THE CULTURE OF TOURISM

Abstract

Since the mid-1980s, another phase of tourism has emerged, namely, one which highlights the cultural component of tourist experiences. This focus has entailed rethinking the nature both of tourism and of its impacts. Specifically, the culture of tourism includes: maximising the culture of tourism products, re-defining tourist experiences, addressing the cultural impacts of tourism, and dealing with the changing culture of the industry itself. A niche form of tourism that emphasises the cultural dimension of tourism above all is cultural tourism (where cultural sites, events attractions, and/or experiences are marketed as primary tourist experiences); the creation of purpose-built cultural attractions for tourists; and the modification of, or access to, everyday leisure attractions for tourists (Britton 1991:464). Thus the culture of tourism encompasses a range of phenomena from targeted tourism based on culture to the unintended cultural components of mass tourism. The question posed by this chapter is: Has culture become merely a convenient marketing ploy or has a fundamental change to the nature of tourism occurred? In other words, is the culture of tourism a fad or a new social form?

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