Almatourism - Journal of Tourism, Culture and Territorial Development
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Modern Aspects of Cultural and Historical Heritage Involvement in Tourism Activities in Russia
Full text linkThe paper focuses on problems and prospects of cultural tourism development in Russia. The results of overall research at national, regional and local levels and case studies held in several regions of Russia are presented. They confirm that Russia’s huge cultural and historical heritage is still inefficiently used in tourism. In recent years the growing demand for cultural tours remains largely pending due to lack of modern tourist products and their insufficient promotion. The use of iconic and flagship attractions for increasing the destination attractiveness as well as culture-tourism interaction in regional development are being discussed. Currently, particular attention is paid to events based on cultural and historical sites. “National Calendar of Events” and national “Russian Event Award” are established to encourage event tourism growth. State policy in cultural tourism management in Russia is now changing mainly from the separate “growth points” development to the organization of interregional tourist routes based on diverse cultural heritage. Effective interaction of cultural heritage and tourism industry requires special measures and platforms based on the partnership of a vast number of stakeholders
Effects of Cultural and Tourism Policies on Local Development: the Case of Food Trails in Medellín, Colombia
Full text linkThe emergence of Food Tourism worldwide has encouraged the rise of numerous food tourism strategies and initiatives everywhere, including Colombia. These are flourishing thanks to the tourism and cultural policies that recognise Colombian food processes and practices as intangible cultural heritage. One of the most representative strategies nowadays is the case of Medellín Sí Sabe (Medellín has a taste). The programme has been led by the local authorities and has been backed by different local organisations. This paper outlines an exploratory approach based on literature review, public documents, policies and the information obtained through nine semi-structured interviews applied to key stakeholders responsible for the implementation of this initiative in Medellín. The information provides some insights into how this strategy has had relevant effects on the local economic revitalisation by linking small and medium-sized food enterprises, which base their activity mainly on traditional dishes and products of the region. Firstly, it analyses the strategy’s structure and its link to national tourism and cultural policies based on the main concepts of territorial development: knowledge, learning and innovation. By analysing Medellín (Colombia) as case study, it recognises the role played by local authorities in the promotion of food tourism
The Challenges of the First European Cultural Itinerary: The Way to St. James
Full text linkThe pilgrimage route to St James is one of the oldest religious itineraries. The Camino (Way) came into being as a major pilgrim route in the Middle Ages. Although, in later centuries, it saw long periods of neglect, in the last fifty years, its potential has been rediscovered. It received formal and institutional recognition from the Council of Europe on 23 October 1987, as the first European Cultural Route, then, in 1993, it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Throughout this time, the final destination has remained the same, the city of Santiago de Compostela (declared a World Heritage Site in 1985), but the itinerary has turned into a polysemic cultural, tourist, monumental, spiritual and sport route. In view of such complexity, we examine how its original religious essence is undergoing semantic changes, which make it attractive for groups of different faiths and creeds, and with varying motivations. For this purpose, we study the tangible (huge monumental heritage) and intangible heritage (rituals and practices) that enriches and characterises this pilgrimage route. In explaining its polysemy, we will demonstrate why and how the Camino can satisfy the needs of pilgrims and tourists with different motivations and expectations. Finally, we set out the factors that determine the transferability of practices from the Way of St James to other European Cultural Itineraries, for instance the Via Francigena.
Training for Beauty. Training as a Strategic Axis for Tourism Enhancement of Cultural Heritage
Full text linkThis paper is intended to underline the importance of human capital and adequate professional advanced training in the field of cultural heritage as a core asset for local development. Through the example given by the Italian experience within the project MODI-FY, we argue that the development of integrated models of management of cultural assets requires specific professional skills which are not always provided by universities. An exploratory survey helps to describe the state of the art of the national educational framework and its main weaknesses and potentialities, in order to outline enhancement strategies able to implement virtuous behaviours in sectors such as tourism, which are crucial to local development
Exploring Responsible Tourism in Upper Myanmar
Full text linkThe concept of “responsible tourism”, which has spread rapidly in recent years, evokes conscious tourist behavior so as to minimize negative impacts on destinations, from an environmental, economic and cultural point of view. While intuitively comprehensible, the concept is not easy to operationalize in empirical studies. Facing this difficulty, our contribution illustrates an attempt to operatively define the concept within the framework of the development of a sustainable destination plan for the Ancient Cities of Upper Myanmar (ACUM). The paper describes the index adopted to survey and measure responsible attitudes among tourists and the main results of the research.
Enhancing Brand Image through Events and Cultural Festivals: the Perspective of the Stresa Festival’s Visitors
Full text linkCultural events have become a significant component within the strategies of destination branding of a place. Territories are increasingly using events and cultural festivals to enhance their image and boost tourism development. Many destinations worldwide have built events portfolios as a strategic initiative to attract visitors and to develop their own brand. A destination brand represents a dynamic interaction between the destination’s core assets and the way in which potential visitors perceive them. Thus, the visitor perspective is considered as fundamental in triggering processes of destination branding. This paper investigates how the visitors assess the impact of cultural events and festivals in enhancing the image of a tourist destination. The Stresa Festival (Stresa, Lake Maggiore, Italy) has been selected as a case study. Stresa Festival is undoubtedly one of the best-known European classical music festivals that every year offers performances by internationally famous artists to its audiences. Structured questionnaires have been used as the methodology to carry out the research. Online questionnaires have been handed out to residents and non-resident visitors to the Stresa Festival to extract the opinions and experience from the public on the image effects of this festival. Findings reveal that there is a positive relationship between this cultural event and the enhancement of the city image and its territory.
Database and Geographic Information System (GIS) for the Via Francigena: a New Way to Read Sigeric’s itinerary
Full text linkIn order to define the path of a medieval road, it is essential to use different kind of sources, like the written texts, the archaeological and material remains referred to the road, the study of the geomorphological context, the toponymy. Modern technologies can help us to examine and use all these sources: first of all, the creation of a database could permit to manage all the data we have about a road; secondly, the database could be loaded in a GIS software, in order to answer to some historical, archaeological and topographical questions. This methodology can be applied to the “Via Francigena” case: starting from Sigeric’s itinerary, which is the main source about the road, it is possible to create a database containing all the data about the submansiones mentioned by the text. Furthermore, loading the database in a GIS software gives the possibility to study the road in its entire length, helping us to understand the relationships between the Via Francigena, the other itineraries and the ancient roads. But at the same time, this enables us to study the route in a specific region, and it could also be the opportunity to comprehend the evolution of the historical landscapes, focusing both on the track of the road and on the territory that the road has conditioned, according to the concept of “street areas”
Sharing Space in Tourism Places: a Study of Interrelationships in Sarlat, France
Full text linkWhile the relationships between hosts and guests are still frequently thought of in terms of a conflicting opposition between two groups, this article intends to question the co-presence and the sharing of space at work in heritagized and touristified cities. Based on a fieldwork conducted in Sarlat, a city with a very pronouced seasonality in tourism, we argue that the willingness to share the space, even though it is linked to the status of people in relation to the place (tourists / inhabitants), also depends on other factors (socio-economic profiles, attachment to place, territorial anchor, etc.). In this sense, our hypothesis is that the concepts of social and cultural capital, originally developed by the sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, associated to the concept of indigenous capital proposed by Jean-Noël Retière, which reintegrates the spatial dimension at the heart of the concept of capital, can help to refine the understanding of the dynamics and socio-spatial stakes that come into play in touristified cities. We postulate that the input brought by those various types of capitals activates an interesting dialogue between tourism studies and social geography by apprehending the spatial dimension of social reality in a tourism context
Residents’ Attitudes Towards Place Marketing: Tourism Marketing Focus
Full text linkThis article examines theoretical aspects of the co-production concept and illustrates its applicability within the framework of place marketing and tourism. A theoretical exploratory technique based on literature and discussion is employed to propose a conceptual model on residents’ willingness to be engaged in co-production activities.