The territoriality paradigm in cultural tourism

A typical geographers' approach to tourism is to emphasise the analysis of spatial flows and space uses and the synthesis of territorial coherence between people, place and product. The renewed interest in the territorial aspects of tourism can be seen as a response to globalisation on the one hand and the search for unique, authentic and grass-rooted experience on the other. In recent tourism studies the focus and methods shift from a description of patterns to the analysis of processes of change that are induced by tourism (touristification). Understanding the forces that are transforming cultural landscapes (urban and rural) into tourismscapes is a crucial condition for visionary planning and responsible management of regions and places. Some reflections on the future research agenda in geo-tourism will be included

Paradygmat terytorialności w turystyce kulturowej

Typowe podejście geografów do turyzmu zakłada nacisk na analizę ruchu turystycznego w przestrzeni i sposoby korzystania z tej przestrzeni, jak również na syntezę spójności terytorialnej pomiędzy ludźmi, miejscem a produktem. Nowe zainteresowanie terytorialnymi aspektami turyzmu może być postrzegane z jednej strony jako reakcja na globalizację, a z drugiej jako poszukiwanie unikatowych, autentycznych i doświadczeń grass-rooted. W ostatnich badaniach centrum uwagi zostało przeniesione z opisu prawidłowości na analizę procesu zmian spowodowanych przez turyzm („turystyfikacja”). Zrozumienie sił, które przekształcają krajobrazy kulturowe (miejskie i wiejskie) w krajobrazy turystyczne jest podstawowym warunkiem wizjonerskiego planowania i odpowiedzialnego zarządzania regionami i miejscowościami. Artykuł zawiera kilka refleksji na temat przyszłych badań geoturystycznych

A Geographer's Gaze at Tourism

The meaning and content of international tourism has shifted from Greek and Roman travel to a modern and complex phenomenon in the 21st century. All along this time path the scientific interest in tourism has changed from a descriptive and encyclopaedic knowledge of places and people to a discipline in its own right. The emerging geographical approach to tourism emphasises both the spatial analysis of tourism -including flows and space uses- and a synthesis of the territorial coherence among people, place, product and policies. The geographical approach, with its capacity to analyse the various components and to synthesise the interactions, contributes to the formation of a comprehensive and coherent framework for an integrated analysis of the multi-dimensional tourism environment. Over time the research focus has come to concentrate upon the transformation processes induced by tourism and on the multi-dimensional impact of tourism on natural and morphological characteristics, on social and political relationships, on economic structures and on functional profiles. Reflections on key issues for future research in tourism include a «return to the roots movement» in the territorial approach, the high expectations of methodological innovations and emphasis on the need for integrated planning and management in tourism.El significat i el contingut del turisme internacional ha variat molt des dels viatges dels grecs i els romans fins al fenomen modern i complex del segle XXI. A llarg d'aquest recorregut, l'interès científic pel turisme també ha canviat des del coneixement descriptiu i enciclopèdic de llocs i pobles fins arribar a constituir una disciplina científica en si mateixa. L'enfocament geogràfic sobre el turisme posa l'èmfasi tant en l'anàlisi espacial del turisme (fluxos i usos del sòl), com en la síntesi geogràficament coherent entre persones, llocs, productes i polítiques. L'enfocament geogràfic, amb la capacitat d'analitzar components i sintetitzar interaccions, contribueix a elaborar un marc exhaustiu i coherent per realitzar una anàlisi integrada de la multidimensionalitat del turisme. Amb el temps, el focus de la recerca s'ha concentrat sobre els processos transformadors induïts pel turisme i en els impactes múltiples que el sector causa en el medi ambient, en les relacions socials i polítiques i en els perfils funcionals dels territoris. Alguns aspectes clau per a futures recerques sobre turisme inclouen un «retorn a les arrels» en els enfocaments territorials, les elevades expectatives posades en innovacions metodològiques i l'èmfasi en el planejament i la gestió integrades del sector.El significado y el contenido del turismo internacional ha cambiado mucho desde los viajes de griegos y romanos hasta el fenómeno moderno y complejo del siglo XXI. Durante este recorrido, el interés científico por el turismo también ha cambiado desde el conocimiento descriptivo y enciclopédico de lugares y pueblos, hasta llegar a erigirse en una disciplina científica por sí misma. El enfoque geográfico sobre el turismo pone el énfasis tanto en el análisis espacial del sector (flujos y usos del suelo), como en la síntesis, geográficamente coherente, entre personas, lugares, productos y políticas. Con su capacidad para analizar componentes y sintetizar interacciones, el enfoque geográfico contribuye a la elaboración de un marco exhaustivo y coherente para lograr un análisis integrado de la multidimensionalidad del turismo. Con el tiempo, el foco de la investigación se ha concentrado en los procesos transformadores inducidos por el turismo y en los múltiples impactos que el sector causa en el medio ambiente, en las relaciones políticas y sociales y en los perfiles funcionales de los territorios. Algunos aspectos clave para investigaciones futuras sobre turismo incluyen un «regreso a las raíces» en los enfoques territoriales, las elevadas expectativas puestas en las innovaciones tecnológicas y el énfasis en la planificación y gestión integradas del sector.La signification et le contenu du tourisme international a beaucoup changé depuis les voyages de Grecs et des Romains jusqu'au phénomène moderne et complexe du tourisme en ce début de XXIème siècle. Durant ce parcours, l'intérêt scientifique pour le tourisme a aussi changé depuis la connaissance descriptive et encyclopédique des lieux et des sociétés jusqu'à arriver à ériger une véritable discipline scientifique. Le regard géographique sur le tourisme met l'accent sur l'analyse spatiale du secteur (flux et usages) comme sur l'anlayse, geographiquement cohérente, entre des personnes, lieux, produits et politiques. Avec sa capacité d'analyser différentes composantes et de synthétiser des interactions, ce regard géographique contribue à l'élaboration d'un cadre exhaustif et cohérent pour obtenir une analyse permettant la compréhension du tourisme dans ses multiples dimensions. Avec le temps, les recherches se sont concentrées sur les processus de transformation induits par le tourisme, notamment dans les multiples impacts que le secteur engendre sur l'environnement, dans le cadre des relations politiques et sociales et dans les profils fonctionnels des territoires. Certains aspects essentiels pour les recherches futures sur le tourisme incluent un «retour aux racines» d'un point de vue territorial, avec des attentes élevées au niveau des innovations technologiques et de l'emphase entre planification et gestion du secteur

Cross-cultural differences in the practices of hotel managers: A study of Dutch and Belgian hotel managers

In the service sector there has been debate and research on whether it is the culture of the organization or that of the location that shapes hotel management practice - particularly given the internationalization of certain, mostly US-style practices. Here Myriam Jansen-Verbeke and Liesbet Steel of Rotterdam's Erasmus University report on a survey of hotel managers in Belgium and The Netherlands. Differences are slight, but whether this is because of a shared cultural background or a homogenizing organizational culture is not clear. Comparisons with a larger study of managers in 13 countries worldwide are made. Copyrigh

Cultural Resources and the Tourismification of Territories

Do sada je malo pažnje poklanjano prostornim aspektima kulturnog naslijeđa, uzorcima disperzije i procesima grupiranja, kao i promjenama u fizičkom, ekonomskom i društvenom okruženju, nastalim pod utjecajem turizma. Proučavanje prostorne jedinstvenosti različitih elemenata kulturnog naslijeđa te međuovisnosti materijalne i nematerijalne ostavštine kulturnog naslijeđa pomaže nam da shvatimo kulturalnu dinamiku neke regije ili mjesta. Taj postupak obuhvaća prepoznavanje različitih karakteristika elemenata kulturnog naslijeđa i pokretačke sile prisutne u procesu turizmifikacije. Tri paradigme daju naslutiti da očuvanje i materijalnih i nematerijalnih elemenata naslijeđa mogu potaknuti kulturalne aktivnosti i razvoj kreativnog i produktivnog okruženja. Kapacitet iskorištavanja kulturnih resursa, potpomaganja procesa izgradnje identiteta i konačno uspostavljanje turističkih krajolika razlikovat će se kod različitih tipova regija i zajednica. Način na koji regije (i narodi) cijene i ulažu u kulturni kapital vrlo je važan. Raskorak između dinamičnih i manje dinamičnih kulturnih regija, između novonastalih i uspavanih turističkih destinacija ne temelji se samo na stvarnoj prisutnosti spomenika, muzeja i povijesnog krajolika (hardver), nego sve više na naporima uloženim u reklamiranje, na pričama i živosti (softver). Također je vrlo važna i kreativnost prisutna u nematerijalnim elementima naslijeđa, kao što su tradicije ugrađene u lokalnu povijest i okolinu. Tradicije pronalaze svoj suvremeni izražaj u načinu života, jeziku, religiji, glazbi, folkloru i gastronomiji te također u događanjima i proslavama. Kako bi se znalo istinski cijeniti ove kulturne resurse potrebne su dobre organizacijske sposobnosti i stručno znanje. Analiza prostornog izražaja materijalnih i nematerijalnih kulturnih resursa je složena. Uvest će se analitički model za proučavanje različitih aspekata prostorne jedinstvenosti. Kapacitet (re)produciranja kulturne ekonomije očito ne ovisi samo o lokalnoj stručnosti u upravljanju i organiziranju (organizacija), nego sve više i o mogućnostima uključivanja u različite mreže (dijeljena roba). Trenutno je izazov uhvatiti korak s globalnim trendovima te ih uskladiti s lokalnim, regionalnim i nacionalnim mogućnostima. Politika očuvanja kulturnih resursa mora se prilagoditi kreativnosti u proizvodnji inovativnih i fleksibilnih proizvoda u kulturalnom turizmu. Zadaća istraživanja je, prije svega, nadgledanje procesa turizmifikacije; ključno pitanje na dnevnom redu budućih istraživanja.So far little attention has been paid to the territorial aspects of cultural heritage, dispersion patterns and clustering processes nor to the changes induced by tourism on the physical, economic and social environment. Studying the territorial cohesion of different elements of cultural heritage and the interdependency between tangible and intangible heritage assets brings us closer to an understanding of the cultural dynamics of a region or the place. The procedure is to identify the different characteristics of the cultural heritage elements and the driving forces in the process of tourismification. Three paradigms suggest that the conservation of both tangible and intangible heritage elements can give impulses to cultural activities and the development of a creative and productive environment. The capacity to capitalize on cultural resources, to support the process of identity building and eventually the creation of tourismscapes will diverge between types of regions and communities. The way regions (and nations) are valorizing and investing in cultural capital clearly makes the difference. The emerging gap between dynamic and less dynamic cultural regions, between emerging tourism destination and sleeping ones is not only based on the actual presence of monuments, museums or historical landscapes (the hardware), but more likely and increasingly on the marketing efforts, the narratives and the liveliness (the software). In addition the creativity with intangible heritage elements such as traditions imbedded in the local history and habitat will make the difference. Traditions find contemporary expressions in lifestyle, language, religion, music, folklore, and gastronomy and last but not least in events and festivities. It requires good organizational skills and professional know how to valorize these cultural resources. The analysis of territorial expressions of both, tangible and intangible cultural resources is complex. An analytical model to study the various aspects of territorial coherence will be introduced. Clearly, the capacity to (re) produce a cultural economy not only depends on the local expertise to manage and organize (the orgware), but also, and increasingly, on the capacity to get involved in various networks (the shareware). The current challenge is indeed to catch up with global trends and translate these into local, regional or national opportunities. Conservation policies for cultural resources need to be balanced against creativity in the production of innovative flexible products for cultural tourism. Above all, the research mission is to monitor the tourismification process; a key issue on the future research agenda

Mapping the Dynamics of European Culture - Pressure and Opportunities from the European Enlargement

This paper develops an analytic framework for the ESPON 1.3.3 project “The Role and Spatial Effects of Cultural Heritage and Identity”, started in December 2004 by a network of 12 European Universities under the leadership of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. The conceptual framework of this project lies on the assumption that the cultural heritage of Europe is not just an ensemble of tangible assets to be defended through passive conservation, but rather an element of dynamism of the territory, affecting trajectories of regional development. Thus the proper identification and valorisation of the cultural heritage of Europe is to be considered an integral component of regional planning, with the potential to increase cohesion within an enlarged European Union. The establishment of an “European identity”, gaining from difference and variety, is also part of this vision. In this light, the ESPON 1.3.3 project sets out to highlight the spatial expressions and effects of heritage assets and identify the (existing or potential) elements of territorial coherence at the regional and local scale, mapping the geographical aspects that are actually strengthening regional identities and networks. This paper introduces a list of regional indicators of the European cultural heritage and identity, reflecting elements such as heritage availability, concentration and diversity, spatial patterns at the local and cross-regional level, local embeddedness of intangible heritage assets, pressures on- and potential for the development of heritage, and the governance structure of the heritage management institutions. Parameters are quantitative and qualitative observation allowing the “ordering” of the territory and thus the identification of regional typologies from the elaboration of different ordering criteria. Indicators will cover multiple dimensions regarding the supply, the demand and the spatial organisation of cultural heritage. Data cover the whole NUTS III regional delimitation. The issue of the territorial cohesion of cultural heritage assets is also addressed, considering the following multiple “dimensions” of the interconnection between different “objects” or carriers of meaning: hardware (the infrastructural system), software (images and actual uses), orgware (organizational networks) and shareware (partnerships that support the process of development). These elements are compiled in a framework or model used to analyse the territorial expressions of cultural heritage and identity.

An Explorative Note on Tourism Development along Former War Front Lines

Current research about the pro-active role of tourism in valorizing war memories and landscapes still is in an explorative stage; learning from case studies, all marked by their political context, in time and space, and mainly describing local and/or regional key issues. Obviously, creating landscapes of memories for contemporary uses and visitors’ experiences implies a trans-disciplinary understanding of the process of changing values (heritage landscapes) and of the intrinsic dynamics of tourism development. Shifting values and creativity in linking histories of war sites and their narratives with places and people today, leads to branding ‘sites of memories’ in the mindset of residents and visitors.We briefly scan four very different examples of border areas with a war history, that became landmarks on the tourist’ maps today.  The challenge for tourism development in former war related sites is to identify the dynamics - in time and space - to assess the political and economic forces and to identify shifts in the process of remembrance and valorization of war heritage sites, in terms of interests in war memories, narratives and experiences. These are now strategically integrated in national, regional and local tourism development planning.Historical military front zones, political borders in past wars, presently marked as tourism destinations, are on the research agenda of ‘War and Tourism’.  The observations below on four different former  war border zones with their specific landmarks and memoryscapes, are inspiring for current tourism development. Four different war border zones were briefly  explored “The Great Wall in China” “The Roman Limes”, The “Wire of Death”  in the  First World War  and the ”Iron Curtain” in the Cold War. These observations can inspire future research on tourismification of war heritage

Contribution à l'analyse de la fonction touristique des villes moyennes aux Pays-Bas

Recently, tourism to middle-sized cities in the Netherlands has become an interesting field of research for geographers and planners. Although many Dutch cities have an impressive historical heritage and can be considered as places of interest for tourists, they hardly have any tourism tradition. Considerations about potential economic impulses and expected employment chances are the main incentives for a renewed interest in touristic resources, not only in the field of research but also in political and governmental planning circles. This new trend is reinforced by recent developments concerning «free time.» Three elements of discussion will be focused : -the historical inner cities and their touristic resources, -the visitors, their appreciation of touristic resources and their ways of making use of this specific environment, -some considerations on possible consequences of promoting inner urban tourism.Le tourisme urbain dans les villes moyennes a été découvert récemment comme sujet de recherche fort intéressant par les géographes et surtout par les responsables de l'aménagement du territoire urbain et les entrepreneurs de projets de développement touristique. Le rôle touristique que jouent actuellement les villes moyennes aux Pays-Bas est toujours assez marginal, comparé aux hauts lieux de tourisme traditionnels. Pourtant plusieurs villes historiques peuvent être retenues comme lieu de tourisme potentiel. Cette tendance devient de plus en plus manifeste et est surtout basée sur les prévisions de développement économique, au point de vue finances et emploi. L'évolution du temps libre même soutient largement cette perspective de villes comme lieu de loisir et de tourisme. L'article suivant voudrait discuter trois points : -les centres historiques des villes moyennes évalués comme ressources touristiques ; -les visiteurs qui par leur appréciation et leur comportement déterminent les ressources touristiques de cet environnement spécifique ; -quelques réflexions sur la politique urbaine actuelle de promotion touristique.Jansen-Verbeke Myriam. Contribution à l'analyse de la fonction touristique des villes moyennes aux Pays-Bas. In: Hommes et Terres du Nord, 1986/1. Tourisme et cadre de vie. pp. 21-30