Touristification of cultural resources: A case study of Robert Burns

Abstract

Introduction Tourism, heritage and identity are interrelated concepts.Heritage and identity is an important resource that profoundly defines the nature of cultural tourism.One of the important cultural heritages that Scotland possesses is of Robert Burns, its best-known poet and a prolific composer, writing about 400 songs during his short life of 37 years.Robert Burns wrote in the language of Scots long after the Treaty of Union of 1707 and strongly asserted Scottish national aspirations.Due to Robert Burns' assertion on the aspect of nationhood in his literary works he is also a national icon for Scots, both within and outwith Scotland.Over the years, with the growing sense of Scottish national consciousness, Robert Burns has slowly metamorphosed from a Romantic poet into an iconic heritage.Robert Burns himself is an attraction and has emerged as a unique selling point of Scottish tourism and receives a mention in all forms of tourism literature.In Scotland, Robert Burns is the most copiously used cultural icon, surpassing his literary value to a strong symbol of Scottish identity and is presented as a commodity for consumption to tourists.A government report in 2005 said Robert Burns is worth nearly Ł160 million to Kalyan Bhandari Touristification of cultural resources: A case study of Robert BurnsTourism and cultural heritage complement each other.Cultural heritage when coupled with tourism gives it commercial viability that, if successfully executed, could be a strong marker in country's national iconography presented to tourists.The case of Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet, shows he is a national icon who now serves to the interest of both tourism and national identity.His literary genius and immense popularity has made him a strong marker of Scottish cultural identity, which now draws significant visitors to the places of his association.In Scotland, it is the image of Robert Burns which attracts tourist rather than his works of literary creativity alone.The aims of the paper is to see how his popularity as a tourism product has led to commercial realization amongst places associated with Burns -markedly the two towns Dumfries and Ayr -where objects, artefacts, and exhibits are rearranged to present it to meet the expectation and taste of visiting tourists.It also looks how this has led to 'touristify' Burns wherein more Burns are (re)created for the attraction of tourists, and has made him more of an item for consumption to tourists, than effectively only a cultural resource.

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