of tourist activities; preparation processes and systems to measure the
effectiveness of the plans and quality criteria fulfillment; setting up a process for measuring the collection
of information about visitors in all spots (number and flows, motivations for visit, level of satisfaction
etc…) and other.
Building up a cohesive local network of stakeholders in the field of cultural tourism.
In this sense there is the need for: appointing local leaders as the ambassadors and decision -makers in
cultural tourism; organizing civil educational workshops gathering political and civil actors in order to
explain and to sensibilise the local communities to the essence and benefits of cultural tourism;
developing an effective tourism association that as a vital actor in the tourism sector, bringing together the
development of services, and ensure integrated marketing of the resort; to establish a permanent training
center for LLL (life-long-learning) platform; setting evaluation systems in order to measure the cultural
tourism impact at all stakeholders and in the local community.
Going in regional and international governance in greater depth.
Thus, that includes: establishing if possible a UNESCO regional office in Ohrid and taking a proactive
role in the upcoming Western Balkans Culture and Heritage Cooperation Programme (EU funded);
joining a cultural heritage cities international or regional network in order to learn from best practices in
cultural tourism.
Marketing:
a) Creating strong and innovative cultural heritage-focused packages (2-days to 7-days
packages).
That is possible only through: creating a Tourism office; creating 2 main categories of packages:
cultural-ludic packages “for culture-curious” and one cultural-elitist packages for passionate visitors;
setting up a process for the dissemination of these packages (with preference for web marketing tools:
website for packages directly sent to the visitors in site, newsletter to tour operators for professional
packages) etc.
Communication/promotion:
a) Developing Ohrid media promotion through the creation of Ohrid Tourism Office official
website (to become the Official Ohrid Tourism portal).
The previously said consists of: writing contents about Ohrid cultural spots and cultural events with 2
different tones in order to generalize culture: 1 ludic tone for culture-curious and 1 culture-elitist tone for
passionate tour ists; putting online packages directly pr oposed to individual tourists and other.
b) Writing, designing, publication of a brochure in different languages about Ohrid spots and
offer.
112 Saso Korunovski and Naume Marinoski / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 44 ( 2012 ) 104 – 113
This requires: writing, designing, and publishing a brochure in different English, Macedonian,
German, Italian, about Ohrid spots and offer; organizing their diffusion at local (Tourism Office,
accommodation facilities) and international (foreign tour operators) level.
c) Developing networking promotion.
This promotion is possible with the following actions: inviting international journalists specialized in
cultural tourism and heritage issues; inviting specialized tourist guides writers; inviting managers of tour
operators specialized in cultural tourism and city breaks.
8. Conclusion
In the past cultural tourism in the Republic of Macedonia was not experiencing a particular
development, because there was no serious analysis and scientific approach that would set the basis for
applying this type of tourism. The wealth of cultural resources didn’t also mean their proper valorization
towards the introduction of tourism activities related to cultural heritage. Therefore, through an analytical
approach, this paper points out the existing potentials mainly related to the field of cultural heritage, but
also the opportunities through their tourist valorization in order to initiate the tourism development.
The case study for Ohrid, which as a city of the world cultural heritage, clearly and unambiguously
locates the activities that should be undertaken by the stakeholders with the aim for the cultural tourism to
achieve its completeness and compactness without which the tourism product would not be competitive
on the tourism mar ket.
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... Governments are often eager to promote cultural tourism in order to realize a variety of different social, economic, and developmental benefits (Rodzi et al., 2013;Idajati, 2014;Lussetyowati, 2015). At the very least, cultural tourism is appreciated as providing economic justification for the preservation of cultural artifacts and activities (Emekli & Baykal, 2011;Korunovski & Marinoski, 2012), effectively removing the financial burden of conservation from public responsibility. However, the realistic foundation for a cultural tourism industry stems from a confidence in the value of a culture, and a desire to share that value with others in an authentic fashion (Lussetyowati, 2015). ...
... Extending participation to tourists allows for respectful exchanges between cultures (Wei, 2012;Asmelash & Kumar, 2019), and furthermore, communicates the critically relevant emotional and philosophical meanings symbolized by various activities and practices (Efentaki & Dimitropoulos, 2015). The successful communication of these underlying meanings corrects stereotypical misconceptions (Korunovski & Marinoski, 2012;Vana & Malaescu, 2016), replaces prejudice with tolerance and reconciliation (Nilnoppakun & Ampavat, 2015), and fosters open-mindedness and inclusivity (Wei, 2012). ...
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Zeitschrift für Tourismuswissenschaft | Volume 12: Issue 2 Understanding the Impact of Knowledge on Perception of Islam – What Role Cultural Tourism Can Play? Heba Aziz Professor Dr. and Osman Ahmed El-Said DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/tw-2020-0005 | Published online: 13 Oct 2020 ABSTRACT REFERENCES RECOMMENDATIONS Abstract This paper addresses the role of cultural tourism in bridging cultural gaps; looking specifically at the potentials of communicating Islamic knowledge. This paper comes in two folds: assessing the impact of visitors’ knowledge of Islam on their perception, followed by an unsolicited assessment of visitors’ impressions of their visit gathered via a content analysis of the visitors’ reviews on trip advisor. To that effect the case of Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque (SQGM) in Muscat, Oman was selected to explore visitors experience and knowledge. 213 questionnaires were distributed in an exit survey exercise to asses the type of Islamic knowledge non-Muslim visitors have and the impact of this knowledge on their perception of Islam. This methodology was validated by a content analysis of visitors’ reviews on trip advisor offering an unsolicited assessment of visits to SQGM. On one hand, the results revealed a strong association between breadth of knowledge about Islam and the positive perception of Islamic faith and civilisation. On the other hand, the content analysis results revealed a focus on materialistic components of the mosque, highest positive repetition, for example, were received by mentions of the chandelier, the carpet and not mentions of conceptual and cultural content. The paper also concluded that the focus of the interpretation assessed via the trip advisor content analysis did not address the current problematic situation of the image of Islam but was rather superficial. The main recommendation of this paper is to effectively use cultural tourism to promote cultural understanding and bridge gaps.
... Cultural tourism and well-being have been a hot topic and a focus of academic discussion [19][20][21], and cultural tourism is part of the tourism product [22]. With the increasing competitiveness and sustainability of the cultural tourism industry itself [23], the important role of economic and social development is increasingly emerging [24]. ...
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A supply of high-quality cultural tourism products effectively promotes people’s happiness. This study takes the coupling and coordination relationship between cultural tourism (CT) and objective well-being (OWB) in western China as the research object and constructs an index evaluation system for the development levels of cultural tourism and objective welfare, which are divided into three development stages of dysfunctional, transitional, and coordinated development and 10 coordination levels, including high-quality coordination. The entropy weight method, coupled coordination model, Thiel index, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation were used to calculate the comprehensive development index and coupling coordination degree of the CT and OWB systems in western China from 2007 to 2020, and then their evolution characteristics were analyzed from the perspectives of time and space. The results show the following: (1) The comprehensive development capacity of the CT and OWB systems in the western region shows a relatively consistent growth trend except for 2020, the overall development capacity of objective welfare was relatively high, and the development capacity of cultural tourism was relatively low. (2) The CT and OWB systems were in a state of transition from high coupling and low coordination to high coupling and high coordination, which were divided into three development stages: imbalanced stage (2007–2008), transitional stage (2009–2011), and coordinated development (2012–2020). The coordination degree has developed steadily from moderate misalignment to good coordination over time, and the diversified characteristics of coupling coordination levels are obvious. (3) The spatial equilibrium of the CT and OWB systems is obvious, and the spatial difference in the western region is getting smaller, but the relative gap is widening significantly. (4) The comprehensive development capacity of the cultural tourism system should be enhanced, the spiritual needs of residents based on objective well-being should be met, and the sustainable development of the CT and OWB systems.
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Visitor attractions represent a complex sector of the tourism industry and are the catalytic focus for the development of tourism infrastructure and services. As this area grows, there are still many questions to be answered and issues to be understood ? such as what visitor attractions actually are, what forces drive their development, who visits them and why, how they are funded, and what the numerous day-to-day challenges are in respect of their management and marketing. The second edition of this successful text investigates these issues further and provides more solutions and suggestions for the present and future. Now in its 2nd edition, Managing Visitor Attractions: New Directions has been fully revised and updated to include new case studies on attractions in Singapore, seasonal variation, religion-based attractions, HRM issues and heritage tourism. It also includes five new chapters looking at attraction success and failure, interpretation, school excursions, managing gardens and brand management. Divided into five parts, the book tackles the following core topics: ? the role and nature of visitor attractions ? the development of visitor attraction provision ? the management of visitor attractions ? the marketing of visitor attractions ? future issues and trends With contributions from around the world, this is an essential text for undergraduate and postgraduate students of visitor attraction management, written by subject specialists with a wealth of experience in this field.
Managing visitor impacts Managing Visitor AttractionsHeritage and cultural tourism: a marketing-focused approach International Cultural Tourism: management, implications and cases Managing Tourism at World Heritage Sites: a Practical Manual for World Heritage Managers
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