Cultural Tourism by du Cros, Hilary; McKercher, Bob; Ee Ong, Chin;

Short description:

Cultural tourism remains the only book to bridge the gap between cultural tourism and arts/heritage management. Previous editions explored how heritage and tourism goals can be integrated in a management and marketing framework to produce sustainable cultural tourism.

Long description:

Cultural Tourism remains the only book to bridge the gap between cultural tourism and arts/heritage management. Previous editions explored how heritage and tourism goals can be integrated in a management and marketing framework to produce sustainable cultural tourism. The current edition takes this further to examine cultural tourism as it encounters the shocks and disruptions of the 21st century. An umbrella approach to cultural tourism represents a unique feature of the book, proposing solutions to achieve an optimal outcome for all sectors. In doing so, it provides a blueprint for producing top quality, long-term cultural tourism products and experiences.

This new edition has been completely revised and updated to reflect the important developments in the field with new sections on:

• Increasingly relevant topics including climate change, the threat of de-globalization, under- and overtourism and national mythmaking.


• Experience creation, strategic visitor management, resilience building and Indigenous rights-based tourism development.


• Ethical and satisfactory cultural tourism experience in an age of rapidly developing technology.

Written by experts in both tourism and cultural heritage management, this book will enable professionals and students to gain a better understanding of their own and each other's roles in achieving exceptional cultural tourism practices.

Table of Contents:

Part A Setting the context

1.Introduction: Defining cultural tourism

2.Challenges in building resilient cultural tourism 

3.Issues, benefits, risks and costs

4.The politics of cultural tourism: Power, identity and the shaping of cultural tourism

Part B Cultural assets

5.Cultural heritage management principles and practice

6.Tangible cultural heritage 

7.World Heritage

8.Intangible cultural heritage

9.Contemporary culture and the advent of creative tourism 

Part C Tourism, the tourist and stakeholders

10.How tourism works

11.The cultural tourism market: A cultural tourism typology

12.Why do cultural tourists travel?

13.Tourism attraction systems, markers and gatekeepers

14.How cultural tourists consume a destination

15.Deterioration, shocks and crises in cultural tourism

Part D Products and experiences

16.Cultural tourism products and experiences

17.Assessing potential

18.Useful auditing tools: Market Appeal/Robusticity Matrix and Sustainable Creative Advantage Assessment

Part E Operationalization

19.Framework for successful experiences

20.Applying planning and management frameworks

21.Interpretation and experience creation

22.Digital cultures and heritage

Epilogue