Cultural Sustainable Tourism

As a symbol of early industrial developments in the Turkish Republic, Seka Paper Mill provides valuable insights into the economic growth trends and the structural alteration in culture and social life in the Kocaeli region. Since the abounded factory was considered the essence of the city’s collective memory, the government took action and decided to preserve the architectural site, and the adaptive re-use preservation formula was applied to the complex. The conservation planning was designed as the transformation of First Paper Mill into Science Center and Paper Museum and aimed at preserving whole elements of the building, including the machines, which were still working, at their original places. However, the industrial heritage sites are usually in conflict with everyday life practices. Therefore, to maintain tangible and intangible heritage values, appropriate management principles through a specific interdisciplinary approach should be applied. When industrial sites are considered, sustainability could be defined regarding social and cultural sustainability, sustainable development, and financial sustainability of the complex in transformation. The present study will examine the current situation of Seka Heritage Site within the frame of cultural heritage management. The results of measurement of effectiveness will be represented to identify the managed use and issues requiring attention. Since the opening of the museum and science center, the appropriate use and presentation of the place and community involvement will be investigated. The visitor profile will be constructed, and exhibitions will also be evaluated according to this profile. As an outcome, a management approach based that would set a model for other industrial heritage sites with similar re-use will be proposed.

World Heritage properties stand out as cultural manifestations and constitute, today, a nodal component of cultural tourism. With the premise that cultural heritage supports the recomposition of cultural identities, in a sense of “culture of permanence”, it is also considered necessary to achieve the conservation and preservation of cultural assets and to add economic and social value to them. Considering the case study methodologically, our study focuses on Bom Jesus do Monte (Braga) and its cultural landscape that was recently inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. While being a destination for both cultural and religious tourism, we propose to reflect on its forms of planning and management and to investigate how it has provided the preservation of the heritage and guaranteed that the development of this same tourism does not compromise sustainable/responsible long-term development of the site. At the same time, the protection, conservation, interpretation, reception and presentation of the heritage and cultural diversity of the site make a significant contribution to the development of the region. A tourist destination which is a World Heritage Site, apart from the “asset” itself, involves a whole territorial environment where the tourist experience is developed. Hence, our study investigates the influence of the site on a local and regional scale, and the variables related to land-use planning (at the municipal level), including infrastructures and equipment, but also in the host community, along with the prevailing economic activities. These are essential conditions that are considered in our analysis, which proposes to cover the “functional transformations” of those components and their contribution to the development of the cultural and religious tourism destination.

In recent years, the rise of environmentalism and the need for sustainability have been hugely discussed across all business areas. It is even more pronounced in the tourism sector, because of the strong competition among tourist destinations. Therefore, it is inevitable for tourist destinations to find the niche and focus more on sustainability. This can be seen in rural tourism, which respects sustainable development principles as well as the needs and requirements of the given rural area. Thus, the paper deals with the topic of loyalty in wine tourism as a sustainable development driver in rural areas of the Czech Republic. Based on data obtained, seventeen loyalty factors were evaluated. Using different statistical methods, the differences in perception of the loyalty factors based on gender, income and wine subregion were determined. Overall, women ranked the factors slightly higher, with the highest ranking of natural attractions and quality of wine. Furthermore, four loyalty factors influence the intention to revisit a certain Czech wine subregion and three loyalty factors have an impact on the recommending intention of the wine subregion to friends and family. Therefore, it is inevitable to focus, among other factors, on wine culture, natural attractions and traditions, as well as the quality of wine, as they have a substantial impact on the visitors’ loyalty. The research results in a thorough understanding of the wine subregions’ loyalty, which is not only essential for service providers but also helpful for growing sustainability levels of the wine subregions in the Czech Republic.

This article aims to deepen the study of place attachment as a multidimensional construct in tourist destinations with specific characteristics—protected areas. This study also sought to test a model to analyse the implications of place attachment (multidimensional construct, also considered a second-order factor) in relation to tourist satisfaction, pro-environmental behaviours and intentions to revisit and recommend a tourist destination. Methodologically, a confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were used to test the research model and attest six hypotheses. The sample consisted of 507 visitors who stayed the Peneda-Gerês National Park, Portugal. Results demonstrated acceptable fit on SEM. Positive significant associations were found for (a) the impact of place attachment on tourists’ intentions to revisit and recommend a tourist destination, (b) the impact of place attachment on tourists’ pro-environmental behaviours, (c) and the impact of place attachment on tourist satisfaction. A positive significant association was also found for (d) the influence of tourists satisfaction on their intentions to revisit and recommend a tourist destination. Finally, (e) no association was found between the impact of tourists satisfaction and their pro-environmental behaviours.

Tourism is one of the sectors currently contributing the most to Portugal’s national economy. In 2017, the World Travel Awards elected Portugal as the World’s Leading Destination, and in 2019 Lisbon was awarded the Europe’s Leading City Tourist Board prize. According to the World Tourism Organization, more than 12 million tourists visited Portugal in 2018. Visitors’ dispersal has borne an effect on Lisbon’s historical neighbourhoods, but so far there is no way to measure how this affects community life, particularly regarding the use and occupation of the public space. This study aims to contribute to assessing public space occupation as based on image-processing techniques. For this purpose, a methodology has been developed for selecting the best location possible for installing cameras for the collection of images (based on GIS analysis and Space Syntax theory), and a software tool (TouriBeat Tool) to classify images according to public space occupation criteria. To carry out this research, the heart of the historical district, Alfama (Lisbon), was chosen as a case study, tourist and residential routes were identified in official guide maps, and person-to-person surveys were registered, analysed and mapped through GIS software. The listed routes were cross-checked with a syntactic analysis of the district’s urban network, enabling the identification of the most crowded and worrisome urban sockets as well as discussion of the best locations for measuring occupation rates. A strategic urban axis was selected for the installation of two cameras for image capturing (at 1 s acquisition rate). The images are automatically sent to a computer server for analysis by the software tool. A data set of the space percentage occupied by pedestrians is generated. The results delivered are visualised in a WEBSIG environment. The methodology proposed proved adequate to assess public space occupation: the use of low-cost equipment for data acquisition; fast and simple image processing techniques to classify images; and a user-friendly environment to display and analyse the results. Challenges arising from the presence of semi-permanent objects on the streets, as well as the solar angle conditions, have been addressed in the research.

As the only official graveyard authorized by the United Nations (UN), the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Korea (UNMCK) has been promoting peace, freedom, and humanity among visitors worldwide. The main objectives of this research are to explore how the linkage of peace education and cultural sustainable tourism at heritage sites can achieve a virtuous cycle. This study investigates how various stakeholders disseminate the value of tourism by enhancing the public awareness of heritage. Specifically, this article focuses on two cases of educational programs implemented in the heritage of the Korean War (1950–1953)—UNMCK. First, it illustrates the annual lecture series given by a British veteran of the Korean War, a living witness of burying his colleagues at this cemetery. Second, the study demonstrates an on-site shuttle education activity aligned with tourism in the United Nations Peace Memorial Hall (UNPM) and the UNMCK. The research adopts qualitative methods of archival analysis, interviews, and fieldwork to demonstrate how visitors encounter heritage and create socio-cultural cohesion through education based on “storytelling” and multisensory learning. Furthermore, it proposes policy recommendations based on the “7M Approach,” that is, motivation, mobilization of materials, multi-vocal storytelling, multisensory learning, mutual resonance, making values through the co-creation of heritage, and meticulous management derived from case studies. This study attempts to lay the foundation for further analysis of the values of education and tourism in the UNMCK, as little research has been undertaken on this solitary UN cemetery worldwide. I envisage that this research would theoretically and practically contribute to the field of “edutourism,” demonstrating how educational programs related to war heritage sites can achieve sustainability in cultural tourism, thereby passing on heritage values to new generations.

Museums have long been trying to find ways to mediate their collections with their visitors. By using mobile digital technologies, museums can provide their visitors a more interactive access to the environment and their collections that, for conservation and security reasons, does not allow direct contact. This work aims to analyse which tools Portuguese museums provide to their visitors to help them in their visits, and which tools visitors to the Ducal Palace of Bragança would like to be made available to them. For this purpose, a survey by questionnaire was carried out in the museums of the Portuguese Museums Network (PMN), a presential survey to the visitors of the Ducal Palace of Bragança, and three mobile applications from three museums of the PMN were analysed. From the analysis of the data obtained, three proposals based on mobile digital technologies were developed, to implement portable and interactive solutions during the visit to the museum space of the Ducal Palace of Bragança, thus satisfying the diverse needs of visitors through QR Codes, a Native Mobile Application, and an Augmented Reality Application.

The main objective of this study was to examine how the governance of destinations, with a special focus on a rural–urban coastal territory, can contribute to the development of tourism. The marks of territorial governance and its development strategies and decisions were sought, which led us to verify an intimate relationship with the principles of territorial cohesion arising from the objectives of the political planning process. It is concluded, that there is a crossing of the territorial approach with a multilevel governance, that is considered an optimal form of the organizational “process” and “coordination mode” of actors who should be able to increase the endogenous “territorial capital”. The example of the type of multilevel governance for the Portuguese case must be substantiated in municipalism. We can even point to a paradigm shift in public governance models that goes beyond the intergovernmental relationship. Thus, at the theoretical level, the various forms and contexts of public sector involvement in tourism and their relationship with new governance concepts are studied. This renewed sense of government in participating in the tourism sector is intertwined with the way in which they relate to the players that integrate the tourism industry and society.

Local food is an essential component of the appeal of a destination for those who wish to experience culinary traditions and gain deep and authentic sense of a place. Within this context, the “BRENDA: Digital Tours” research project features the development of an urban game that focuses on the gastronomic and historical exploration of the Prefecture of Kilkis in Greece. It consists of a gaming environment that supports transmedia storytelling implemented via a fully-featured scenario that enables both virtual and actual exploration, augmented reality gaming, learning of local culture, recipes, and actual food tasting in connection with real-life businesses. This serious game is designed in an adaptive and expandable manner enabling scalable deployment while the end-user is presented with both a desktop-based and portable gaming experience. Each point of interest featured consists of multimedia content and linked gaming components including quizzes and augmented-reality missions. Their completion earns players virtual coins that can be used to purchase cooking ingredients which can be used to unlock and reveal local recipes, while they advance in the classes of the game. Completion of a recipe reveals the full recipe while it offers players the choice to visit a partnered local business and taste the recipe in situ, obtaining extra gaming points.

Having a database is an essential aspect of heritage management. It guides managers in making important decisions. Also, the lack of sufficient information on tourist locations discourages intending tourists from visiting tourist sites. Being among the world’s largest industries, tourism contributes a lot to many nations’ GDP. Geographic Information Technology (GIT) has to do with the use of computer-based tools to capture, store, transform, and display information related to the surface of the earth. This technology was applied in the creation of a GIS database of heritage resources in Plateau State, Nigeria. This was achieved by acquiring on-ground coordinates of some heritage sites using modern GPS equipment and, as well, acquired satellite imageries and other secondary GIS data such as DEMs and TIN. The GIS database was created using ArcGIS Geodatabase, which provided a well-structured descriptive and analytical tool of the spatial distribution of tourist locations and tourist facilities such as accommodation, nearby restaurants, shopping centres, relaxation spots, and banking facilities. The expected effect is increased patronage, and the overall advantage of heritage tourism is increased revenue and, at the same time, preservation of heritage for the future generation.

The paper identifies challenges encountered by the Mapungubwe descendants’ community regarding the restoration of their traditional values and customs in Mapungubwe World Cultural Heritage Site (MWCHS), specifically on the Mapungubwe Hill. The Mapungubwe Hill is a reburial site where ancestors of the descendants are laid to rest. MWCHS is a well-known tourist attraction and the Mapungubwe Hill is one of the main attractions. The research was conducted in MWCHS and Venda area in Limpopo Province. A qualitative research method was adopted for this study. Both purposive and convenience sampling methods were adopted to select the 14 participants of the study. To analyse the data both the content and narrative analysis were adopted. Findings indicated that the main challenge encountered by the descendants was disregard for the cultural values held, that their ancestors are not granted the respect that they deserve due to lack of adhering to their traditional practices/customs when descending the hill. The recommendation also indicates that constructing a cultural village in the park may assist in sustainable preservation of the cultural heritage of the descendants and enhance authenticity of the heritage presented by the park to tourists, further presenting sustainable socio-economic opportunities for the communities/descendants. The study suggests management to establish communication channels that can be utilised to consult and engage with the descendants geared to involve them in all stages of decision-making, especially when it comes to cultural heritage products/services matters including traditional practice matters. In conclusion, the descendants’ expertise may play a vital role towards ensuring sustainable cultural heritage preservation and also present possible solution that could address some of the burning challenges faced by the descendants not directly covered by this study.

Tourist taxes in tourism destinations are increasingly common. In addition to supporting and subsidizing tourism infrastructures, some destinations direct taxpayers' (tourists) money towards environmental programmes, the sustainability of the region or the maintenance of cultural sites. The municipality of Oporto implemented the ‘tourist tax’ in March 2018. Without contesting the rationality of the justifications for implementing the measure or its timing, the objective of this study was, first of all, to understand the importance of the tax for the local municipality treasury and, secondly, to understand how the measure was perceived by the tourists who visited the city. To this end, we created a survey on the Google Drive platform, in English language. The survey was carried out in the city of Oporto between 20 May and 30 July 2019; 135 replies were validated. Preliminary research allowed to conclude that this was the first study of its kind regarding the city of Oporto. Moreover, our study was the first one to question the tourists about this subject in Oporto.

The aim of this paper is to promote a territory of high cultural value, Salzedas/S. João de Tarouca, based on the historical heritage of a monastic community and its role for wine and agricultural production and cultural tourism. Similar to what already exists for the neighboring Douro Region, it is proposed that the study area can be classified as a UNESCO world heritage site. The paper discusses the conditions that make Salzedas/S. João de Tarouca suitable for a similar classification and the creation of synergies with Douro Region. The elements that make it possible to suggest such a distinction include religious architecture with tourist interest illustrating the role of the Cistercian community in local and regional agricultural know-how; Ucanha wine-growing village, bearing witness to a wine-growing tradition; distinctive elements of civil architecture; a fortified tower and bridge, unique in the Iberian Peninsula. The added value of the paper’s empirical research is in promoting the local cultural characteristics for tourism development based on bibliographic research and local stakeholder’s interviews questionnaire.

Water troughs of Karachi were considered beautiful pieces of architecture during early nineteenth century. Most of them have been constructed of Gizri stone (a famous construction material not used now) and followed variety of European construction style that was very popular in Karachi, during the annexation. These were considered the unique urban element of their time which facilitated the poor and laborious workers of Karachi. Karachi’s water trough has lost their identity and utility, due to the usage of electrical pumps, usage of mechanized cars and minimum usage of animal-driven carts. At present, most of the troughs have already demolished and are continued to disappear due to the unavailability of documented or archival records. Traditional/empirical method such as simple hand/tape measurement has now becomes an obsolete technique in documentation practice and it should be rejected at local level. The aim of this research is to introduce the systematic documentation practices; involving total station for the measurement of these historic drinking water troughs at local level. In addition, documentation is often the last means of preservation of a property, when a property is to be demolished, its documentation provides future researchers access to valuable information that otherwise would be lost. This research becomes the basis for formulating standards or guidelines about the recognized documentation practices, which will be followed in future documentation exercises. This research can also help in formulating future line of action for developing a concrete conservation and heritage protection program for the historic drinking water troughs of Karachi.

Re-enactment events are widely recognized to play an important role in individual, regional, or even national attractions, raising a community’s cultural heritage identity and boosting local tourism development. The aim of this paper is to share the importance of experiences based on Historical Reconstruction and Recreation and analyze the consequences of cancellation of this type of events. The paper consists of six blocks to present a literature review, definitions of event tourism, medieval tourism events and analyses of the effects of cancellation of historical re-enactments and events in Portugal and in the world. We have selected the most important medieval re-enactment that takes place in Santa Maria da Feira, widely recognized by attendees and visitors, as well as by locals as the most significant of its kind in Portugal. The data is organized in the results of the survey conducted between June and September 2020, on the perceptions of residents, participants, and visitors to understand the various impacts of the cancellation of Historic Re-enactments in Portugal. Data analysis points out an unequal potential of these events. Conclusions seek to make suggestions for post-COVID-19 tourism recovery and define some future paths.

As the market share for cultural tourism increases, studies indicate that tourists chose destinations based on its cultural traditions and history. East African Community is one of the leading tourism destinations in Africa, but its absolute reliance on beach and wildlife safari products has threatened to stagnate growth of tourism in the region. Despite East African Community having unique diverse cultures, for example, the Maasai in both Kenya and Tanzania, the rich culture of the Baganda kingdom in Uganda, and the captivating dances of the Banyarwanda in Rwanda, cultural tourism in East African Community has not received significant attention in terms of policy, packaging, and marketing. The underutilization of cultural tourism has resulted to most cultural practices now abandoned due to lack of incentives to preserve and show case. In communities where cultural tourists have attempted to visit like the Maasai culture, there are no proper policies to protect them from the negative influences of tourism such as commodification and demonstration effect. This study explores the prospects of developing cultural tourism within East African Community by looking at the strengths of cultures in the region, threats to cultural tourism, strategies for packaging them as cultural tourism products, and adequate policies to ensure sustainability. The scope of this paper was limited to selected cultures in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda.

This paper, taking the folk houses in the Guanzhong (central plain) area in Shaanxi Province, China, as the research site, has made a contrastive investigation in Dangjia Village in Hancheng City and the Guanzhong Folk Museum, making assessment surveys of the impact of climate, culture and other factors on residential architecture in this region, and making a summative research and conclusion of the courtyard layout, architectural materials, utilization of building storage space, and architectural sculpture. Through these two case studies in the selected area cooperated with some of the previous research about the local history, climate, geography, culture, custom, village, etc., this study finds out that: (1) The local dwellers, in order to adapt to a climate that is dry and less rainy, with shortage of farming land, large scale of population migration and unique local loess material, have developed the peculiar local residential quadrangle pattern, which has a small frontal width but spatial depth, built with a combination of rammed earth and wood; (2) To save the budget and constructive time, local architectural materials are made from loess earth and bricks, which are the most common sources and resources in this area, and the stability of the structure has been assured; in the meanwhile, the indoor temperature has been kept proper so as to live whenever in summer or winter; (3) To possess good qualities of living in such climate and small area of residential quadrangle, the local residents utilize their architectural spaces on the first floor, which is suitable for storing grain and air-dry meat in dry and cool environment, as a storage space; (4) In addition, in order to have a peaceful life in continuing chaos caused by war since the fifteenth century (the Ming Dynasty), the dwellers have created special brick, wood and stone carvings in their houses to express their special connotations. All the characteristics of the traditional dwellings in the Guanzhong area are unique compared with others out of China. Therefore, this superficial study of the residence in the Guanzhong area is helpful to fill the gap and deepen the understanding of ancient folk houses in China, bringing theoretical reference for the future conservation and development of research and design for local architectural creation.

The cultural vitality has an increasingly important role in urban development and revitalization strategies because it improves the community image and enhances the quality of life, providing opportunities for sustainable tourism development. Using data provided by The National Institute for Research and Training and methodology established by The Urban Institute of Washington (2006), our paper aims to analyze the relationship between cultural vitality and urban tourism development and to identify the cities with favorable conditions for successful cultural and tourist activities. We analyzed 41 Romanian cities (residences of counties) situated at 30 years distance from the major political-economic events that followed the communist regime fall in Central and Eastern Europe, being, thus, in a defining identity process (including from cultural and tourist perspective). On the one hand, we used five categories of indicators that helped us to obtain a cultural vitality index (cultural infrastructure, cultural participation, specialized human resources, creative industries, budgetary expenditure for culture), and on the other hand, we used tourism activity indicators and other economic, socio-demographic and accessibility indicators. Data were processed using multivariate statistics in order to highlight certain typologies of the analyzed cities and, more important, if the cultural cities are also attractive tourist destinations. The results indicated cities with intense economic dynamics that are growth poles of creative economy and top tourist destinations. We were surprised by smaller cities where cultural vitality exceeds economic development dynamic, fact reflected by high values of tourist flows. Some of the cities suffer for decades from the lack of interest towards creative economy (unattractive for the entrepreneurs), culture and tourism being secondary chapters of urban development strategies. Conclusions revealed strong correlations between cultural vitality index and urban tourism development and some permanent disparities between cities due to unequal adaptation to new economic, social and community context.

The activity of health and wellness tourism in Portugal is heir of a long experience coming from the thermal spa resorts, today resized and associated with the affirmation of a competitive offer that presents itself as one of the strategic products of Portuguese tourism. Generically located in minor developed inland regions, thermal spas are an important element of local development and, in many cases, represent an anchor product for the promotion of other means of business that are complementary to the thermal spa offer. Furthermore, this complementarity between classic thermalism, wellness and other innovative products is the new challenge for thermal spa managers. In this sense, the present study will intersperse a holistic view of the strategic product “health and wellness tourism” with the example of the case study—thermal spas in Portugal—this is with the aim of listing new proposals of strategic management models for tourism destinations, in order to identify the contribution of tourism to local development. Considering an exploratory phase of consolidation of concepts related to the object of study, the presentation of the ‘state of the art’ and the consolidation of the theoretical framework, this study presents a broad empirical investigation that is supported with some fundamental data collection tools, such as surveys, interviews, direct observation, all complementing the collection of pre-existing data. Concerned with the best practices for thermal spas, a benchmarking study at an international (European) and national (Portuguese) level is presented at the outset, to be followed by a survey to the thermal spa managers of Portugal. With this analysis, it is proposed the definition of a sustainable development strategy for thermal resorts in articulation with their territorial environment and that promotes local development.

To start with, we identify the historical and sociological framework of the Alcobaça area, which has Cister in its epicentre. The ordering of the landscape, structuring of the settlement, productive landscape and religious and agro-industrial architecture are essential landmarks in the centuries—old Cistercian legacy, links that modern times have weakened but can be re-appropriated and naturalised to generate new social dynamics. Without forgetting those determinant historical cornerstones and the opportunities they create, this paper aims at focusing its analysis on the economic and cultural events seen in the agro-landscape of Alcobaça in the transition to the so-called “new rurality” phenomenon, which took place in the Portuguese rural world at the turn of the twenty-first century. It discusses the impact of the shift on the concept of “countryside” as an area of restricted production to one of “countryside” as a common symbolic space. An analysis is made of this shift, characterised by a “convening role” where goods and services establish a framework of reference for the area by stimulating new economic expressions, with tourist activity holding a prominent position. Inextricably linked to this process is the growth of an “aesthetics of the landscape”. Its mechanisms are founded in highly diverse historical and cultural facets: from the most traditional, such as subsistence farming, cuisine and wine tourism, historic, religious and ethnographic routes and symbolic events (celebrations and pilgrimages), to renewed forms, such as new themed celebrations (constructions that exemplify the place), extreme sports or participatory/activist ecology. It is also intended to evaluate the re-appropriation of natural and cultural heritage as a device for promoting a sustainable development model for a region under the effects of a shift caused by “new rurality”. In this context, the potentials and dynamics of this model are described, the pillars of which are based on preservation of heritage and cultural tourism.

Depopulation of small cities—mainly because of single sector economy and lack of attractiveness, vibrancy and joy—is an important issue we have to deal with. To deal with this and similar challenges, it is a need for an urbanism that uses the law of nature, advanced technologies, and self-organizing adaptive systems. Furthermore; while the earth is facing essential problems deriving from carbon emissions, lack of fresh water, pollution from agriculture etc., the ecological performance of cities is gaining attention as a critical issue. In these terms, the transition towards self-sustaining urbanity may help cities become more environmentally and human-friendly, as well as more attractive and better places to live in and worth to visits. Creating self-sufficient city models based on self-organizing adaptive systems and on inhabitants’ activities could be a response. These models would be society-based, complexity-led and landscape-driven. This paper, beside of aiming to elaborate the urban self-sufficiency concept by a multi-disciplinary perspective, also aims to explore and use the excising potentials of Bozcaada, which weren’t used till now particularly because of its tourism-oriented economy policies. With a total population of 3,000 inhabitants in 2019, and with a territory of 40 km², Bozcaada Island is an extraordinary case study due to its low population and density, tourism-oriented economy and its external and internal geographical barriers (climate and hydrology). The paper aims to seek ways of transforming Bozcaada to a human and environmental friendly place with a multi-sectorial economy where people use to live in and visit it during the whole year. In these terms, evidence will be provided regarding to how the environmental concerns can become organizing principles in new urban strategies for achieving a sustainable development. It will elaborate the smart tourism as a potential tool for achieving a sustainable tourism development and protection of cultural heritage.