Sustainable Marketing of Cultural and Heritage Tourism

Cultural attractions play an important role in tourism at all levels, and attract huge numbers of tourists interested in heritage and the arts. Cultural Heritage Tourism has positive economic and social impacts but can also have negative impacts on communities and regions. This book draws together and links ideas of tourism from sustainable marketing perspectives and embeds it within a heritage management setting. Through a discussion and analysis of existing literature and practices this book aims to propose a marketing strategy framework grounded in sustainable principles that can be used to sustain and preserve the authenticity of cultural heritage for future generations, whilst appealing to the suppliers, the regulators, and the consumers. The book first explains the dynamics of cultural heritage with its authenticity underpinnings, marketing, and tourism, and proposes a strategic praxis drawn from core sustainable principles. This is followed by a pragmatic examination of the proposed framework from the shaper'¬"s (provider'¬"s) perspective. The material presented in this book is not merely an agglomeration of documented secondary research, but the theoretical concepts are grounded in empirical research and interactive discussions with students and the travel and tourism industry. A variety of heritage institutions across the globe are used as starting points to test the applicability of the proposed paradigm: these include museums, historic house museums, heritage hotels/resorts, festivals, and heritage merchandize. This is a timely offering to a growing and vibrant area of research; what is most pertinent is that it is a thorough and fresh take on the topic with primary research included. It will find a place in student materials for a variety of courses and it should be read by practicing academics and researchers.

Deepak Chhabra is Assistant Professor of Community Resources and Development at Arizona State University, USA.