secure partnership

Project part financed by the European Union

ECTN INTERREGIIIC Project Report December 2006

www.cultural-tourism.net

Contents

Chapter Page

Acknowledgements

1 Introduction What is Cultural Tourism? Nigel Adams, ECTN Lead Partner, Wales Tourist Board/Welsh Assembly Government

1

2 Who are the Cultural Tourists and what are they looking for?

Julie Russell, Cultural Tourism Coordinator, Wales

6

3 What makes for a Successful Tourism Destination Anne Marget Niemi, & Outi Liedes Turku Science Park, Centre of Expertise for Tourism, Finland

18

4 Strategic Planning, Partnership and Working Together Anja Praesto, Region Vstra Gtaland, Sweden

26

5 Using Cultural Tourism as a Catalyst For Economic and Social Regeneration

Carmen Robles Garcia & Cristina Sancristoval, Oviedo Chamber of Commerce, Asturias

37

6 Developing Cultural Tourism products Paolo Linty & Moreno Cavilli, Aosta Valley Autonomous Region Jnis Zandbergs & Dagnija Baltia, Latvian Tourism Development Agency

56

7 Management of Cultural Tourism Destinations Stephanie Wait, Wales Tourist Board/Visit Wales

79

8 Employment, Education and Training Tamas Izsok, Regional Development Agency of North Hungary Felipe Garon & Maria Jose Martin, The County Council of Huelva Nigel Adams, Wales Tourist Board/Welsh Assembly Government

92

9 Marketing of Cultural Tourism Destinations Sarah Morgan & James Stone, Midland, Regional Authority, Ireland Immaculada Lopez, Manuel Peregrina & Leonardo Gondlez, Foundation for the Development of the Legacy of al-Andalus, Andalucia

102

10 Conclusions and Recommendations Nigel Adams, ECTN Lead Partner, Wales Tourist Board/Welsh Assembly Government

111

Appendices I Cardiff Conference Report II Gothenburg Conference Report

Acknowledgements

The European Cultural Tourism Network (ECTN) are grateful to all of the individuals and organisations who have contributed to ECTN activities, conference and workshop discussions which have helped in the development of this report.

We are also grateful to tourism and cultural professions who have given their time and assistance with our requests for information and exchange of experience in the development of cultural tourism.

Particular thanks are extended to Tomas Olsson and Lars Nordstom and their colleagues in the Vstra Gtland Region in Sweden for hosting the third ECTN Conference in Gothenburg and stimulating discussion on the contents of initial draft of this report.

Tack Diolch yn Fawr Gracias Merci Danke Thank you Nigel Adams ECTN Lead Partner Wales Tourist Board/Welsh Assembly Government

&

Julie Russell ECTN Coordinator Cultural Tourism Coordinator Wales Tourist Board/Welsh Assembly Government

Published by the European Cultural Tourism Network c/o Visit Wales, Welsh Assembly Government Brunel House 2 Fitzalan Road Cardiff CF24 0UY Wales, UK www.cultural-tourism.net

Copyright and disclaimer This report may not be used or referred to in any advertising or other publicity material, nor may this report be reproduced in whole or in part without the previous written consent of the European Cultural Tourism Network. For permissions email [email protected].

The information in this publication is given in good faith and every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy. The European Cultural Tourism Network can accept no responsibility for any error or misinterpretation. All liability for loss, disappointment, negligence or other damage caused by reliance on the information contained in this publication is hereby excluded.

December 2006

ECTN Final Project Report December 2006 1

1. Introduction

1.1 Aim and purpose of the report The aim and purpose of this report is to provide guidance to best practice in the development, management and promotion of Cultural Tourism, based on case studies, research and experience of European Cultural Tourism Network (ECTN) partners. It is hoped that by providing guidance based on experience drawn from across Europe and beyond, this report will provide an effective tool to assist both regions and individual destinations wishing to develop cultural tourism products which are both authentic to the destination and bring benefits to the host community.

1.2 Structure of the Report This report draws on the experiences of the partners and participants in the ECTN Interreg IIIC Project, the many presentations made by speakers from across Europe at our conferences and thematic workshops and the case studies prepared by the partners, to identify the principles for the successful development of cultural tourism destinations.

This first section, chapter one, provides background to the ECTN INTERREGIIIC project defines the scope of cultural tourism and policy context for the purpose of this report. Chapter two attempts to answer the question who are the cultural tourist and what are they looking for? By examining the market for cultural tourism in Europe, based on available cultural tourism research.

Chapter three then discusses what makes for a successful cultural tourism destination and how do we define success. Chapter four examines the value of adopting a strategic planning approach and the role that partnerships play in the development and implementation of cultural tourism policy.

Chapter five examines the use of cultural tourism as a catalyst for economic and social regeneration is examined using case studies and looking in particular at the role of structural funds. Chapter six on developing cultural tourism products sets out the wide variety of products and draws on case studies to provide guidance on both how to and how not to do it!

The management of cultural tourism destinations is discussed in chapter seven, focusing on management techniques such as Integrated Quality Management (IQM), the local infrastructure and visitor interpretation.

Employment, education and training aspects are explored in chapter eight including the importance of improving the quality and status of jobs in the sector and the need to educate the visitor and the resident about the importance of regional culture. Chapter nine examines the effective marketing branding of cultural tourism destinations.

Each of these chapters sets out best practice guidelines.

Finally, chapter ten draws some broad conclusions as to the principles that should be followed in developing cultural tourism and what makes for a successful cultural tourism destination and then sets out recommendations for the future development


of the sector; referring in particular to ECTNs Cardiff Declaration, Europa Nostras Malta Declaration and the ECTNs Gothenburg Conference Declaration.

1.3 Background to ECTN The European Cultural Tourism Network originated from a seminar held in Brussels in February 2003 entitled Cultural Tourism: Maximising the Impact. The seminar which was hosted by the former Wales Tourist Board (WTB) in partnership with the British Council and the Wales European Centre was attended by a whole range of participants including representatives of the European Commissions Tourism Unit, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) with a tourism or cultural interest, numerous European regions with national tourist boards, Non Government Organisations (NGOs), cities of culture, networks and cultural observatories. A total of 17 European countries were represented.

The seminar proved to be an interesting platform for the sharing of experience within the field of cultural tourism. Participants strongly expressed a desire for the creation of a network that would enable such exchange of experience and dialogue to take place more frequently. Thus the main outcome of the seminar was the decision that the WTB would further investigate the scope for establishing a cultural tourism network. A steering group was established with representatives from Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Wales and England to oversee the development of the Network. The Steering Group agreed the following objectives for ECTN:

To facilitate sharing of research To facilitate the development of trans-national projects To ensure improved co-operation and integration between tourism and

cultural sectors To enable exchange of experience and best practice To develop common responses to relevant European Commission

Consultation papers To link with other relevant networks. ECTN held its first annual conference in Barcelona in August 2004 attended by 50 delegates from 12 European countries including 3 new member States, in addition four non European countries were represented. At the conference it was agreed to submit a bid under the Interreg IIIC programme to support the development of the network (see paragraph 1.4 below).

During the past three years, ECTN has made significant inroads into achieving the above objectives. Facilitating the exchange of experience and best practice through the ECTN INTERREG IIIC project; contributing to the DG Enterprise Tourism Units Networking study and the European Economic and Social Committee hearing on Tourism and Culture: two forces for growth; making presentations to the European Tourism Ministers conference in Vienna during March 2006, the Europa Nostra Malta conference on cultural tourism in May 2006 and the Luxembourg EU Presidencys Cultural Tourism conference in April 2005. ECTN has also established links with a many European networks and good working relations the following: European Institute of Cultural Routes European Routes of Industrial Heritage


The North Sea Commissions Cultural Tourism Group Atlas.

1.4 ECTN INTERREG IIIC Project This project bid was submitted in October 2004 and approved in January 2005. There are 10 project partners from 8 member states led by the former Wales Tourist Board (now Visit Wales, Welsh Assembly Government). The partners are:

Finland - Turku Science Park Ltd, Centre of Expertise for Tourism

Hungary - Regional Development Agency of North Hungary

Ireland - Midland Regional Authority

Italy - Aosta Valley Autonomous Region

Latvia - Latvian Tourism Development Agency

Spain - Foundation for the Development of the Legacy of al-Andalus - The County Council of Huelva - Oviedo Chamber of Commerce, Asturias

Sweden - Region Vstra Gtaland

Wales - Wales Tourist Board (lead partner) The project consists of the following elements:

i.) Management and co-ordination to ensure delivery of all project components.

ii.) Preparation of good practice case studies and sharing of cultural tourism research. This has involved staff exchanges between 6 of the partners, preparation of individual regional case studies of best practice and the delivery of this final report.

iii.) Exchange of practical experience between partners in 4 thematic workshops. These were held in:

Aosta Valley, Italy, May 2005, which looked at the language and transport aspects of cultural tourism.

Oviedo, Spain, November 2005, which looked at Industrial Heritage as a catalyst for economic regeneration.

Miskolc, Hungary, April 2006, which looked at Creative culture, ethnic/minority communities and the development of cultural tourism.

Turku, Finland, September 2006, which examined cross sector working and management of the destination.

The workshops were attended by over 200 delegates in total, from across Europe. There where also shorter workshops linked to steering group meetings in Tullamore, Ireland and Huelva in Spain.


In addition 2 annual conferences were held. The first in Cardiff during July 2005 attended by 139 delegates from 14 countries, which explored the themes of creative culture, tourism and heritage tourism. The second conference was held in Gothenburg from 22-24 November 2006, attended by 200 delegates from 20 countries, at which a draft of this report was presented.

iv.) Dissemination of information and creation of wider sustainable European network. This has involved the creation of an ECTN website www.cultural-tourism.net which provides information on ECTN activities, access to presentations from ECTN conferences and workshops. In addition a European data base on cultural tourism has been built up by our Finish partner and quarterly newsletter, sent to all the people on the ECTN contracts database.

The project was funded by a grant of 370,450 Euros from the Interreg IIIC programme plus match funding from the partners to create a total budget of 607,714 Euros.

1.5 What is Cultural Tourism? Defining cultural tourism can be quite challenging as there are many definitions available. Richards1 suggests that that the term cultural tourism is widely used and misunderstood. He considers that this is problematic because its two elements culture and tourism are both difficult words to define. Cultural tourism has also expanded to encompass contemporary culture, authentic local produce and everyday life. In his examination of the problems defining cultural tourism, Richards refers to work undertaken by Binink2, who identifies product and process based approaches.

Product based (technical) definitions describe the type of attraction or cultural tourism product. These are used to support quantitative cultural tourism research.

Process based (conceptual) definitions describe cultural tourism as an activity, and are used to examine the motives and behaviour of cultural tourism.

ECTN has adopted an existing product based definition developed by an earlier Interreg Project the Pleiades project Cultural Itineraries in Rural Areas.

Cultural tourism can briefly be defined as tourism based on local and regional cultural resources. These include cultural traditions, language, history, cultural landscapes, built environment, archaeological sites, museums and cultural activities such as festivals, galleries, arts attractions, theatres but also attractions related to primary production, crafts, manufacturing, social history and life.

Cultural tourism is related to human activities and history in a broad sense.

1.6 European Policy Context The importance of cultural tourism was recognised in the Commissions communication Basic Orientation for the Sustainability of European Tourism 2003. This document refers to the need to preserve cultural integrity and protection of


heritage resources in tourism measures. The paper states that ensuring good prospects for European tourism requires the preservation of its regional diversity as a competitiveness asset, ensuring quality and considering community well being in tourist destinations. The Lisbon Strategy (2000) was launched in March 2000 as an

agenda of reforms to make the EU the most competitive and dynamic knowledge economy in the world. It set out a 10 year strategy focusing on knowledge, innovation and research capacities for growth, economic infrastructure support to improve the attractiveness of member states, regions and cities to make it more attractive to work and invest in and to create more and better jobs.

The Gothenburg Agenda (2001) sets out the principles of a sustainable development strategy for the EU, requiring that economic growth supports social progress and respects the environment.

Cultural Tourism has a role to play in contributing to the Lisbon and Gothenburg agendas. In particular: More and better jobs: to increase the number of women and people

above 55 years of age in work is an objective of the Lisbon agenda. Both tourism and culture employs a higher percentage of women. To promote active ageing is also relevant here in that a healthier ageing population is both able to travel and work. Cultural Tourism as a sector is flexible enough to employ both more women and the 55+ age group.

Adaptable Workforce: on a general level cultural tourism requires an adaptable workforce.

Better Education & Skills: Cultural Tourism helps promote the knowledge based economy and human capital. Lifelong learning is one of the cornerstones of the Lisbon strategy. Tourism is a major way for people to get to know the world, create new references and contacts. It can help people to better understand other cultures and see the importance of cooperation across borders in all senses of that word. From this perspective cultural tourism appears as crucial for peoples understanding of the European project and globalisation. It allows new openings for individuals creativity, entrepreneurship and perhaps the development of the concept of quality.

Cultural Tourism is one of the crucial elements in the European economy. The raw material consists of cultural sites, cultural heritage, intangible heritage, events etc which are site specific, they cannot be subject to the movements of globalisation, as most other businesses.

1 Richards G 1996, The Scope and Significance of Cultural Tourism, in Cultural Tourism in Europe,

Richards, G Ed, CA International, Wallingford pp21-25 2 Binink CAM 1992, Cultural Tourism Development and Government Policy, MA Dissertation,

Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht, Richards ibid, p23


2 Who are the Cultural Tourists and what are they looking for?

2.1 Introduction Chapter two examines the market for cultural tourism based on available research on cultural tourism in Europe. Classification of cultural tourists assists in estimating the value and volume of cultural tourism. The chapter draws from studies undertaken by ECTN project partners and the Atlas Cultural Tourism research survey in order to gain a better understanding of who cultural tourists are and what motivates them? The final sections of this chapter appraise future trends and prospects for cultural tourism in Europe, concluding with sources of further information.

2.2 Value and Volume Europe is the worlds most important tourism region, generating 444 million international arrivals in 2005 forecasting to reach 717 million by 20201 The European Commission estimate that 30% of tourist destinations are chosen by virtue of the presence of heritage sites which can be visited, this number increases up to 50% if the wider cultural sector is included.2 A survey of overseas visitors in Wales identified 85%3 of them had visited a heritage site, suggesting that cultural aspects are more important to foreign visitors than domestic.

A study by the Irish Tourist Board4 for the European Commission estimated that cultural tourism accounted for over 34 million tourist trips a year in the EU. Richards5 suggests that this study underestimated the demand for cultural tourism as the Atlas survey in 1992 identified some 60 million international trips.

According to the World Tourism Organisation6, 37% of all tourism trips contain a cultural element. In its forecast, Tourism 20207 WTO predicts that cultural tourism will be one of the 5 key market segments of the future. The World Tourism Organisation8 estimate that the European market for cultural tourism will continue to grow but competition for market share will intensify.

The past decade has seen market growth for cultural tourism in Europe of 15-20%9, WTO reported cultural tourism as one of its fast growing products in 200410. In North America, the Travel Industry Association of America11 estimates that between 1996 and 2002, domestic cultural tourism (travellers visiting cultural attractions) grew by 13%.

Tourism is an important industry sector in Europe and regarded as a major source of jobs in the future. The World Travel and Tourism Council estimate that direct and indirect impact of European tourism accounts for 12.1% of total employment 24.3 million jobs and 11.5% of GDP12.

The economic importance of tourism and cultural tourism in the European Union was recognised in the European Tourism Ministers Conference Tourism-Key to Growth and Employment in Vienna, March 2006. Cultural tourism is rooted in the country, unlike a factory it cannot be relocated off shore, to a country with lower labour costs. The only way we can sustain economic growth is to increase jobs in the service


sector to counteract the number of displaced jobs in the mobile manufacturing sector. Cultural tourisms potential benefits to destinations including attracting higher spending tourists, less dependence on seasonal inflows, additional purchases from suppliers of high quality products. Cultural tourism directly contributes to the maintenance of museums, heritage sites and cultural venues. Declining public sector support for cultural activities has highlighted the importance of cultural tourism and tourism revenues to sustain cultural activities.

2.2.1 The Spanish market for Cultural Tourism Cultural tourism has become the second biggest segment of the tourist market in Spain following sun and sea holidays. In 2004, Spain welcomed 53.4 million tourists, a 3% increase on 2003 figures. 7.3 million, (14%) of these tourists, visited for culture-linked reasons. 60% of people who visit Spain for other reasons also engage in cultural activities during their stay. 29 million trips were undertaken for leisure, recreation or holiday purposes within Spain by its residents during 2004, 4.5 million, or 15.8%, of the were because of cultural interest. 37.3% of all Spaniards who travelled within Spain made a cultural visit and 8.6% attended some kind of spectator event13.

2.3 The Market Cultural tourism attracts general tourists who will participate in cultural activities as part of a general holiday and cultural tourists whose main motivation for travel is culture.

When examining the market for cultural tourism consideration has to be given to how cultural tourism is defined and measured.

2.3.1 Defining Cultural Tourism There are many definitions of cultural tourism, the ECTN has adopted a fairly broad product based definition, see paragraph 1.5 above.

For the measurement of cultural tourism, Richards suggests that a product based definition is needed, and a process based definition is also needed to describe cultural tourism as an activity. The ATLAS Cultural Tourism Research Project has adopted appropriate definitions to support cultural tourism research.

The former Wales Tourist Board (WTB) also recognises that the general public have different interpretations on the word culture and for the purpose of cultural tourism research defines the following two key interpretations:

Generic culture sense of place, local culture and scenery, which includes architecture, natural landscapes and the people

Specific culture which relates very narrowly to performing arts, galleries and possibly museums14

Other cultural sights such as gardens, castles, industrial heritage, cathedrals etc are commonly described as things to do and places of interest.


2.3.2 Cultural Tourism Research

Given the difficulties in defining cultural tourism, it is hardly surprising to find limited comparable data on cultural tourism. As the cultural and tourism sectors collect data against differing performance indicators and for differing purposes. For example, the cultural sector are interested in critical acclaim, monitoring audience participation from within the local population and across socio-economic groups, whereas the tourism sector would be interested in socio-economic data, value and volume, length of stay and tourist motivators. Heritage attractions surveys traditionally include visitor data. Tourism surveys include data on traditional cultural activities such as visiting heritage sites, artistic or heritage exhibits and the performing arts15.

The European Commissions Study on the Economic Impact of Culture in Europe16 recognises that there is no European consensus on defining culture from an economic point of view, hence a lack of comparable statistics available to measure the socio-economic contribution of the cultural sector at national and international levels. Socio-economic performance has only relatively recently been measured in the cultural and creative sectors.

2.3.2.1 Cultural Tourism in Latvia Latvia is an emerging European tourism destination, WTTC expect tourism demand to grow 7.3% per annum for the next 10 years17. Travel and Tourism contributes 1.3% to GDP and accounts for 1.2% of total employment, although the wider travel and tourism economy accounts for 5.3% of total employment (51,000 jobs)18. In 2005, Latvia received 3,774,000 overseas visitors19. Cultural tourism in Latvia is closely related to cultural heritage. Cultural and historical sites (excluding museums) in Riga are visited by approximately 430,000 people on annual basis, while the sites in rural areas are visited by 32,000 people on average.

Practitioners and policymakers working in cultural tourism all need to have reliable metrics. Since the inaugural network meeting in February 2003, ECTN has engaged with Interarts and Greg Richards who established the ATLAS cultural tourism research project. ECTN recognises the ATLAS cultural tourism research project as an established means of measuring and monitoring cultural tourism, and has encouraged network members to participate in the ATLAS survey.

2.3.3 ATLAS Cultural Tourism Research

The ATLAS20 cultural tourism research project was established in 1991 with funding from the European Commission with the aim of understanding the attitudes, behaviour, motivations and profile of cultural tourists. The project was designed to provide comparative trans-national data on cultural tourism in order to analyse cultural tourism trends and development across Europe, in recent years studies have also included other areas of the world (Richards, 1996).

At the ECTN Barcelona Conference in August 2004, Greg Richards presented a summary of the ATLAS research Cultural Tourism Trends in Europe, 2002, he also presented an overview of ATLAS research covering the 1997-2004 period at the ECTN Cardiff Conference in July 2005. Key points from his presentations relating to the market for cultural tourism are included below.


Not all visitors to cultural events and attractions are motivated by culture. Even visitors to cultural sites dont consider themselves as cultural tourists, holiday is their primary purpose of trip. Just over 20% of those interviewed would characterise their holiday as cultural.

ATLAS surveys have consistently found more visitors to cultural sites are on a city break (25%) or touring holiday (28%). In ATLAS surveys an increasingly higher proportion of visitors have indicated that they take a cultural holiday, see below.

Year Proportion of visitors

taking a cultural holiday

1997 17.5% 2001 25% 2004 27%

2.3.4 Wales Tourist Board Focus Group Research

During March 2003, the Wales Tourist Board commissioned Keydata Group to undertake focus group research in order to more fully understand the nature of Cultural Tourism, the Cultural Tourists behaviour and expectations. Nigel Adams presented an overview of the research project and key findings at the ECTN conference in Barcelona, August 2004. This research has also been presented as a case study within the ECTN INTERREGIIIC project, and helps to inform section 2.4 below Who are the cultural tourists?

An important finding of this WTB research was that only a very restricted minority would see themselves as Cultural Tourists, although places of interest were an intrinsic part of most holidays or breaks. The term culture was perceived as a distinct concept and only seen as appropriate for those motivated to chose a destination for a specific type of place of interest or to visit performing arts or museums. Similar findings were reflected in the World Tourism Organization (WTO) report on City Tourism and Culture The European Experience:

Only 20% of city tourists rate culture as their prime motivator, but a far greater number is actually involved in cultural activities while on a city trip. A large number of city trippers do not see themselves as (city) cultural tourists. The so-called purposeful cultural tourist and the sightseeing cultural tourist therefore need to be addressed and communicated with in a different way and on a different level as their motivations differ strongly21


2.4 Who are the cultural tourists? Not all visitors to cultural sites are tourists. In 2004, about 40% of ATLAS survey respondents lived in the local area, less than 20% were foreign tourists22. The domestic and local markets are important for most cultural tourism attractions.

2.4.1 Classifying Cultural Tourists

There have been various attempts to try to categorise the cultural tourist (McKercher23, Richards24, WTO25 and WTB26). The Wales Tourist Board has identified three key groups of cultural tourist27, as follows: The pure culturally motivated tourist: who selects a holiday on the

basis of the cultural opportunities it offers. This group represent a small minority, probably 5% of visitors. They are motivated by specific culture, a higher than average learning opportunity or significant event, maybe even one specific place of interest. They are generally middle to high-income visitors who spend several nights at a destination. Whilst not large in numbers, their high spending characteristics make them valuable visitors to attract.

The casual culturally inspired tourist: who spend a relatively large proportion of their time visiting place of interest when on a holiday or break. They want variety, possibly because they and their partner have different specific interests. They visit an internationally famous historic site or cultural centre as a once in a lifetime event and are difficult to motivate for a return trip. They tend to try to pack in as much as possible and consider the generic cultural landscape of an area critical and more influential than specific individual places of interest on their choice of destination.

The accidental culturally attracted tourist: these tourists pay little attention to specific cultural aspects of places of interest before deciding on a destination. However, whilst on a beach, activity holiday or attending a conference, this visitor can be readily attracted to a museum, historic site, concert or other cultural event.

This majority of visitors visiting cultural sites or attending cultural events fall into the latter two categories. It is likely that individuals will be different types of tourist on different trips. Key to identifying different types of cultural tourist are specific cultural factors and places of interest. The illustration below shows perceived views of cultural tourists and types of break taken.


The Cultural Tourist?

Pure Cultural Tourist

Casual Cultural Tourist

Accidental Cultural Tourist

Plans based on specific cultural aspects or Places of Interest. These aspects main (but seldom sole) motivation for destination choice.

Plan at destination Visiting places of interest and generic cultural back drop is an iimportant element of break

Dont plan will happen on Places of Interest. Might visit one or two specific cultural sights, more by accident then design. Relatively little time sight seeing

Source: Keydata Group, 2003 Cultural Tourism Report, Wales Tourist Board, Cardiff

Depending on type of break or holiday taken, individuals will at times be Pure Cultural Tourists and at other times may be Accidental Cultural Touirsts. The majority of visitors to specific cultural sights will be Casual or Accidental Cultural Tourists. Most pre and post family groups could be described as Casual Cultural Tourists whilst the majority of families travelling with children would be Accidental Cultural Tourists as the needs of children would be key influence when making destination choice.

2.4.2 Characteristics of cultural tourists

The main characteristics of cultural tourists are traditionally viewed as: Bias towards professional, higher income socio-economic groups (in

the UK referred to as ABC1 socio-economic class categories). 55-plus age group, although the ATLAS survey found young people

between 20 and 29 are the largest single age group, accounting for 40%. The youth market is important because their experiences of visiting cultural attractions may influence their future tourism behaviour

Some cultural activities such as visiting artistic or heritage exhibits and watching the performing arts are more popular with women then men28.

Higher spenders. ATLAS research indicates that the average spend of cultural tourists in 2002 at the destination was over 400 for foreign tourists and almost 300 for domestic tourist groups. This confirms the image of high spending cultural tourists, although their


average stay tends to be 5.5 nights, which is lower than general holidays. ATLAS research also indicates that visitors to cultural attractions and cultural tourists are highly educated. Compared to one third of the EU population, over half have some higher education. Cultural tourists also tend to have professional (32%) and managerial occupations (15%) and salaries approximately one third higher than average. Richards29 reports that there is also a link between employment in the cultural industries and cultural tourism consumption. 27% of cultural tourists were connected with the cultural industries, more than double the level of cultural employment among general cultural tourists. Use of the internet for information and booking travel and accommodation is rapidly increasing by cultural tourists. Since 200230, the internet has outranked publications and guides as a source for information. In 2004, 34% of ATLAS survey respondents had consulted the internet for information.

2.4.3 What do cultural tourists want?

Generic cultural factors form an integral part of any destination and play a pivotal role in the choice of almost any break. They play a major role in potential tourists perceptions of a destination and have a wider influence on the appeal of an area than specific cultural sights and places of interest31, which play a secondary role. Experiencing the atmosphere, finding out about local culture and sightseeing motivates cultural tourists32.

2.4.3.1 Findings of Wales Tourist Boards Focus Group Research on Cultural Tourists

Wales Tourist Boards Focus group research33 found that two aspects are critical in choice of destination: accommodation and food. These two aspects are more influential than the existence of specific places of interest (which are assumed) in the destination choices of Casual Cultural Tourists. Pure Cultural Tourists also regard food and accommodation as critical and are more demanding than Casual Cultural Tourists in terms of quality and availability of choice. Most also want to be in a location, with easy access to local restaurants or pubs, preferably providing quality local specialities. The internet was the main source of information for booking accommodation, once the geographical destination was chosen, information on events, sights and places of interest would then be sought out once at the destination. Convenience and flexibility are essential as these people are taking breaks to get away from routine.

For the cultural tourist (Pure and Casual) a choice of local shops selling local produce or quality souvenirs or browsing items, such as antiques or books are also a must.

Cities were unanimously regarded as the best cultural destinations, because of narrow perceptions of culture as describing the performing arts, galleries and museums. Cities were regarded as providing appealing generic cultural backdrops and specific cultural aspects. They were also perceived as more expensive breaks because City accommodation costs were likely to be higher, there would also be greater choice of restaurants, shops and night time activities to spend money on.


2.5 Cultural Tourism Trends Most sites visited by tourists are traditional attractions such as museums, galleries and monuments. In 2004 almost 60% of ATLAS respondents had visited a museum, while 30% had visited a monument and 29% had visited a gallery34. In recent years there appears to have been a shift from heritage attractions towards arts attractions. This trend has been noted in ATLAS research and reflected in data collected by the Finnish and Wales Tourist Boards, see case studies 2.5.1.1 and 2.5.1.2 below.

2.5.1 Case Studies

2.5.1.1 Cultural Tourism Trends in Finland

Finland has recognised the increasing importance of cultural tourism over the past decade. At national level, the value of cultural heritage tourism has been recognised in the Finnish Government's Tourism Policy, as well as in the Finnish Tourist Board's [MEK] tourism strategy. Statistics on cultural tourism and tourism in general are compiled by Finnish Tourist Board (MEK). In 2001 the total number of visitors to tourist sites was 27 million, of which 14% were to cultural heritage sites. A long term report (1985-2001) commissioned by the Finnish Tourist Bureau (MEK) showed that cultural heritage is growing firmly as a tourist attraction, but at the same time there has been a declining interest in the Provincial Museums (cultural historical museums).

2.5.1.2 Cultural Tourism Trends in Wales

In Wales, the percentage of UK visitors participating in one or more cultural activity during their holiday has increased since the 1997-99 baseline data but remained constant since 2000. 28% of UK visitors visit a heritage site. Watching the performing arts has increased from 2% (1997-99) to 5% (2002-4) and visiting artistic or heritage sites has increased from 5% (1997-9) to 17% of trips in (2002-4)35.

Findings of the 2003 overseas survey indicate an increase in overseas visitors to Wales visiting arts and heritage exhibits such as galleries and museums approximately half of all visitors participated in this activity (48% compared to 45% in 2000).

Visiting heritage sites such as castles, monuments and churches is still the most popular activity amongst overseas visitors almost nine in every ten of overseas visitors had visited such locations during their Welsh holiday (85% in 2003 compared to 86% in 2000).

2.5.2. Socio-economic and demographic trends

The socio economic and demographic trends are all favourable to the future growth of cultural tourism: Ageing population Increasing affluence with populations becoming more middle class Time pressures/ time poor, increased stress Increasing consumer sophistication


Increasing use of the internet. Increasing proportion of the population benefiting from a university

education. EU Market Trends -Tourist arrivals will double over the next 25 years Driving factors liberalisation of transport, internal market & Euro Cultural tourism can also be used to foster greater understanding between the nations of Europe and other cultures. The WTO forecast that the future growth markets in world tourism are likely to come from the growing middle classes of China and India. They are not likely to be attracted by our beaches as they have plenty of fine beaches in Asia, but by our cultural heritage. The European tourism industry will need to adapt to the changing needs of these new emerging Asian markets.

2.5.3 Growth of City Tourism

City breaks is one of the strongest growth markets in Europe. 20% of city tourists rate culture as their main motivator, although a greater number participate in cultural activities whilst on a city trip36

The joint European Travel Commission and WTO report on City Tourism (2006, pVII) notes that:

A few large countries - France, UK and Germany - dominate both in generation and reception of city tourism in 2002. Smaller, richer countries in North Western Europe make the largest relative contribution to the market of city holiday trips and the data shows that there is a strong relationship between income groups and city tourism: those in the highest income groups are more likely to make a city trip than those in the lower income groupdata also shows a tendency for city holiday trips from neighbouring countries of origin, with the exception of Spain where the major countries of origin are the UK and Germany.

Top three European city destinations for cultural tourists are London, Paris and Rome. Secondary cities include Athens, Barcelona, Florence and Vienna. Competition is fierce between secondary cities

Major cultural events are increasing being used to strategically position cities as cultural tourism destinations. Cardiff Council recognise that creativity and culture can improve the quality of life in the city, and boost competitiveness of Cardiff as a city break destination37

The European City of Culture is recognised as being successful in attracting cultural visitors to host cities and fiercely contested.

2.5.3.1 Turku 2011

European City of Culture 2011 is perceived as an opportunity for Turku to present Finnish culture as well as innovation and wellfare society to the rest of Europe and the world.

Mission: As the Capital of Culture, Turku will construct an unforgettable year 2011 for the whole Europe. Turku 2011 will create experiences and encounters which cross borders, renew the everyday life and live on.


The main Cultural Capital projects will be generators for national development, realised in wider national and international co-operation. Cultural Forum, created by the seven applicant cities one part of the national co-operation ensures the continuation of the development work in these cities. collects the experience to be used in national cultural policies. offers a platform for ECOC co-operation The operative budget of the Capital of Culture project is 55 Million, which will be divided between the years 2008 and 2012. Funding will be divided between three main groups: the City and the region, the State of Finland and other parties.

Vision 2016: Turku 2011 is more than merely one year. It is a process through which Turku is a forerunner, a creative centre of Baltic coopreation and a generator and supplier of art and science. During 2011 Turku will working in partnership with Tallin in Estonia to focus attention to the Baltic Sea region and to the common goals of:-

increasing prosperity and co-operation growing the creative economy and sustainable development of the

Baltic sea region.

2.6 Conclusion Given that cultural tourism is rooted in the cultural heritage of a country, it will not be as vulnerable to the pressures of globalisation as other sectors and it will appeal to the markets of the future from Asia. Cultural Tourism destinations should be aware of: Increasing competition between traditional European destinations and

new emerging destinations in Europe and other world regions Shift to creative resources Shift to intangible resources Diversification within the cultural tourism market Need for additional value. Cultural Tourism can be used as a tool to foster a greater understanding between the nations of Europe and an appreciation of our common European heritage. Cultural tourists are generally well educated, high status occupation &

good incomes Not all cultural visitors are pure cultural tourists Levels of cultural motivation varies Seek mix of culture, entertainment & relaxation Younger tourists are important.


2.7 Guidelines to Best Practice In order to tempt potential cultural tourists, key points emerging from this chapter are:

Communication between the cultural and tourism sectors are important to facilitate sharing cultural tourism marketing, product development and research

A cultural flagship is needed to persuade Pure Cultural Tourists to a destination

Cities are likely to be the biggest draw for cultural tourists Careful consideration needs to be given to the use of culture when

promoting breaks

Diversity is the key for maximum width of appeal, in order to suit the needs of individuals within groups and couples

Most cultural tourists want flexibility and to choose their own accommodation.

The destination must ensure:

Good quality accommodation and a friendly welcome Information on places of interest, cultural events and sights is available

at accommodation as well as the local information office

Good choice of quality eating places, ideally offering local specialities An interesting range of shops with local specialities, souvenirs and

crafts

Effective marketing to stay ahead of the competition Authenticity and innovation to attract repeat visitors 1 World Tourism Organisation 2005 Edition Tourism Market Trends World Overview & Tourism

Topics, World Tourism Organisation, Madrid, 2 Source; http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/services.tourism/policy-areas/culture.htm 28/01/2003 3 Wales Tourist Board, 2003 4 Irish Tourist Board 1988 Inventory of Cultural Tourism Resources in the Member States and

Assessment of Methods used to Promote Them, European Commission, Brussels. Source: Realising the Potential Of Cultural Services The Case For Tourism, Local Government Association 2001,p 21.

5 Richards G ed, 1996, Cultural Tourism in Europe, p230, CABI, Wallingford 6 Wales Tourist Board 2003, Cultural Tourism Strategy for Wales, Wales Tourist Board, Cardiff, p19 7 Tourism 2020 Vision is the World Tourism Organization's long-term forecast and assessment of the

development of tourism up to 2020. 8 World Tourism Organisation City Tourism and Culture The European Experience, 2005 9 Richards G ed, 1996, Cultural Tourism in Europe, p 31, CABI, Wallingford 10 World Tourism Organisation 2005 Edition Tourism Market Trends World Overview & Tourism

Topics, World Tourism Organisation, Madrid


11 TIA 2003, The Historic Cultural Traveller, Washington TIA 12 World Travel and Tourism Council, source: 13 Source: Hosteltur, December 2005 14 Keydata Group 2003, Cultural Tourism Report for Wales Tourist Board, Cardiff, p 6 15 United Kingdom Tourism Survey, UKTS 16 European Commission, October 2006, The Economy of Culture in Europe Study on the Economy

of Culture in Europe DG for Education & Culture, KEA European Affairs, Brussels http://ec.europa.eu/culture/eac/source_info/studies/economy_en.html

17 World Travel & Tourism Council in Association with Accenture, 2006, The 2006 Tourism Trends, WTTC, London

18 Ibid 19 Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia, 2006, Tourism in Latvia in 2005 A Collection of Statistical Data,

Riga 20 ATLAS - European Association for Tourism and Leisure Education 21 World Tourism Organisation, 2005 City Tourism & Culture The European Experience, World

Tourism Organisation, Madrid, p IX 22 Richards G ed, 2007 Cultural Tourism Global and Local Perspectives, The Haworth Hospitality

Press, New York, http://haworthopress.com 23 McKercher, B 2002, Towards a Classification of Cultural Tourists, International Journal of Tourism

Research 4, 29-38, John Wiley & Sons Ltd 24 Richards G 1996, The Scope and Significance of Cultural Tourism, in Cultural Tourism in Europe,

Richards, G Ed, CA International, Wallingford 19-46 25 World Tourism Organisation, 2005 City Tourism & Culture The European Experience, World

Tourism Organisation, Madrid, p 4 26 Keydata Group 2003, Cultural Tourism Report for Wales Tourist Board, Cardiff 27 Wales Tourist Board, 2003 Cultural Tourism Strategy for Wales, Wales Tourist Board, Cardiff,

pp20-21 28 Wales Tourist Board, 2003 Cultural Tourism Strategy for Wales, Wales Tourist Board, Cardiff 29 Source: Richards,2007, ibid 15 30 Atlas Survey, 2002 31 Wales Tourist Board 2003, Cultural Tourism Focus Group Research p 24, WTB Cardiff 32Atlas Survey, 2002 33 World Travel & Tourism Council in Association with Accenture 2006, The 2006 Travel & Tourism

Economic Research, WTTC, London 34 Richards 2007, ibid p 17 35 United Kingdom Tourism Survey 2006, Wales Tourist Board, Cardiff. 36 City Tourism and Culture The European Experience, WTO 2005 37 Cardiff Council - The Economic Impact of the Wales Millennium Centre on Council Owned Venues

A short scrutiny study, May 2006


3 A Successful Tourist Destination

3.1 What is a tourist destination? Tourist destination is a central concept in the tourism business and research, yet it is often quite problematic to define what actually constitutes a destination, and there is no agreed definition on the term. Several definitions are noted below.

"A local tourist destination is a physical space in which a visitor spends at least one overnight. It includes tourism products such as support services and attractions, and tourism resources within one day's return travel time. It has physical and administrative boundaries defining its management, and images and perceptions defining its market competitiveness. Local destinations incorporate various stakeholders often including a host community, and can nest and network to form larger destinations."

A tourist destination is a city, town or other area the economy of which is dependent to a significant extent on the revenues accruing from tourism. It may contain one or more tourist attractions or visitor attractions and possibly some "tourist traps".

According to European Cities Tourism Organisation, a tourist city must fulfil these conditions:

more than 100,000 inhabitants more than 3,000 hotel beds conference facilities a significant monumental and historic heritage cultural events A cultural tourism destination will also include rural areas, town, as well as cities.

It is interesting to note, that there is a strong cultural point of view here, but not any demands concerning figures of the amount of tourists. Historic heritage is a fact, but a cultural event is a bit more difficult. According to European Cultural Tourism Network, every event is more or less cultural.

3.2 How to define the success of a tourism destination? Key factors of what makes destination management successful are: production of knowledge, education and training, shared vision and mission and further management and optimisation of the well-being of the host community, planning and development; public/private partnership, informed marketing; policy issues governing the destination; economics of tourism; structure and function of (local) tourism board and safety, security and crisis management.1

Every tourist destination in the world has a "brand image". If developed carefully the brand serves to differentiate a destination from competing destinations. When consumers decide on a destination for a holiday or a business conference, several "brands" compete for their attention. A strong brand is differentiated from others, has several strong advantages when compared to others, and has an attractive appeal to consumers. In tourism, while factors such as cost of travel, convenience, and quality of facilities are important, the strongest motivator is "image". Image puts


a destination on the consumer's "shopping list" and creates an emotional appeal, which enhances that destination's chances of being chosen over others.2

The following case study provides an example of thematic tourism development in the Aosta Valley based on cultural itineraries to encourage travellers to stop and discover the region. (Because of its geographical position, on the borders of France, Italy and Switzerland. and the Mont Blanc tunnel, the Aosta Valley traditionally has a lot of travellers passing through.)

3.2.1 Thematic tourism development in Aosta Valley To develop its tourist and agricultural products, Aosta Valley has created thematic routes for many years. Its wine route, for instance, connected various wine-producers cellars, promoting the knowledge of local wines while creating a new tourist product. Besides, a transnational cheese route is now being added to the existing wine-route, which is further developing thanks to Leader plus programmes. A group of trails called Laltra Valle dAosta (The Other Aosta Valley) was launched to drive tourists off the beaten track. The itineraries connected some of the most popular heritage sites, such as medieval castles, to villages, Roman ruins and rural landscapes scattered along the central valley that are frequently ignored by cursory visits. Developed with grants from the European Union, The Great Walser Trail is a route that follows the footsteps of the Walsers, a population who migrated through the Alps in search of new land to colonise between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries. Signposting, information panels, thematic map, folders and guide help visitors to interpret the marks that Walser culture left on the territory. These marks speak not only of men, migrations, settlements, agriculture, transhumance and trades, but also of glaciers, variations in climate and nature. Thus, following the route, visitors make a journey into the broader world of Alpine culture and are given the possibility to figure out what it meant to live in the mountains in the past, often at altitudes that would be inconceivable today. Within the 2000-2006 Interreg IIIA Italy-France ALCOTRA program, a project for the creation of a network of transnational tourist itineraries has been launched. Through this initiative, Aosta Valley and Haute-Savoy are developing a common tourism strategy that intends to promote cultural heritage and outstanding cultural events of both regions by a concerted effort. In fact, there are limited tourist exchanges between Aosta Valley and Haute-Savoy, although the two regions are well connected by the Mont-Blanc tunnel. The RITT (Rseaux dItinraires Touristiques Transfrontaliers) network aims to promote tourist mobility by the following measures: Investing in a few selected sites that will catch visitors interest and will

provide information about the whole network; Strengthening the appeal of tourist attraction on both sides of the Mont-

Blanc; Offering tourists the possibility of creating personalized visit packages

within the transnational network;


Promoting the discovery of the whole area through the concept of itinerary, which naturally stimulates visitors interest in travelling around.

These measures will be adapted to different tourist targets, considering that in both Aosta Valley and Haute-Savoy there are many resident tourist, yet a lot of travellers crossing the Mont-Blanc fail to stop to discover the area. The underlying principle of the project is the creation of visitor proposals that are both original and authentic to the place. Hence, six leading themes were chosen to build the itineraries: Castles and churches Alps natural environment and its secrets Architecture Cinema The Resistance Contemporary art Developing these themes, the RITT itineraries aim to interpret the uniqueness and territorial identity of Aosta Valley and Haute-Savoy in an effective and innovative way.

3.3 How do we define success? How to measure success? The first question is: from whos point of view? There are for instance following possibilities:

Travellers point of view Entrepreneurs point of view Regions (the economical development) point of view. The World Tourism Organisation (WTO) uses tourism indicators that are based on international tourist arrivals, tourism receipts and expenditure, number of visitors etc. WTOs list of top tourism destinations is based on arrivals and receipts. Other indicators adopted in their statistics are outbound tourism by generating region and the ranking of the top tourism spenders. This is an economical basis for defining success.

Other common economic indicators used on a regional basis are:

Number of enterprises Number of jobs Turnover (tourism income) Investment Market share Position against other destination rankings Development of the number of passengers in flight and sea traffic Realisation of projects.


Other indicators and measures include visitor surveys and tourism resources which are detailed below.

3.3.1 Visitor Surveys City tourist destinations and regions commission visitor surveys in order to get a picture of the profile, behaviour, characteristics and perceptions, opinions of the City to help support future development.

3.3.3.1 Cardiff Visitor Survey

Cardiff Council has conducted a survey amongst visitors to Cardiff for five consecutive years.

The objectives of the survey were:

To profile visitors by gender, age and so on To determine purpose of visit To establish origin of visitors & methods of transport To establish where visitors stay, and for how long To determine whether visitors are on holiday/day trip, first time/repeat To find out main attractions visited To determine reasons for visit To find out what visitors liked/disliked about their visit To identify where visitors get information about the city To identify potential competitor destinations To gauge appeal of future potential development.

3.3.2 Tourism Resources Tourism resources are any (1) natural, (2) cultural, (3) human, or (4) capital resources that either are used or can be used to attract or serve tourists. A tourism resource inventory identifies and classifies the resources available that provide opportunities for a successful tourism destination.

Natural Resources include:

Climate, seasons Water resources: seas, lakes, streams, waterfalls Flora: forests, flowers, shrubs, wild edibles Fauna, fish & wildlife Geological resources: topography, soils, sand dunes, beaches, caves,

rocks & minerals, fossils Scenery-combinations of all of the above. Cultural Resources comprise: Historic buildings, sites Monuments, shrines


Cuisine Ethnic cultures Industry, government, religion, etc Anthropological resources Local celebrities. Human Resources encompass: Hospitality skills Management skills Seasonal labour force Performing artists-music, drama, art, storytellers, etc. Craftsman and artisans Other labour skills from chefs to lawyers to researchers Local populations. Capital covers: Availability of capital, financing Infrastructure-transportation roads, airports, railroads, harbours &

marinas, trails & walkways Infrastructure: utilities water, power, waste treatment, communications. The following indicators should also be taken into consideration when defining a successful cultural tourism destination: Year round tourism with the majority of jobs being non seasonal A vibrant contemporary culture, which the visitor is easily able to

access. A strong sense of place: in terms of architecture, public art, public

spaces and gastronomy A year round programme of events: which by their nature encourage

visitors to stay overnight. Integrated destination management: ensuring that every aspect of the

visitor experience is addressed to ensure a quality visitor experience. Close cooperation between cultural providers and the local tourism

businesses with the availability of cultural tourism packages linking accommodation, attractions and events.

A critical mass of cultural and heritage attractions: which can occupy the visitor for a full weekend.

A quality retail offer: opportunities in particular to purchase locally produced quality gifts.

Strong links with the hinterland in the case of cities. A visitor friendly integrated transport system. Regular visitor surveys measuring visitor satisfaction levels.


3.3.3 Further aspects to take into consideration: It is also important to define other ways to measure the success of a cultural destination and to recognise that the quantitative indictors are not the only possible indicators.

For instance the main and most important task of a museum or cultural centre besides research, storage and recording is to convey information to the visitors that is to educate the public from children to the seniors. In this sector the indicators could include for instance the amount of cooperation with schools and kindergartens, how visits to the cultural destinations are included in the curriculum of the cultural education of the schools.

The number of study tours to Turku indicates how important the city has been in the history and cultural life of Finland. For centuries the history of Finland has been the same as the history of Turku.

Could the number of cultural tourism products like for instance the number and the success of the popular cultural tours for groups serve as indicators? How to measure success on the whole? For instance how much the visitors learn of the past when visiting for instance the Medieval Market in Turku and how they will appreciate Turku afterwards when seen through this looking glass.

Another aspect of successful destination management is cross sector cooperation and partnership working to support cultural tourism development and management (partnership working is considered in more detail in Chapter 4 below). The North Hungary Regional Development Agency (NORDA) has established a community organisation system to support the regions 2007-13 tourism development strategy. An important element of this is engaging with destination management organisations and community organisations within the region to ensure successful delivery of the strategy and support the regional brand image.

Tourism development in North Hungary is only possible in a well operating and cooperating environment T Izsok, NORDA, September 20063.

3.4 Can a region be successful without cultural heritage and cultural tourism?

Research undertaken by the Cultural Centre of Turku in Finland, suggests that the answer to this question is simply: no! Culture is one of the strongest elements in creating and building an image for the city and the region and in measuring success.

According to the Regional Council of Southwest Finland the strengths of the region lie in its diversity". A wealth of history lays the foundation for providing a high-profile cultural programme. Southwest Finland and, in particular Turku has served as a bellwether of Western cultural influences in Finland. Western science, literature, art, music and handicraft traditions spread throughout Finland from Turku. The cultural scene of Southwest Finland is comprised of many layers. Turku is a full-service cultural city and the centre of the regions cultural life.

Culture services and the cultural image of the region are one factor, when enterprises decide on their location. If there are events, festivals, cultural happenings and other cultural highlights for the employees to enjoy and for the


companys guests to see, the region will be a prospective candidate for the headquarters of the firm (research of the Culture Centre of city of Turku).

Turku will be the European Capital of Culture in 2011 and the journey towards it is a wide and far-reaching process, increasing the well-being and the quality of life of the people of Turku and developing its economic and cultural fields over the traditional borders of action and cooperation. Turku will also construct an unforgettable year 2011 for the whole Europe creating experiences and encounters which cross the borders, renew the everyday life and live on.

3.5 Case Study: Turku, Finland Turku and the surroundings offer an unique and versatile cross-section of the Finnish culture to the visitor interested in the history and historic monuments, nature, shipping, childrens and youth culture, city culture and city life and the chain of year- around events. The medieval dome, Turku Castle guarding the mouth of the river and old Great Square are some of the treasured landmarks. The busy business centre with pedestrian streets, restaurants and hotels and excellent connections to other parts of Finland, the Scandinavian countries and the world increase the attraction of the city.

Turku is an important port, commercial, congress and exhibition city and also an important link between Stockholm and St Petersburg. Shipbuilding and metal industries have long-time traditions and the biggest luxury cruisers in the world are built in the Turku shipyard. Nowadays the city houses also several enterprises of modern technology especially in bio- and ICT fields. Turku has three universities, two Finnish and one Swedish and several polytechnic schools.

Ms Anne-Marget Niemi, Director of Tourism of the city of Turku, states that the culture city years have had direct and easily measurable influences in the previous culture cities of culture. The amount of tourists has increased about 12%, at the least with as much as 56% at best. In 2005 Turku received 700,000 overnight tourists, numbers are expected to increase by 15% in 2011. Currently, 75% of tourists to Turku are Finnish and 25 % come from abroad. Approximately 3.5 million cruise ship passengers pass via Turku every year.

The execution of the Turku 2011 culture city programme (see case study 2.5.3.1 above) will increase the attraction of the city and the surroundings, develop the image and bring new ideas, creativeness, know-how and of course new consumers of culture to the area.

During the coming years several new building projects will be carried out in Turku: the new main library will open in 2007. A new congress and music hall and Culture-quarters project are planned. A development centre for creative branches and cultural export is founded in the near future.


3.6 Guidelines To Best Practice The success of a cultural tourism destination needs to be assessed from the perspective of the visitor, the entrepreneur, the community and the relevant local authority/destination manager. Successful destinations: Require a critical mass of resources, natural, cultural, human and

capital; Close cooperation between cultural providers and local tourism

businesses; An integrated approach to destination management; A strong sense of place and a vibrant contemporary culture which the

visitor is able to access; Year round tourism with quality full time jobs; Community involvement and support. 1 UNWTO / World Tourism Organization /Tourism Destination Management Think Tank, Madrid 2002 2 Rod Davies, Orient Pacific Century Market Research 3 Tamas Izsok, NORDA, at the ECTN Thematic workshop in Turku, 12 September 2006,

http://www.cultural-tourism.net/turku2006/tamas_izsok.pdf.


4 Strategic Planning and Partnership Working 4.1 Importance of having a strategic framework in place To obtain maximised benefits from cultural tourism it is necessary to have a strategic framework. As pointed out in every marketing management education in the world, the cat in the Wizard of Oz claims: If you dont know where to start from, youll never find out where to go. A Cultural Tourism Strategy sets out and promotes the significance of culture as a key tourism driver, and cultural tourism as a basis for developing new opportunities in both tourism and cultural sectors.

Even though many of the region members within ECTN do not have a documented strategy, there is awareness, and appreciation of the importance of a strategic approach and the actual work is formed in a strategic manner. A strategy's purpose is to provide a framework for action by the key partners, the actual strategy should be seen as the start of a process and as a catalyst for action.

One important issue is in what context the Cultural Tourism Strategy has been developed. It is mainly set in part by the broader Economic Development, Tourism and Cultural strategies and policies. National economic development strategies set the objectives to improve productivity and identify competitive sectors. Tourisms economic contribution is becoming more appreciated and focused upon at both regional and national level, as well as the social factors that travel and leisure activities lead to. It is related to as one of the sectors with the greatest potential to create economic growth and job creation in Europe. This makes the tourism sector a high potential field for growth capable of providing a high yield to businesses. Culture provides distinctive tourism assets that can turn a countrys history, art, gardens, food and way of life to maybe the most important tool for attracting visitors. The forming of a cultural tourism strategy is a joined vision of economic, culture, social and tourism objectives and strategies.

A cultural tourism strategy also determines how a country or a region defines culture and cultural tourism. This changes from time to time and from country to country but the agreed and accepted definition by ECTN is outlined in chapter one in this report.

The strategy leads to far greater cooperation and joint working between the tourism and cultural sectors. This is crucial for the development of sustainable products and to define target groups, niche markets and quality systems. The planning of management systems and training for cooperation within these sectors is part of the process towards a cultural tourism strategy.

The importance of a cultural tourism strategy is not merely the contribution of a strengthened identity of a nation or a region and to promote citizenship activities. The uniqueness of a place is determined in the process of formulating a mutual strategy and this is turn forms the basis of finding both market partners and new products.

The process is more important than the actual document, but the document is a platform for future work and a statement, which all partners have agreed on. The strategy can also give the cultural tourism a formal status and serve as a discussion platform for related questions on several levels.

By having a strategy in place they can be used to support bids for central


government, regional government and EU structural programmes funding. Having a well researched, thought out and realistic strategy that has stakeholder support will encourage funding bodies to look favourably on requests for additional funding.

4.2 Building Strategic Partnerships Strong networks or working relationships between stakeholders and their local communities as well as regional partners benefit the goals of cultural tourism. Mutual appreciation mark relationships between the tourism and cultural sectors.

It is important to involve the key stakeholders in the preparation of the strategy from the outset. Ideally the key partners should be represented on the steering group overseeing the preparation of the strategy. They can be involved from the outset in agreeing the terms of reference. The wider stakeholders can be involved through holding consultative seminars and having a consultative draft which presents options. In addition one to one meetings should be held with key partners to agree their potential role in the delivery of the strategy and to discuss their views on the emerging strategy. This process will ensure common ownership of the strategy by the key partners and wider stakeholders thus ensuring their commitment to its implementation.

Partners are most valuable when taking forward a strategy through a consultation process and for the implementation of a strategy. Partner organisations should be among local, regional and national representatives including both the private and voluntary sectors. Benefits for co-operation can be significant as illustrated by the two case study examples below from ECTN Interreg Project partners in Wales and Ireland.

4.2.1 Case Study Example Cultural Tourism Partnerships in Wales

The Cultural Tourism Strategy for Wales (Wales Tourist Board, 2003) recommends establishing a Cultural Tourism Partnership to: Coordinate implementation of the Strategys Action Points involving more than

just WTB1. Monitor and review the effectiveness of the Action Plan in delivering outputs Identify any additional actions and opportunities to support the development of

the cultural tourism potential of Wales. To coordinate and share research for a better understanding of the market for

cultural tourism and market needs. The Wales Tourist Boards appointed a Cultural Tourism Coordinator in November 2003, who took a lead role in engaging with cultural tourism stakeholders in Wales and established cultural tourism partnerships at national and regional level to take forward implementation of the Cultural Tourism Strategy for Wales.


4.2.2 Case Study Example WaterTour Tourism Partnership in Ireland

In the Midland region of Ireland the Midland Regional Authority under the auspices of an Interreg IIIC project entitled WaterTour have developed a regional working group comprised of national, regional officials and SMEs to prepare a Guide for the Midland Region which will serve to promote all aspects of tourism in the region. This regional working group is also developing synergies in the implementation of other tasks to the benefit of the region on the whole.

Securing future success and prosperity for the tourism industry depends upon effective working relationships being established between willing partners. The cultural tourism product that a nation has to offer both residents and visitors is in ownership and management of a range of public, private and voluntary organisations and individuals.

It is recommended that written agreements are drafted, outlining the terms of reference and objectives of the partnership or working group. It is important to ensure that each of the partners is aware of their respective roles and responsibilities in the implementation of the strategy. To support partnership working, a survey or audit can be undertaken of cultural tourism activities, to identify potential development opportunities and any problems. This can be used to avoid future conflicts and duplication by clarifying who does what, identifying resource requirements, expected outcomes and the objectives of the respective players.

Tool kits, checklists and handbooks are useful tools for supporting regional development.

4.3 The Strategy Planning Process There are a number of key steps in developing a strategy each of which are described below:

1. Terms of Reference and Methodology

It is first necessary to agree a terms of reference and methodology for the study with a steering group. The terms of reference should set out clearly what you are going to and how you will do it. The methodology expands on the terms of reference detailing what research techniques you will use, how you will approach each of the tasks, how you will undertake consultation with the stakeholders etc. The issues of resources to prepare the strategy and a realistic timetable will need to be addressed. It will also be necessary to decide whether the strategy will be prepared in house or by consultants in which case a consultants brief will be required.

2. Defining the Policy Context

Identifying the starting point; this will include a description of the policy context within which you are operating for instance, are there existing national and regional strategies such as Economic Development, Cultural and tourism within which this strategy will have to sit? In the case of Wales there were three key strategies, which set the policy context for the Cultural Tourism Strategy: - the Economic Development Strategy, A Winning Wales; the Cultural Strategy for Wales Creative Future, Cymru


Greadigol A Cultural Strategy for Wales and the National Tourism Strategy, Achieving our Potential.

Depending on the individual circumstances and whether any of the existing strategies providing the policy context you may choose to undertake a Political, Economic, Social, Technological and Organisational Analysis2 to identify the influences which will impact on your region and the markets you are seeking to attract.

3. Market and Product

Analysing the existing cultural tourist market by identifying: where they are coming from when they come their profile in demographic and socio economic terms, the accommodation they stay in and what activities they undertake whilst in the region. The spending characteristics of the cultural tourist should also be identified.

This information is normally extracted from national tourism statistics, supplemented by regional and local visitor research. You may need to supplement this with focus group research to explore the motivations of potential cultural tourists to your region and to understand their perceptions of your region as a cultural tourism destination. Market trends both within your own region and country and internationally should be examined together with the socio economic and demographic trends to identify the implications for your region.

Analysing your product, both in terms of its quality and whether it meets the needs of the market. Topics covered in the Cultural Tourism Strategy for Wales include: Heritage sites (castles, monuments, churches etc) Museums and Galleries Gardens Landscape Built Environment Festivals and Events Performing Arts Venues Welsh Language and Culture Crafts Sector

4. Identification of the issues

The assessment of the markets and products should enable the key issues facing the development of cultural tourism to be identified. One technique that can be used to bring the issues out is a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Analysis3. This should identify the key challenges facing the development of cultural tourism within the region and start to discuss possible solutions.


5. Vision and Objectives.

The strategic vision should define where you wish to be at the end of a defined time period, in other words what outcomes you are seeking. The vision statement of the Cultural Tourism Strategy for Wales is that:

Wales is recognised internationally as a visitor destination offering a quality cultural tourism experience based on our unique and living culture, which forms an essential part of the overall tourism experience.4

The vision should be supported by strategic aims or objectives, which describe how you will achieve the vision. The strategic aims for the Welsh strategy are: To improve visitor accessibility to culture To improve the quality of the visitor experience. To raise the profile of Wales as a cultural tourism destination To understand the characteristics and needs of the cultural tourist.

6. Consultation Stage

At this stage it would be appropriate to present a draft of the vision and your understanding of the issues to the stakeholders. This can be in the form of a consultation document and a consultative seminar. In identifying the stakeholders and the priority that should be accorded to their comments it is helpful to undertake a stakeholder analysis. This aims to plot the stakeholders on a matrix in accordance with their position in respect of two axes, as illustrated below. One axis measuring the stakeholders level of interest in the strategy and the other measuring their power to make it happen. Thus in the top right hand quadrant you would have the stakeholders who are both interested and have the power and resources to help make the strategy happen and in the bottom left hand quadrant those who neither have the power or interest.


7. Action Plan

The action plan should set out the proposed actions to deliver the strategic aims, who the lead body will be, who will be the supporting partners, the timescale for implementation, its relative priority in terms of how important it is to delivering the strategy. Remember, a high priority in timescale may be a long term action because of its complexity. The potential funding sources should also be identified. It is always useful to include some actions which can be implemented in the short term and which are highly visible to show that something is happening. An action plan of three year duration should build in some key milestones and indicators to measure progress.

8. Monitoring and Evaluation

It is essential to build in from the outset key performance indicators to measure progress. These should be easily measurable. Examples might be to increase average length of stay; increase the proportion of international visitors at a number of key cultural attractions, which regularly survey visitors; increase visitor satisfaction levels providing you have baseline data.

The indicators should however be relevant to the strategy. Progress against the action points should be monitored both at six month intervals and annually with reviews built in every 3 years to measure progress against the key performance indicators and assess whether the strategy, strategic aims and action plan are still relevant.

500

0

50

100

100

Interest

Inform Involve

Ignore (but watch!)

Listen and carry

High

High

Source: Making Policy that Happens: A Policy Toolkit. National School of Government

Power


9. Implementation

This is the key part, writing the strategy is relatively easy, implementing it is more challenging. The starting point perhaps is to ensure there is a partnership in place to coordinate implementation. The starting point for the partnership will be the steering group set up to oversee the preparation of the strategy, the membership will need to be reviewed as you may not have all the key partners represented. A senior member of the organisation that is to take the lead in the delivery of the strategy should be identified to oversee its implementation. Depending on the scale of the partnership you will need a dedicated project manager or coordinator to drive its implementation on a day-to-day basis. Remember that a strategy should be the start of a continuous process and not an end in itself. The strategy needs to be a living document, which is reviewed and amended as circumstances change.

4.4 Case studies on different approaches There are relatively few examples of cultural tourism strategies within Europe , examples include Austria, and Wales. Generally Cultural Tourism is treated as an integral part of the national and regional tourism or cultural strategies.

4.4.1 Baltic Case Study

The Baltic Cultural Tourism Policy Paper prepared by the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian National Commissions for UNESCO with support from UNESCO provides a policy framework within which national cultural tourism strategies can be developed. (Source http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=11408&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html.)

The paper defined the main goal of cultural tourism as ensuring sustainable economic, social and cultural development combined with preservation and active enhancement of cultural resources through increased supply, diversity and quality and sale of viable cultural tourism services. The paper called upon the Baltic countries interalia to: To define the responsibility for the development of cultural tourism on a

state and ministerial level Adopt strategy documents on cultural tourism Provide information in more languages Improve access to cultural tourism sites Ensure that public support for cultural events can be given 2 years

before the event Implement tourism impact survey and establish carrying capacity for

the sites Use minority cultural heritage and rich multicultural resources Pay more attention to cultural tourism in education and research Establish systematic, regular and long term partnership with

enterprises


Strengthen the dimension of intangible cultural heritage in cultural tourism

Facilitate communication between professionals and the community Conduct market research Develop the Baltic countries as an exemplary region of cultural tourism Broaden cultural tourism range Consolidate cross sector cooperation Provide systematic training opportunities

4.4.2 Swedish Case Study

The National Heritage Board is the agency of the Swedish government that is responsible for heritage and historic environment issues. One of the Cultural Tourism Projects that the Board initiated is the Swedish Cultural Heritage (Svenskt kulturarv), a marketing organisation for museums and cultural heritage institutions all over Sweden including the sites under the management of the National Heritage Board.

The board has also a strategy for cultural heritage tourism stating the Boards mission: to bring forth good examples to maintain a continuous dialogue with the surrounding world to enhance the awareness of the use of cultural heritage and history to contribute to regional development to incite renewal and development of method to create cooperation and respect In working with cultural heritage tourism, the National Heritage board has had three starting points:

1. Following the instruction for the Board to care for and show the cultural environments and cultural heritages placed under the administration of the authority.

2. In concordance with the aims for the public activities to work for an increased dialogue and participation about the cultural heritage for all citizens.

3. A sector responsibility for handicap issues related to the area of the administration of the Board. The National Heritage Board shall within the framework of this responsibility be gathering, supporting and initiating in relation to other parties. People shall be able to profit by the cultural heritage regardless of physical or mental restrictions.

4.5 Getting the sectors to work together at local level Long-term and sustainable tourism requires local support and local participation. This is a fundamental principle of sustainable tourism. Both the tourism and cultural sectors are characterised by a large number of small businesses working largely in isolation. While there are many examples of successful cultural tourism initiatives,

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