This review article traces the development of cultural tourism as a field of research over the past decade, identifying major trends and research areas. Cultural tourism has recently been re-affirmed ...by the UNWTO as a major element of international tourism consumption, accounting for over 39% of tourism arrivals. Cultural tourism research has also grown rapidly, particularly in fields such as cultural consumption, cultural motivations, heritage conservation, cultural tourism economics, anthropology and the relationship with the creative economy. Major research trends include the shift from tangible to intangible heritage, more attention for indigenous and other minority groups and a geographical expansion in the coverage of cultural tourism research. The field also reflects a number of ‘turns’ in social science, including the mobilities turn, the performance turn and the creative turn. The paper concludes with a number of suggestions for future research directions, such as the development of trans-modern cultures and the impacts of new technologies.
This paper examines frictions between bio-scientific and traditional knowledge in three dimensions: (1) traditional healing and caring practices and public health; (2) food heritage and food safety; ...(3) traditional agricultural systems and conservation policy. Drawing on conflicts observed in processes of recognition of cultural assets as intangible heritage in Brazil, the paper discusses whether epistemic rights can be guaranteed as cultural rights in contexts in which the nature/culture divide is blurred.
This paper discusses the paradox of atmosphere in urban tourism and reflects on how atmospheric production can become a tool to improve urban liveability. I draw on atmospheric theory and literature ...on tourism and atmospheres to describe the link between urban atmospheres and tourism experiences, and I draw on the literature on urban touristification to demonstrate the impacts of tourism activities in urban atmospheres and liveability. I contend that urban atmospheres must be recognized as a form of intangible heritage to ensure that urban liveability is guaranteed in touristified cities. Drawing on the notion of the affective right to the city, I develop the notion of atmospheric justice as a principle for the recognition of atmosphere as heritage.
•Discusses the paradox of atmosphere in urban tourism•Argues that atmospheres must be recognized as a form of intangible heritage•Reflects on how fulfilling the right to atmosphere can improve urban liveability•Proposes new research agendas for tourism and atmosphere
Internet based methods of communication are becoming increasingly important and
influencing researchers’ options. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technologies (such
as Skype and FaceTime) provide ...us with the ability to interview research participants
using voice and video across the internet via a synchronous (real-time) connection. This
paper highlights the advantages of using Skype to conduct qualitative interviews and
weighs these advantages against any limitations and issues that using this tool may raise.
This paper argues that Skype opens up new possibilities by allowing us to contact
participants worldwide in a time efficient and financially affordable manner, thus
increasing the variety of our samples. At the same time, the use of Skype affects the
areas of rapport, non-verbal cues and ethics by creating limitations but also new
opportunities. The observations in this paper stem from two different researches, carried
out by the authors, on dance (as a form of trans/cultural heritage) and wayfinding (the
experience of getting from A to B in various settings). These studies lent themselves to
using Skype for qualitative interviews, because of the need to reach an international,
varied and purposeful sample. The researchers’ experiences, combined with feedback from
participants in Skype interviews, are used in this paper. The conclusion is that, although
VoIP mediated interviews cannot completely replace face to face interaction, they work
well as a viable alternative or complimentary data collection tool for qualitative
researchers. This paper argues that VoIP based interviews offer new opportunities for
researchers and should be embraced with confidence.
The public health restrictions and social distancing imposed as a consequence of COVID-19 have not only had a profound impact on intangible heritage, they have also prompted resilience, reinvention, ...and creativity. This analysis of the period provides an insight into the social significance of intangible heritage and its adaptability and ability to evolve, while also raising questions about its sustainability. This article tackles the impact of lockdown and public health restrictions on the festivals included in the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Heritage in Spain. Employing qualitative and ethnographic methodology, the study analyzes the effects of restrictions on the 18 elements on the UNESCO list and the responses adopted; it also includes case studies on three elements. The article concludes that in the post-COVID-19 period, it will be necessary to rethink the economic and social sustainability of intangible heritage practices and to discover new ways of managing them. It will also be necessary to go back to more local formats that are less crowded and less dependent on tourism. The pandemic has exposed the fragility of intangible heritage, and it is now time to rethink the perhaps excessive growth it has experienced in recent years.
Newly recognized Intangible Heritage is the poor sister of the heritage, the least appreciated and protected category. There is a contradiction that everyone claims to protect it, but in reality it ...is subject to limitations and lack of protection that recognized patrimony, especially the monumental one does not have.
Over the last decades, the exponential growth of city tourism has led to economic, spatial, social, and cultural changes in historic city centres. Residential areas are turning into monofunctional ...tourist destinations, and consequently, activities are changing to temporary practices. Although dynamism is an integral part of urban life, these changes can destroy the emotional connection between people and the place, hampering the creation of narratives of self-identity and the sense of place.
This research investigates which municipal strategies effectively manage the changes in historic city centres to protect the sense of place. It uses tourism and heritage management in the historic city centre of Amsterdam as a case study. Using a policy analysis, current strategies in Amsterdam city centre were compared with the principles in related international conventions applicable by the Netherlands. Coding and analysing the documents and comparing them with the results of expert interviews on actual measures taken showed that international conventions recommend soft instruments towards urban heritage management by taking participatory and multidisciplinary approaches, whereas tourism and heritage management in Amsterdam mainly uses hard instruments. A tendency towards taking participatory approaches to increase the commitment of the residents to the city was observed.
•Historic centres are turning into monofunctional areas with temporary practices.•Strategies to protect the sense of place were investigated through policy analysis.•Above all, Amsterdam uses hard instruments to manage heritage and tourism.•Hard instruments are more effective when combined with soft instruments.•Participatory and multidisciplinary approaches help protecting the sense of place.
In the degraded peri-urban areas, there are several traces of the agrarian landscape heritage: they are not relicts of the past but a resource for managing water, providing fauna and flora ...biodiversity, and mitigate climate change in the urban environment. A pilot experience of recovering the Milan medieval water meadows has been done in the last two years: the aim was to provide a new job to fragile people, while restoring an ancient landscape. The tangible permanencies have been recovered by unemployed people at the same time as the traditional art of managing water has been taught by ancient watermen. A course has been organized to transfer the knowledge. Several schools have been involved in the practical recovery of artifacts: students enjoyed to care an “ordinary” heritage in their neighbourhood, as a resource for a sustainable way of living, and a good quality landscape. The high social and cultural value provided increased Municipality’s attention to consider a joint management with the social cooperative of this productive landscape and to include didactical visit to water meadow in each student curricula.
Highlights
Effective water governance is essential for sustainable management of water resources, particularly within river basins where diverse stakeholders intersect.
Cultural evolution along these ...river systems has profoundly influenced water governance practices.
UNESCO heritage sites and intangible cultural heritage play a pivotal role in preserving traditional knowledge and practices related to water management.
By recognizing and learning from UNESCO sites, we can enhance contemporary water governance strategies.
As water experts, we recognize that the preservation of cultural heritage is inseparable from effective water governance. Let us continue to celebrate and protect these invaluable resources.
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