Creating and Managing Experiences in Cultural Tourism

The following sections are included:

• Foreword
• Preface
• About the Editors
• List of Contributors
• Contents

Culture has often been used as a means for city branding (Jelinčić, Žuvela & Polić, 2012, p. 11) as well as for urban regeneration (Jelinčić, 2011, p. 61), which has eventually had impact on increasing the number of visitors and tourism development in general. Still, due to the growing diversification of the tourism market and the ever more requiring needs of the cultural tourist, today’s cultural tourism supply needs to rely on more than just a brand. It is not any more about passive sightseeing and introduction of tourists to a destination’s cultural resources, it is about letting them experience the local identity and participate in the local culture. It is about seeing the destination’s resources through a local lens and becoming a local during the holiday period…

The following sections are included:

• The Essence and Features of Tourism Experience
• The Role of Experience in Contemporary Tourist Behaviors
• Branded Tourism Experience — EUA Triad
• How “to Turn an Ordinary Product into an Extraordinary Experience” (Lasalle & Britton 2003)?
• Culinary Tourism as an Exemplification of Experience Economy
• Tourism Space as Experiencescape
• Experience — the Old-New Paradigm of Tourism
• References

Generally, experiences can be linked to any human activity beyond consumption alone. Therefore, meanings of experience vary depending on the scientific viewpoint used. From a philosophical perspective, experience accumulation leads to individual knowledge (Dilthey, 1976). An experience is regarded as a personal effort or a test, which largely transforms the individual (Carù & Cova, 2003). Psychology considers experience to be a cognitive activity or “a means to construct reality and, above all, to verify it” (Dubet, 1994, p. 93; Carù & Cova, 2003). Moreover, anthropological and ethnological studies investigate experience as expressions of how individuals or ethnic groups experience their culture and how those experiences are expressed in different forms including narrative, literary work, theatre, carnival, ritual, reminiscence and life review (Turner & Bruner, 1986). Experiences from a sociological viewpoint are understood as personal, individual and cognitive activities, which allow a person to develop (Carù & Cova, 2003)…

At the beginning of the current millennium, Richards and Wilson (2006, p. 1221) concluded that “processes of globalization and symbolic competition seem to be leading to increasing serial reproduction of cultural attractions and ‘commodification’ of the cultural tourism product”). The creation of memorable experiences as an answer to the commodification of the (tourism) service (Pine & Gilmore, 1999; Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004; Boswijk, Thijssen & Peelen, 2007) is nowadays still a challenge for professionals in cultural tourism. Tourism in general is highly dependent on demand fluctuations (Stevic & Breda, 2016); the needs, wishes and desires of tourists have changed over time and will keep on changing in the future. The dynamic environment of the tourism industry is continuously changing and competitiveness is growing (Zieliński & Studzińska, 2015). Thereby the industry is interdependent (Stickdorn & Frischhut, 2012; Beesley, 2014), and the final tourism experience has to be the result of the engagement of numerous stakeholders in what Binkhorst and Den Dekker (2009) call tourism experience networks…

The following sections are included:

• Theory: Teaching and Communicating Culture
• Young Visitors in the Museum
• The Target to be Aimed at Today
• References

The complexity of the contemporary world is reflected on the tourism sector, as players and actors interact within the ever-changing process of tourist experiences and an on-going effort to increase material and non-material benefits for all. Amidst these, often contradictory, interests, the tourist experience is becoming more than a cultural value embedded within the community of a destination; it is already a type of commodified non-material product and among the principal reasons to travel. It is the experience that is at the core of tourist value perceived and shared via social networks (Jacobsen & Munar, 2012). For example, both consumers and service providers acknowledge the potential of social media in the communication and consumption of tourist values (Ayeh et al., 2012) as the evident rise in usage of social media by providers equals the rise in data connected to ratings by consumers. Various approaches interact in the field of cultural tourism as models for constituting a tourist experience. The theoretical model aims to define analytical procedures and a broad conceptualization of major forces which structure the actors’ experience of a destination with their motivation and involvement as key factors (Prebensen et al., 2012). The in-depth trade model strives to utilize hand-son experience to upgrade the existing destination experience and develop new manners of the experience within a given space. The development of tourism experience is seen as an inevitable part of operational activities within the sector, which has to include cautious action in order to maintain natural and social sustainability (Perottet & Benli, 2016). The empirical model is manifested in daily routines and a bottom-up approach to conceptualization of experience within the actual practice of tourism. This model refers mostly to various stakeholders who seek to exploit the benefits a destination has to offer. The properties of the model proposed in this chapter are educational, where students and educators are the actual actors. The model is presented through a case study of a student workshop conducted at the University of Zadar, situated in a major tourist destination.

Service quality assessment has received extensive attention since the 1980s. In light of this development, it is surprising that experience quality has attracted only limited research interest when tourism largely has turned from being service- to experience-based. Service quality is often approached by theories related to customer satisfaction based on a disconfirmation paradigm (Grönroos, 2011; Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry, 1985). Customer evaluations of service quality have been judged based on customer perceptions of a technical outcome provided, the process by which that outcome was delivered and the quality of the environment where the service was delivered (Brady & Cronin, 2001). Among the many criticisms of how service quality has been understood is the objection that the conception is too static (Anderson & Fornell, 1994)…

Many reflections on local development emerging from the international literature have highlighted the importance of cultural heritage, in terms of both its material and immaterial components, as a regional factor of attraction which is central to processes and policies designed to promote tourism. This especially concerns the latest generation of cultural tourism, on which there now exists an extensive bibliography (see Richards, 2011). This tourism offers the visitor experiences and sensory emotions and tends to be modeled on the needs and dreams of every single individual who seeks to establish meaningful participatory interaction with the artistic expression, cultural heritage and distinctive products of the host region (handicraft, food, etc.). It is a form of tourism that makes it possible to savor the atmosphere of the places being visited, to enjoy an experience, to come into contact with the creative flow of the living culture and to establish a relationship of empathy with the local community, learning about their traditions and customs. It is a tourism that enables the visitor to have a cultural and social experience and to get involved in authentic, genuine and emotional activities, but it also requires particular care on the part of the host region for its cultural heritage. This in turn entails paying attention to the past, including monuments, works of art, and the landscapes of yesterday and today, as well as a series of values, traditions and principles that the community recognizes as its heritage…

“Heritage is what we inherit from the past and use in the present day” (Timothy, 2011, p. 3). Heritage is simply “in”; therefore, the interest for heritage and art as a cultural tourism product has been increasing in recent decades. Freund de Klumbis and Munsters (2004) recognize the relevant trend — the rising interest for local, regional and national history and culture, as an expression of one’s own identity. This search for authenticity is a reaction to the uniformity and the large-scale effects of globalization and can be called localization…

There are more than one thousand sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and in the last two decades the number of museums in some countries has doubled (Council of Europe: 2011). In a period of globalization, in which tourism destinations become increasingly similar to each other, with authenticity being the key branding element, heritage, culture and creative industries have become extremely important for attracting tourists and initiating local economic development. This is also supported by the fact that modern tourists do not like being mere observers, they prefer learning and exploring while traveling. Therefore, the increasingly present experience economy and dream economy offer some creative experiences and stories instead of the usual simple tourist services (Jensen, 2001)…

It has been said that the shortest line between two people is a good story. Stories engage attention, evoke emotion, have powerful and compelling narratives, describe intriguing characters and are memorable when they are relevant. Stories also provide a critical connection between tourism businesses, destinations and travelers (Mathisen & Chen, 2014). They bring tourism brands to life and, most importantly, they create an emotional connection that is strengthened when multiple modalities for storytelling are embraced (Kim & Youn, 2017)…

Despite being in a world that is fortunately still rich in culture, abundant in food variety and astounding in landscape diversity, we are at a critical point in time because of the alarming loss of biodiversity on the planet. Over the centuries, unique plant and animal varieties that have given us not only sustenance but also cultural traditions, rituals, festivals, crafts, education and life knowledge are now in peril. According to some scientists, we are already below the safe levels for the safety of our own species (Potenza, 2016). The situation is worse if one considers that globalization pressures are forcing an ever more homogenized world and what we have left in natural and built resources is often poorly managed; for example, despite having industrial wastelands, new industrial zones are being built elsewhere; millions of tons of food is wasted despite world hunger (according to Worldometers (2018), an estimated 20,000–25,000 people die of hunger every day) and millions are being spent on obesity programs. According to Stenmarck, Jensen, Quested and Moates (2016), in the EU alone, an estimated 88 million tons of food is wasted annually, with associated costs estimated at 143 billion euros. At the same time, our education systems are hardwired to produce workers for factories: repeat and do not think; be uniform and conform; and do not be creative or stand out! All the while, robots are being invented to take the jobs that younger generations have been educated for…

In recent years, experience industry, experience economy and experience tourism have become popular concepts in academia and industry. Because the contribution of marketing to the development of many industries is well known, it would be natural to expect similar development of the knowledge about the strategies and techniques used in marketing experience. Surprisingly, the subject has not yet become a serious topic of research despite the centrality of the experience component of visiting tourist sites and the consumers’ search for these experiences. For many, the strategies and techniques used in marketing tourist experience and the concept of “experience marketing” remain vague. In fact, it is not clear what the practical meaning of this concept is. Using a qualitative analysis of 108 tourism advertisements for Texan destinations that appeared in the 2017 Texas State Travel Guide, the goal of this chapter is to analyze the strategies and techniques used in marketing the Texan tourist experience (Texas State Travel Guide, 2017).

There is an ongoing scholarly debate surrounding how culture defines consumers’ responses to advertisements (Wahid & Ahmed, 2011). Cultural differences affect the way people think about an advertisement and consequently influence advertising interpretations. A large number of marketing studies have explored the effect of cultural differences on thinking style in response to advertising, with East Asian countries as holistic thinkers and Western societies as analytical thinkers (Nisbett et al., 2001). While holistic thinking involves the subject as a whole, analytical thinking focuses on attributes of the object. Cultural differences result in different perceptions and attitudes toward advertisements (Zou, 2005). However, there is limited research on emotional responses to advertising in different cultures…

The (mostly negative) impacts of tourism development on host communities and their role in hosting tourists have preoccupied many scholars since the mid-1980s. To a large extent, the seminal work by Peter Murphy (“Tourism: A Community Approach”) (Murphy, 1985) has paved the way for many case studies trying to measure the impact of tourism development on host communities and to evaluate its cultural, environmental and economic consequences. Realizing the opportunity to improve their standards of living, on the one hand, and the fear of socio-cultural and environmental change as well as their quality of life, on the other, have always been mutual considerations that have shaped host communities’ attitudes toward tourism and tourists (Mansfeld & Jonas, 2006; Yu, Cole & Chancellor, 2018)…

This chapter deals with gastro-tourism (Hjalager & Richards, 2002; Hall, 2004; Croce & Perri, 2010) as a factor that can develop peripheral destinations in an economic, social and environmentally sustainable way. The chapter emphasizes that it can be achieved via a triple helix (Leydesdorff & Etzkowitz, 1998). Examples of triple helix based-developments in Denmark and the drivers of and barriers to development are discussed. The aim of the chapter is to demonstrate that gastro-tourism can develop peripheral destinations in a sustainable way and to provide knowledge about the use of the triple helix…

The Czech Republic is rich in historical, cultural and environmental diversity. Each of its 14 regions has something specific and unique to offer to its visitors; however, there are remarkable differences in the development of tourism at the regional scale. This rich history has left 2863 registered industrial monuments in the Czech Republic, which currently have the status of industrial heritage, and about 10,000 brownfields that could be protected from extinction (Valchařová, Beran & Zikmund, 2011)…

The rise of the “experience economy” (Pine & Gilmore, 1998) has led to the recognition of experiences as intrinsically embodying economic (and other) value. In the tourism context, this translated into a focus on creating memorable and unique events and activities, initially designed as “staged experiences.” However, in a “prosumer” culture with a growing desire for interaction and involvement, this progressed further, with tourists increasingly desiring “co-creation” experiences and taking on more active roles (Campos et al., 2015). In parallel, tourists’ growing desire for direct and meaningful involvement in the face of “massified” cultural tourism offers and organized experiences has fueled the development of “creative tourism” (Richards & Wilson, 2007). In this context, creators of creative tourism experiences need to think carefully about the aspects of creativity that are related to a place and that offer creative tourists a specific motivation to visit it (Richards, 2011)…

Contemporary architecture has become a prominent tourist attraction, and even the main motivation for a trip. Possibly the best-placed destination in the tourism imaginary in this regard is the United Arab Emirates, although many other world-class destinations also offer the possibility of admiring contemporary architectural masterpieces: New York, Shanghai, London and Barcelona, to name but a few (Sklair, 2005; Specht, 2009). The countryside is also dotted with these creations, permitting the creation of tourist products off the beaten path, which helps with tourist flow management (MacCannell, 1973; Halfacree, 2006)…

The purpose of this chapter is to share good practices of creative tourism, in terms of destination marketing and management for Destination Management Organization (DMOs). This will thus involve a wider reflection about the evolution of this new trend within the last decade, from its emergence as a new tourist demand to its use as a Swiss Army Knife for destination marketing and territory development. The approach will be essentially empirical for two reasons: first, because of its human-based and versatile nature, the concomitant evolution of creative tourism represents a challenge for academic research and makes benchmarking and experience-sharing particularly relevant; and second, because as practitioners managing the Creative Tourism Network^®, a non-profit international organization specializing in the development and promotion of creative tourism, our daily work consists of designing and testing new strategies with DMOs around the world to create value from creative tourism…

Readers of this book have walked along a lengthy and widening path exploring the multifaceted relationships between culture and tourism, and how cultural tourism generates meaningful, entertaining, pleasurable and valuable experiences for the tourist, and economic profits for the tourist industry. The aim of this concluding chapter is to sum up the main insights stemming from the wide-spectrum discussions on cultural tourism as unique tourist mobility driven by social, psychological, historical, political, economic and other factors and motivations. This chapter will not only itemize these insights but will also comment on what should be done in the future in order to ameliorate and strengthen the role of culture in tourism and that of tourism in culture…

The following section is included:

• Index