- Email: [email protected]
Cultural tourism
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Book Reviews / Annals of Tourism Research 57 (2016) 285–297
have made the book much more beneficial in advancing this field of study. It would have also been worthwhile to direct attention to investigating the link between VFR and current tourism-related expressions of the ‘‘social economy”, such as the emergence of Airbnb and Lyft. More fundamentally, in order to make a substantial contribution to the existing body of knowledge, VFR travel research desperately requires significant theoretical development. Original conceptual thought, which is generally absent from most VFR publications, including the current book, is necessary to establish VFR travel as a respected area of academic interest. This paucity of conceptual underpinnings and the marginality of theoretical thought are likely to be serious obstacles in achieving genuine progress in VFR travel research. Conceptual research (Xin, Tribe, & Chambers, 2013) in the field of VFR travel can also be beneficial in suggesting new approaches and adding creativity and innovation to the interpretation of the VFR phenomenon, moving beyond replication studies and the narrow marketing perspective with which it is characterized in the tourism literature. In the concluding chapter, the editors share their hope that ‘‘the appearance of a dedicated book will allow VFR travel to gain greater respect” (p. 216), yet a growing number of publications is not sufficient to achieve that aim. Future VFR travel studies should clearly answer the question of ‘‘what’s new” in terms of both theory and practical implications, because mere application or replication studies do not contribute to the scientific process. This is a crucial lesson not just for VFR travel research, but for tourism scholarship at large in order to strengthen its scientific rigor and academic standing. References Larsen, J., Urry, J., & Axhausen, K. W. (2007). Networks and tourism: mobile social life. Annals of Tourism Research, 34(1), 244–262. Shani, A., & Uriely, N. (2012). VFR tourism: The host experience. Annals of Tourism Research, 39(1), 421–440. Uriely, N. (2010). ‘‘Home” and ‘‘away” in VFR tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 37(3), 857–860. White, N., & White, P. (2007). Home and away: Tourists in a connected world. Annals of Tourism Research, 34(1), 88–104. Xin, S., Tribe, J., & Chambers, D. (2013). Conceptual research in tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 41, 66–88.
Amir Shani Department of Hotel and Tourism Management, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Eilat Campus, Beer-Sheva 8410501, Israel Tel.: +972 8 6304561; fax: +972 8 6472920. E-mail address: [email protected] Assigned 17 June 2015. Submitted 26 August 2015. Accepted 1 September 2015. Available online 22 December 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2015.12.011
Cultural tourism By Hilary du Cros and Bob McKercher. Routledge (www.routledge.com), 2015, xix + 269 (figures, photos, tables, bibliography, index), Price Pbk $73.95. ISBN: 978-0-415-833967-4. Cultural tourism has been a popular book on the subject since it was published in 2002. Just off the press, the second version is even more informative and insightful than the first one. This new edition, as they stated, adds ‘‘new sections on the creative arts, tangible, and intangible cultural heritage, and World Heritage sites” that are the key components of culture tourism (p. xvii). The authors cover a wide spectrum of cultural assets and tourism attractions and explore how they can be integrated into sustainable development.
Book Reviews / Annals of Tourism Research 57 (2016) 285–297
287
This book is divided into five parts. Part A is mainly an introductory that sets up a stage to show what cultural tourism look like and some major issues, challenges, benefits, risks, and costs associated with this type of tourism. To provide readers with a concise and thorough definition of culture tourism is a challenging task. Differentiating from this form of tourism from others, DuCros and McKercher adopt a product marketing approach to describe culture tourism as ‘‘a form of tourism that relies on a destination’s cultural heritage assets and transforms them into products that can be consumed by tourists” (p. 6). In doing so, they position the term into the product and marketing management domain. Chapter 3 is particularly interesting as it looks into how communities can benefit from culture tourism development and how culture tourism development can improve people’s quality of life. The authors observe that cultural tourism development contributes to overall quality of life at the four levels of community: neighborhood, local, national, and international. In Part B, the authors provide an overview of cultural assets, dividing them into two categories: tangible and intangible assets. What makes this book different from the others in discussing cultural assets is that the authors add a section introducing the World Heritage Convention, World Heritage Committee, explaining what the World Heritage Sites (WHSs) nomination and inscription process looks like. This section not only provides the readers with important examples of cultural assets but also helps them to acquire the knowledge of WHSs. Part C centers on tourism, the tourist, and stakeholders. The authors probe the nature of tourism and attempt to help readers understand how tourism works to satisfy a variety of tourist needs. Consumers increasingly seek enjoyable and memorable experiences (Darmer & Sundbo, 2008) and culture tourism is no exception. Indeed, this thought is supported by a recent experiential study of historical and museum site that identified five experience dimensions for historical and museum site visitors, namely, entertainment, culture identity-seeking, education, relationship development, and escapism (Lee & Smith, 2015). Du Cros and McKercher stress the necessity of providing ‘‘edutainment” experiences as product offerings to cultural tourists to enhance market appeal. ‘‘Edutainment” is defined as ‘‘the joining together of educational and cultural activities with the commerce and technology of the entertainment world” (Hannigan, 1998, p. 98). Since this concept arose, it has not only challenged the traditional way of viewing educational experiences but also presented new ways to consume products and services. In Chapter 8, the authors re-examine their widely accepted cultural tourist typology: the matrix of centrality of motive and depth of experience, which exhibits the five types of cultural tourists: purposeful, sightseeing, serendipitous, casual, and incidental cultural tourist. Chapter 9 starts with a general introduction to the tourist attraction system, which is composed of a tourist, a nucleus or attraction, and a marker, and continues with describing the advantages of using marker, and concludes by discussing the importance to have information gatekeepers. While the first three parts will be of special interest to academic researchers, Parts D and E are more suitable for cultural tourism industry practitioners, with their focus on product and market operationalization. After the authors review issues needing to be considered when evaluating product potential, they present a well-crafted audit assessment tool. They call this a Market Appeal/Robusticity Matrix, ‘‘a proven assessment tool that can be applied in a proactive manner to assess potential and identify management options prior to tourismification or, reactively, to evaluate existing tourism products to identify issues that need resolution” (p. 181). Memorable experiences (Pine & Gilmore, 1998) and peak experience (Maslow, 1968) have been investigated by scholars for more than decades. Chapters 13 and 15 concentrate on how to create memorable and peak experiences for cultural tourists. A number of tactics are presented such as building a story around the asset; focusing on quality; making it relevant to the tourist; showing a direct link from the past to the present; making it fun, light, and entertaining. This version will keep remaining popular with cultural tourism industry practitioners and researchers as it offers excellent insights into this sector based on the authors’ extensive research backgrounds and industry experience. A number of photos taken at various tourism spots across the world are used as illustrations on the creation of fun and memorable experiences for the readers. No drawbacks has been found in this book except for the omission of ‘‘experience” in the authors’ definition of cultural tourism. Experience creation is a critical element in the context of cultural tourism and it occupies nearly an entire chapter of this book.
288
Book Reviews / Annals of Tourism Research 57 (2016) 285–297
References Darmer, P., & Sundbo, J. (2008). Introduction to experience creation. In J. Sundbo & P. Darmer (Eds.), Creating experiences in the experience economy (pp. 1–12). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Hannigan, J. (1998). Fantasy city: Pleasure and profit in the post-modern metropolis. London: Routledge. Lee, H., & Smith, S. (2015). A visitor experience scale: Historic sites and museums. Journal of China Tourism Research, 11, 255–277. Maslow, A. (1968). Toward a psychology of being (2nd ed.). Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand. Pine, J., & Gilmore, J. (1998). Welcome to the experience economy. Harvard Business Review, 76(4), 97–105.
Hoffer Lee Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau SAR, China Tel.: +853 8897 2161; fax: +853 2882 5990. E-mail address: [email protected] Assigned 15 June 2015. Submitted 1 October 2015. Accepted 5 October 2015. Available online 31 December 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2015.12.010
Foodies & Food Tourism Getz, D., Robinson, R., Andersson, T., and Vujicic, S. Goodfellow Publishers Limited. (goodfellowpublishers.com) 2014, viii + 239 pages (figures, tables, references, appendix, index), Price Hb. £65.00 ISBN: 978-1-908999-9-3. With the growing interest in food tourism in its various forms, be it gastronomic tourism, culinary tourism, agricultural tourism, or other types, this volume is a welcome addition to the body of literature in this area. Foodies & Food Tourism is a text assembled by four experts in the field (Getz, Robinson, Andersson, and Vujicic). The book is written in a readable style and is logically organized into nine chapters, complimented by an appendix, reference list, and index. While parts of the book are based on the research and experience of the authors, additional information is provided through case studies contributed by leading food and or culinary tourism academics and by research notes derived from the academic literature as well as from industry reports. Chapters provide both evidence and theory related to food tourism and foodies followed by clear study questions and a brief list of essential readings. Each chapter is laid out clearly, including learning objectives and a summary at the end. Detailed case studies from other contributors provide added depth. Study questions could be used for self-study, in-class discussion and workshops, examination questions, or review. The reference list is comprehensive and it is useful that a few additional readings are noted at the end of each chapter. This layering of information derived from original research, case studies, academic research, industry insights, and reports provides a good overview of the topic that is reviewed in the following paragraphs. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the book and discusses terminology, including food tourism, foodie lifestyles, gastronomy, and cuisine, sub-categories of food tourism, terroir, and beverages and tourism. This latter section briefly reviewing previous research in the areas of wine tourism, beer tourism, coffee tourism, tea tourism, and whiskey tourism is an important characteristic of the book being of value to foundational courses in culinary tourism and to those undertaking further study on food and tourism. Chapter 2 provides perspectives on foodies and their relationship to food tourism. This provides a valuable foundation for Chapter 3 that profiles foodies and Chapter 4 that delves further into their
Book Reviews / Annals of Tourism Research 57 (2016) 285–297
have made the book much more beneficial in advancing this field of study. It would have also been worthwhile to direct attention to investigating the link between VFR and current tourism-related expressions of the ‘‘social economy”, such as the emergence of Airbnb and Lyft. More fundamentally, in order to make a substantial contribution to the existing body of knowledge, VFR travel research desperately requires significant theoretical development. Original conceptual thought, which is generally absent from most VFR publications, including the current book, is necessary to establish VFR travel as a respected area of academic interest. This paucity of conceptual underpinnings and the marginality of theoretical thought are likely to be serious obstacles in achieving genuine progress in VFR travel research. Conceptual research (Xin, Tribe, & Chambers, 2013) in the field of VFR travel can also be beneficial in suggesting new approaches and adding creativity and innovation to the interpretation of the VFR phenomenon, moving beyond replication studies and the narrow marketing perspective with which it is characterized in the tourism literature. In the concluding chapter, the editors share their hope that ‘‘the appearance of a dedicated book will allow VFR travel to gain greater respect” (p. 216), yet a growing number of publications is not sufficient to achieve that aim. Future VFR travel studies should clearly answer the question of ‘‘what’s new” in terms of both theory and practical implications, because mere application or replication studies do not contribute to the scientific process. This is a crucial lesson not just for VFR travel research, but for tourism scholarship at large in order to strengthen its scientific rigor and academic standing. References Larsen, J., Urry, J., & Axhausen, K. W. (2007). Networks and tourism: mobile social life. Annals of Tourism Research, 34(1), 244–262. Shani, A., & Uriely, N. (2012). VFR tourism: The host experience. Annals of Tourism Research, 39(1), 421–440. Uriely, N. (2010). ‘‘Home” and ‘‘away” in VFR tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 37(3), 857–860. White, N., & White, P. (2007). Home and away: Tourists in a connected world. Annals of Tourism Research, 34(1), 88–104. Xin, S., Tribe, J., & Chambers, D. (2013). Conceptual research in tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 41, 66–88.
Amir Shani Department of Hotel and Tourism Management, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Eilat Campus, Beer-Sheva 8410501, Israel Tel.: +972 8 6304561; fax: +972 8 6472920. E-mail address: [email protected] Assigned 17 June 2015. Submitted 26 August 2015. Accepted 1 September 2015. Available online 22 December 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2015.12.011
Cultural tourism By Hilary du Cros and Bob McKercher. Routledge (www.routledge.com), 2015, xix + 269 (figures, photos, tables, bibliography, index), Price Pbk $73.95. ISBN: 978-0-415-833967-4. Cultural tourism has been a popular book on the subject since it was published in 2002. Just off the press, the second version is even more informative and insightful than the first one. This new edition, as they stated, adds ‘‘new sections on the creative arts, tangible, and intangible cultural heritage, and World Heritage sites” that are the key components of culture tourism (p. xvii). The authors cover a wide spectrum of cultural assets and tourism attractions and explore how they can be integrated into sustainable development.
Book Reviews / Annals of Tourism Research 57 (2016) 285–297
287
This book is divided into five parts. Part A is mainly an introductory that sets up a stage to show what cultural tourism look like and some major issues, challenges, benefits, risks, and costs associated with this type of tourism. To provide readers with a concise and thorough definition of culture tourism is a challenging task. Differentiating from this form of tourism from others, DuCros and McKercher adopt a product marketing approach to describe culture tourism as ‘‘a form of tourism that relies on a destination’s cultural heritage assets and transforms them into products that can be consumed by tourists” (p. 6). In doing so, they position the term into the product and marketing management domain. Chapter 3 is particularly interesting as it looks into how communities can benefit from culture tourism development and how culture tourism development can improve people’s quality of life. The authors observe that cultural tourism development contributes to overall quality of life at the four levels of community: neighborhood, local, national, and international. In Part B, the authors provide an overview of cultural assets, dividing them into two categories: tangible and intangible assets. What makes this book different from the others in discussing cultural assets is that the authors add a section introducing the World Heritage Convention, World Heritage Committee, explaining what the World Heritage Sites (WHSs) nomination and inscription process looks like. This section not only provides the readers with important examples of cultural assets but also helps them to acquire the knowledge of WHSs. Part C centers on tourism, the tourist, and stakeholders. The authors probe the nature of tourism and attempt to help readers understand how tourism works to satisfy a variety of tourist needs. Consumers increasingly seek enjoyable and memorable experiences (Darmer & Sundbo, 2008) and culture tourism is no exception. Indeed, this thought is supported by a recent experiential study of historical and museum site that identified five experience dimensions for historical and museum site visitors, namely, entertainment, culture identity-seeking, education, relationship development, and escapism (Lee & Smith, 2015). Du Cros and McKercher stress the necessity of providing ‘‘edutainment” experiences as product offerings to cultural tourists to enhance market appeal. ‘‘Edutainment” is defined as ‘‘the joining together of educational and cultural activities with the commerce and technology of the entertainment world” (Hannigan, 1998, p. 98). Since this concept arose, it has not only challenged the traditional way of viewing educational experiences but also presented new ways to consume products and services. In Chapter 8, the authors re-examine their widely accepted cultural tourist typology: the matrix of centrality of motive and depth of experience, which exhibits the five types of cultural tourists: purposeful, sightseeing, serendipitous, casual, and incidental cultural tourist. Chapter 9 starts with a general introduction to the tourist attraction system, which is composed of a tourist, a nucleus or attraction, and a marker, and continues with describing the advantages of using marker, and concludes by discussing the importance to have information gatekeepers. While the first three parts will be of special interest to academic researchers, Parts D and E are more suitable for cultural tourism industry practitioners, with their focus on product and market operationalization. After the authors review issues needing to be considered when evaluating product potential, they present a well-crafted audit assessment tool. They call this a Market Appeal/Robusticity Matrix, ‘‘a proven assessment tool that can be applied in a proactive manner to assess potential and identify management options prior to tourismification or, reactively, to evaluate existing tourism products to identify issues that need resolution” (p. 181). Memorable experiences (Pine & Gilmore, 1998) and peak experience (Maslow, 1968) have been investigated by scholars for more than decades. Chapters 13 and 15 concentrate on how to create memorable and peak experiences for cultural tourists. A number of tactics are presented such as building a story around the asset; focusing on quality; making it relevant to the tourist; showing a direct link from the past to the present; making it fun, light, and entertaining. This version will keep remaining popular with cultural tourism industry practitioners and researchers as it offers excellent insights into this sector based on the authors’ extensive research backgrounds and industry experience. A number of photos taken at various tourism spots across the world are used as illustrations on the creation of fun and memorable experiences for the readers. No drawbacks has been found in this book except for the omission of ‘‘experience” in the authors’ definition of cultural tourism. Experience creation is a critical element in the context of cultural tourism and it occupies nearly an entire chapter of this book.
288
Book Reviews / Annals of Tourism Research 57 (2016) 285–297
References Darmer, P., & Sundbo, J. (2008). Introduction to experience creation. In J. Sundbo & P. Darmer (Eds.), Creating experiences in the experience economy (pp. 1–12). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Hannigan, J. (1998). Fantasy city: Pleasure and profit in the post-modern metropolis. London: Routledge. Lee, H., & Smith, S. (2015). A visitor experience scale: Historic sites and museums. Journal of China Tourism Research, 11, 255–277. Maslow, A. (1968). Toward a psychology of being (2nd ed.). Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand. Pine, J., & Gilmore, J. (1998). Welcome to the experience economy. Harvard Business Review, 76(4), 97–105.
Hoffer Lee Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau SAR, China Tel.: +853 8897 2161; fax: +853 2882 5990. E-mail address: [email protected] Assigned 15 June 2015. Submitted 1 October 2015. Accepted 5 October 2015. Available online 31 December 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2015.12.010
Foodies & Food Tourism Getz, D., Robinson, R., Andersson, T., and Vujicic, S. Goodfellow Publishers Limited. (goodfellowpublishers.com) 2014, viii + 239 pages (figures, tables, references, appendix, index), Price Hb. £65.00 ISBN: 978-1-908999-9-3. With the growing interest in food tourism in its various forms, be it gastronomic tourism, culinary tourism, agricultural tourism, or other types, this volume is a welcome addition to the body of literature in this area. Foodies & Food Tourism is a text assembled by four experts in the field (Getz, Robinson, Andersson, and Vujicic). The book is written in a readable style and is logically organized into nine chapters, complimented by an appendix, reference list, and index. While parts of the book are based on the research and experience of the authors, additional information is provided through case studies contributed by leading food and or culinary tourism academics and by research notes derived from the academic literature as well as from industry reports. Chapters provide both evidence and theory related to food tourism and foodies followed by clear study questions and a brief list of essential readings. Each chapter is laid out clearly, including learning objectives and a summary at the end. Detailed case studies from other contributors provide added depth. Study questions could be used for self-study, in-class discussion and workshops, examination questions, or review. The reference list is comprehensive and it is useful that a few additional readings are noted at the end of each chapter. This layering of information derived from original research, case studies, academic research, industry insights, and reports provides a good overview of the topic that is reviewed in the following paragraphs. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the book and discusses terminology, including food tourism, foodie lifestyles, gastronomy, and cuisine, sub-categories of food tourism, terroir, and beverages and tourism. This latter section briefly reviewing previous research in the areas of wine tourism, beer tourism, coffee tourism, tea tourism, and whiskey tourism is an important characteristic of the book being of value to foundational courses in culinary tourism and to those undertaking further study on food and tourism. Chapter 2 provides perspectives on foodies and their relationship to food tourism. This provides a valuable foundation for Chapter 3 that profiles foodies and Chapter 4 that delves further into their