As a growing number of travellers seek out authentic and personalised
experiences when travelling, therein lies the opportunities for
cultural heritage tourism to have an impact on business travel, heard
attendees of a recent webinar hosted by the Pacific-Asia Travel
Association (PATA).
“Cultural heritage tourism is about having a real ‘living
experience’,” said Montakarn Suvanatap Kittipaisalsilp, programme
officer for culture at Unesco Bangkok, Thailand. “The chance to sleep in
an actual historic place can be heightened to another level, for
example by dressing up in costume or following the local way of life,
cooking food and taking part in traditional rituals.”
Authenticity and sensitivity
For Tourism & Events Queensland, cultural heritage and tourism is
about presenting culture authentically and gaining permission for
stories to be told.
“It’s about understanding the sensitivities around particular
communities and just how unique the culture is,” said Laura Jones,
Tourism & Events Queensland, stakeholder & industry engagement
director. “When we're working with artists, we’re always ensuring that
we have permission when using images.”
Sanghoon Lee, executive director of the tourism industry division at
Seoul Tourism Organization added that it is necessary to introduce
measures to help preserve local cultural points of interest, so that a
balance can be struck between tourism and cultural heritage.
He highlighted how Bukchon Hanok Village, a Korean traditional
village in Seoul, has suffered from an influx of tourism. Seoul
Metropolitan Government introduced initiatives such as a limit on the
amount of time tourists can spend in the area, a crackdown on illegal
parking and an increase in cleaning services.
Heritage homestays
For destinations, tourism interest and dollars can help to preserve
important history, both built and living, while for governments, there
is economic and political capital to be gained from cultural tourism.
Airbnb, for instance, recently partnered with India’s Ministry of
Tourism to find and promote unique cultural stays in venues such as
palaces, art deco buildings and colonial-era villas, according to
director of public policy, APAC Steven Liew.
“This kind of tourism can be good for everyone if it's done properly,
and we're preserving the architectural heritage of a place,” said
Steven Liew, director of public policy, APAC at Airbnb. “We're driving
tourism to a more dispersed area across markets and we believe that
heritage tourism is a game changer in how people can travel and enjoy
local culture.”