Over the past 10-15 years, “heritage tourism” became the new buzzword. Policies, planning documents, workshops and seminars were focused on tapping the tourist dollar. Increased attention was paid to restoring and developing heritage sites and institutions.
Government agencies and business communities marketed local, regional, national, and even globally-significant heritage sites. And the professional heritage community sought ways to promote sustainable development of the tourism infrastructure rapidly being added to important heritage destinations.This paper will look at the draft Australian heritage guidelines that are a type of sustainable code of practice being developed to provide an agreed ‘best practice’ standard for heritage attractions. In the past, the lack of effective tourism planning that includes market appeal or economic factors and conservation policy/assessment is evident in the way many cultural heritage places are managed in Australia and elsewhere. Such heritage places often require some type of commodification to enhance the visitor experience and actualise the tourism potential.
Ideally this should occur in a balanced way which will also conserve the cultural significance of the heritage place so that future generations have access to such non-renewable resources. Visiting historic and cultural sites is one of the most popular tourist activities today. Families, seniors, groups, and even international visitors choose to frequent historic attractions when on vacation. As a result, destinations are paying attention to one of the fastest growing market segments in the travel industry today—heritage tourism.
What is heritage tourism? According to The National Trust for Historic Preservation, “heritage tourism is traveling to experience the places, artifacts and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past and present. ” Australia’s heritage, shaped by nature and history, is an inheritance passed from one generation to the next. It encompasses many things – a diversity of natural and cultural places, lifestyles, traditions, object’s history and values.According to Australian Heritage Comission, “Heritage places are fundamental part of Australia tourism industry.
Domestic and overseas tourists want to experience the distinctive natural, Indigenous and historic heritage places and rich stories, associated with them. ” Activities and services which provide international and domestic visitors with the opportunity to experience, understand and enjoy the special values of Australia’s heritage are sometimes referred to as heritage tourism.Recognition of heritage assets, and ensuring their long term protection, is essential for sustainable and appropriate tourism. Visiting heritage places can be part of a range of activities undertaken by tourists or it can be the sole reason for travel for people with a high level of interest in natural and cultural heritage. Specialist ecotourism, nature-based tourism, adventure tourism, Indigenousm tourism, historic or cultural tourism products all often involve heritage places.
Tourism to heritage places often works very effectively in combination with other specialist tourism products, such as food and wine tourism.Why has heritage tourism captured so much attention during the past decade? Primarily, economics drive the interest in heritage tourism. People who engage in historic and cultural activities spend more, do more, and stay longer than other types of travelers. “Half of all international tourists and the majority of domestic tourists visit national parks. During their stau in Australia 60% of international tourists visit a cultural attraction”.Heritage tourism also uses assets—historic, cultural, and natural resources—that already exist.
Rather than creating and building attractions,destinations look to the past for a sustainable future. Indeed these assets need preservation and often restoration or interpretation, but the foundation for creating a dynamic travel experience lives on in the stories and structures of the past. Often, the opportunity to create a tourist product is more easily attained by using existing heritage sites than if the destination had to develop new attractions.Successful tourism at heritage places depend on understanding the different perspectives of tourism operators, heritage managers and communitives and then establishing common ground, building relationships and forming partnership. The tourism industry is driven mainly by private enterprise, and has the prime motivation of generating profit. An operator is under constant pressure to run a business and serve customers.
Major constraints on tourism operators include access to the places they want to visit and access to markets for their product. Heritage places can provide key destinations and attractions which can be marketed effectively to draw and hold market segments, and around which other products can be developed. Heritage managers have a primary duty, often enshrined in their enabling legislation, to protect and conserve the places under their control. Indigenous custodians have cultural obligations to places based in customary law from which stem their management responsibilities.Because of the fragility of a place, its significance or other management issues, public access to heritage places is not always appropriate or may have to be restricted or modified.
Responsibility for information about places, the way places are described and what information is conveyed to visitors, is often seen as an important part of a heritage manager’s duty of care. Many heritage sites are highly valued by local and regional communities which are naturally protective of these places.Communities may be keen to develop tourism but also may be protective of their privacy and wary of the effects that tourism might have. For this reason it is important to establish early the needs, interests and aspirations of the local community. Local communities should be consulted about the planning, development and operation of tourism projects based on heritage places.
Success in engaging and involving the community will often lead to success in attracting visitor markets.The best ambassador and sales people for any heritage tourism operation are often local residents. If local residents have an active involvement in tourism initiatives they will be in a better position to not only pass this knowledge on to visitors, relations and friends but to take an active role in volunteer and support groups. No community or heritage place is the same as the next. The specific needs of each place and community must be addressed.
Open consultations and partnership are the best way to seek positive engagement with local needs.
