- Email: [email protected]
Developing cultural tourism opportunities
954
RESEARCH NOTES AND REPORTS
Conference ReDorb
Developing
Cultural Tourism Opportunities Robyn Bushel1 of Western Sydney, Australia Jafar Jafari University of Wisconsin-Stout, USA
University
Tourism Partners ‘95, a two-day conference, was jointly sponsored by the University of Western Sydney and several other national and regional agencies. It brought together researchers and practitioners committed to the development of cultural tourism opportunities. Rather than viewing this as an entity by itself, the conference theme treated cultural tourism as a strategy for promoting authenticity in tourism production and as a thrust fostering positive sociocultural impacts of tourism. Day one, specifically designed to provide training sessions for cultural enterprises related to tourism, outlined appropriate philosophies and techniques of doing business in tourism. Copresented by Craft Australia, Arts West, Tourism NSW, and an industry conference organizer, the sessions were practical, focused, and interactive, allowing participants to share experience and gain insights into the tourism industry. The second day brought together planning, policy, and development personnel from local, state, and federal governments, and industry, as well as academic institutions and conservation and heritage organizations involved in tourism. Using the Commonwealth governments’ “Creative Nations” policy and Tourism NSW “Masterplan to Year 2000” as the framework, invited speakers discussed strategies for involving all stakeholders, including community, in deciding the future for cultural tourism and in formulating an informed vision for its planning and development. More specifically, the sessions explored pragmatic ways to implement national goals of sustainable development. Penelope Coombes (People for Places and Spaces, Australia) discussed the importance of establishing a sense of place and a sense of pride in community places. She stressed the need for spaces that are kept for community and those developed for tourism. Moreover, she argued the notion that “tourists like to go where locals go”, but then if tourists become a majority, locals become annoyed at the intrusion. As the subject unfolded, Ian Kennedy (Pacific Asia Travel Association) discussed “value-based tourism” and its application to the implementation of a regional ecotourism strategy in the coastal, Northern Rivers region. These presentations led to a discussion of four approaches to the use of “cultural mapping” techniques for the identification of cultural assets in a community. These assets are those most likely to be attractive to the development of a regional identity within the local tourism product. They are also the assets that need to be conserved, protected, and/or enhanced if tourism is to be socially, culturally, and environmentally sustainable. While recognizing that economic viability is equally important in the sustainability equation, the subject was not covered. The session featured several case studies. The Commonwealth Department Communications and Arts discussed the evaluation of cultural mapping in the Blue Mountains area of NSW and urban Victoria. These projects have resulted in the publication of a cultural mapping
955
RESEARCH NOTES AND REPORTS
handbook. Tourism NSW, together with the local government association are undertaking a cultural audit of Sydney. This collaboration is part of the state government desire to move toward integrated regional planning. Another case study, involving a regional organization of councils in SW Sydney in the Campbelltown area, commissioned jointly by the council and Creative Cultures (Ministry of Arts), was presented. The project involved local volunteer groups, such as historical and heritage societies, school children, local tourism industry, and local government. The cultural mapping involved visual emphasis action research, a technique designed to empower all community members, regardless of age, language, or other attributes which may normally limit input to consultative processes. Acting as the rapporteur, Jafar Jafari (University of Wisconsin-Stout, USA) gave a summary report of conference presentations and session discussions, emphasizing: that all tourism developments should be acceptable to and benefit its stakeholders; that the relationship between tourism and culture is not a newly formulated but a newly advocated one; that all cultural resources belong to the host community and their expectations should be central in any tourism equation; that the industry should concentrate on the total quality tourism experience; that tourism must become proactive, influencing trends instead of being led by the market forces; that the notion of “partnership” - the themes of this conference-should be regarded as the modus operandi of tourism; and that, in addition, other models of partnership in tourism be explored at future conferences. Individuals interested in obtaining information about this or future conferences should contact the address listed below. 0 0 Robyn Bushell: Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Western Sydney Hawkesbury, Richmond NSW 2753, Australia. Email [email protected].
Submitted 30 August 1995 Resubmitted 16 November 1995 Accepted 1 December 1995
Culture and International
Tourism Jack Carlsen
Southern Cross University,
Australia
Jafar Jafari
University of Wisconsin-Stout,
USA
The Indonesian-Swiss forum on Culture and International Tourism was held at Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 22-25 August 1995. The conference was sponsored by the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications, the Swiss National Tourist Office, and the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture, in association with UNESCO, WTO, WlTC, and PATA. The general theme was Towards the Millennium: Global Civilization in Change? The forum continued the international dialog on culture, tourism, and development that began with the 1992 Intercultural Perspectives on Tourism conference in Indonesia (see Annals 20:782-785, 1993) and followed with the 1994 Swiss-Indonesian forum on Culture and International Tourism held in Switzerland. The 1995 forum dealt with the changing nature of global society and the role that international
RESEARCH NOTES AND REPORTS
Conference ReDorb
Developing
Cultural Tourism Opportunities Robyn Bushel1 of Western Sydney, Australia Jafar Jafari University of Wisconsin-Stout, USA
University
Tourism Partners ‘95, a two-day conference, was jointly sponsored by the University of Western Sydney and several other national and regional agencies. It brought together researchers and practitioners committed to the development of cultural tourism opportunities. Rather than viewing this as an entity by itself, the conference theme treated cultural tourism as a strategy for promoting authenticity in tourism production and as a thrust fostering positive sociocultural impacts of tourism. Day one, specifically designed to provide training sessions for cultural enterprises related to tourism, outlined appropriate philosophies and techniques of doing business in tourism. Copresented by Craft Australia, Arts West, Tourism NSW, and an industry conference organizer, the sessions were practical, focused, and interactive, allowing participants to share experience and gain insights into the tourism industry. The second day brought together planning, policy, and development personnel from local, state, and federal governments, and industry, as well as academic institutions and conservation and heritage organizations involved in tourism. Using the Commonwealth governments’ “Creative Nations” policy and Tourism NSW “Masterplan to Year 2000” as the framework, invited speakers discussed strategies for involving all stakeholders, including community, in deciding the future for cultural tourism and in formulating an informed vision for its planning and development. More specifically, the sessions explored pragmatic ways to implement national goals of sustainable development. Penelope Coombes (People for Places and Spaces, Australia) discussed the importance of establishing a sense of place and a sense of pride in community places. She stressed the need for spaces that are kept for community and those developed for tourism. Moreover, she argued the notion that “tourists like to go where locals go”, but then if tourists become a majority, locals become annoyed at the intrusion. As the subject unfolded, Ian Kennedy (Pacific Asia Travel Association) discussed “value-based tourism” and its application to the implementation of a regional ecotourism strategy in the coastal, Northern Rivers region. These presentations led to a discussion of four approaches to the use of “cultural mapping” techniques for the identification of cultural assets in a community. These assets are those most likely to be attractive to the development of a regional identity within the local tourism product. They are also the assets that need to be conserved, protected, and/or enhanced if tourism is to be socially, culturally, and environmentally sustainable. While recognizing that economic viability is equally important in the sustainability equation, the subject was not covered. The session featured several case studies. The Commonwealth Department Communications and Arts discussed the evaluation of cultural mapping in the Blue Mountains area of NSW and urban Victoria. These projects have resulted in the publication of a cultural mapping
955
RESEARCH NOTES AND REPORTS
handbook. Tourism NSW, together with the local government association are undertaking a cultural audit of Sydney. This collaboration is part of the state government desire to move toward integrated regional planning. Another case study, involving a regional organization of councils in SW Sydney in the Campbelltown area, commissioned jointly by the council and Creative Cultures (Ministry of Arts), was presented. The project involved local volunteer groups, such as historical and heritage societies, school children, local tourism industry, and local government. The cultural mapping involved visual emphasis action research, a technique designed to empower all community members, regardless of age, language, or other attributes which may normally limit input to consultative processes. Acting as the rapporteur, Jafar Jafari (University of Wisconsin-Stout, USA) gave a summary report of conference presentations and session discussions, emphasizing: that all tourism developments should be acceptable to and benefit its stakeholders; that the relationship between tourism and culture is not a newly formulated but a newly advocated one; that all cultural resources belong to the host community and their expectations should be central in any tourism equation; that the industry should concentrate on the total quality tourism experience; that tourism must become proactive, influencing trends instead of being led by the market forces; that the notion of “partnership” - the themes of this conference-should be regarded as the modus operandi of tourism; and that, in addition, other models of partnership in tourism be explored at future conferences. Individuals interested in obtaining information about this or future conferences should contact the address listed below. 0 0 Robyn Bushell: Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Western Sydney Hawkesbury, Richmond NSW 2753, Australia. Email [email protected].
Submitted 30 August 1995 Resubmitted 16 November 1995 Accepted 1 December 1995
Culture and International
Tourism Jack Carlsen
Southern Cross University,
Australia
Jafar Jafari
University of Wisconsin-Stout,
USA
The Indonesian-Swiss forum on Culture and International Tourism was held at Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 22-25 August 1995. The conference was sponsored by the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications, the Swiss National Tourist Office, and the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture, in association with UNESCO, WTO, WlTC, and PATA. The general theme was Towards the Millennium: Global Civilization in Change? The forum continued the international dialog on culture, tourism, and development that began with the 1992 Intercultural Perspectives on Tourism conference in Indonesia (see Annals 20:782-785, 1993) and followed with the 1994 Swiss-Indonesian forum on Culture and International Tourism held in Switzerland. The 1995 forum dealt with the changing nature of global society and the role that international