- Email: [email protected]
Heritage tourism destinations: Preservation, communication, and development
Annals of Tourism Research xxx (2016) xxx–xxx
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Annals of Tourism Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/atoures
Book Review
Heritage tourism destinations: Preservation, communication, and development Edited by Maria Alvarez, Atila Yüksel, Frank Go. CABI (http://www.cabi.org/) 2016. xiv + 200 pp. (references, index), £85.00, ISBN: 9781780646770. The complex relationships between tourism and heritage are revealed in the tensions between tradition and modernity (Nuryanti, 1996). Heritage tourism has been studied by numerous scholars and practitioners over past decades and from different disciplines. In the twenty-first century, heritage destinations have various forms and functions such as townscapes, rural villages, traditional agricultural landscape, leisure landscapes, historical trails, and routes. Each plays a different role for different stakeholders and provides opportunities for visiting individuals, who are able to breathe the past, present, and future at once. Heritage Tourism Destinations book is a remarkable volume with an interesting combination of research, hypotheses, and literature reviews plus a healthy dose of ‘‘how-to” advice for practitioners. It is compact at only 200 pages in 11 chapters (excluding an introduction and conclusion written by the editors) and 28 contributors from seven countries. The book is divided into three parts based on academic debates around heritage tourism: (1) conservation, revitalization and community involvement (Chapters 1–3); (2) product development and communication (Chapters 4–6); and (3) planning and institutionalization (Chapters 7–11). Part 1 examines capacities for managing the presentation and preservation of culture heritage sites and destinations. The first chapter focuses on the Italian alpine city of Trento and discusses how culture affects the nature and scale of local regeneration. The second chapter, on Tophane, Istanbul, focuses on the complex relationships among heritage, urban renewal, and tourism. The author of this chapter, in particular, looks into how different local economic, social, and ethnic groups have altered their attitudes in regards to the use of heritage as well as how heritage is dealt with by the authorities in a neo-liberal context, including real estate development, entertainment, and tourism. The third chapter uses Küçükyalı Arkeo Park in Istanbul to explore archæological site project management. This chapter also examines the problem of poverty and poor education among disadvantaged communities in archæological work including the use of labour in response to these problems. Part 2 explains how mangers of heritage sites have become more interested in tourism as a means to attract visitors and increase the attractiveness of related destinations and businesses. Chapter 4 illustrates the importance of collaboration among different stakeholders in developing heritage tourism strategies. The authors use Foça, Izmir (Turkey) as a case study and, with the help of 50 interviews, examine the Slow Food movement and its role as a catalyst in stimulating consumers’ demand which, in turn, encourages a coalition of farmers and food producers to preserve their gastronomic traditions and heritage food by establishing Turkey’s first Earth Market. Chapter 5 analyses the relation between heritage and sports events. Chapter 6 focuses on the importance of social media and http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2016.09.015
2
Book Review / Annals of Tourism Research xxx (2016) xxx–xxx
electronic word-of-mouth in Istanbul. Drawing on reviews from TripAdvisor, the authors shine light on the importance of Istanbul’s image from visitors’ perspectives. Part 3 (Chapters 7–11) examines the relationship and integration between different organizations in heritages sites to achieve some form of cooperative stockholder relationship. In Chapter 7, the author focuses on the multiple UK World Heritage Sites, arguing that management of historic sites should aim to preserve them for future generations. The chapter offers a theoretical foundation, ‘‘Heritage Custodianship Theory”, through which mangers of World Heritage Sites can become custodians, integrating conservation of collective resource with the interest of stakeholders. Relying on the importance of ‘‘territorial vocation”, Chapter 8 contributes to the debate on territorial vocation and governance processes by giving an alternative vision, which the author calls ‘‘situations”, which he sees as a unified and systemic approach compared to more fragmented traditional governance model. Chapter 9 builds on the relationship among heritage, tourism, and development as perceived by the Portuguese government and institutional stakeholders. In Chapter 10, the authors analyse governance dynamics in Italian state museums, starting with reflections on the topic suggested by current scholarly and political debates. The final chapter of the book presents an integrated tourism destination planning method including the key elements of responsible tourism approach, aimed at enhancing the effective planning of heritage tourism destinations. There is no doubt that a single book cannot paint the full picture of heritage tourism but undoubtedly this volume achieves what it is set out to accomplish and provides a deep view of heritage tourism, and bridges the gap between theory and practice. A majority of the case studies are based on Turkey, which limits the international approach and coverage of the book. In terms of presentation, the book has clear type and a comprehensive index. The book can be recommended for both undergraduate and postgraduate students to support students’ studying heritage tourism and related topics. The book has also a useful set of contributions for practitioners that industry readers will find interesting. Reference Nuryanti, W. (1996). Heritage and postmodern tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 23(2), 249–260.
Roya Rahimi Department of Marketing, Innovation, Leisure, and Enterprise, University of Wolverhampton, City Campus Molineux (North), Wolverhampton WV1 1AD, UK E-mail address: [email protected] Assigned 23 June 2016. Submitted 9 Septemper 2016. Accepted 15 Septemper 2016.
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Annals of Tourism Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/atoures
Book Review
Heritage tourism destinations: Preservation, communication, and development Edited by Maria Alvarez, Atila Yüksel, Frank Go. CABI (http://www.cabi.org/) 2016. xiv + 200 pp. (references, index), £85.00, ISBN: 9781780646770. The complex relationships between tourism and heritage are revealed in the tensions between tradition and modernity (Nuryanti, 1996). Heritage tourism has been studied by numerous scholars and practitioners over past decades and from different disciplines. In the twenty-first century, heritage destinations have various forms and functions such as townscapes, rural villages, traditional agricultural landscape, leisure landscapes, historical trails, and routes. Each plays a different role for different stakeholders and provides opportunities for visiting individuals, who are able to breathe the past, present, and future at once. Heritage Tourism Destinations book is a remarkable volume with an interesting combination of research, hypotheses, and literature reviews plus a healthy dose of ‘‘how-to” advice for practitioners. It is compact at only 200 pages in 11 chapters (excluding an introduction and conclusion written by the editors) and 28 contributors from seven countries. The book is divided into three parts based on academic debates around heritage tourism: (1) conservation, revitalization and community involvement (Chapters 1–3); (2) product development and communication (Chapters 4–6); and (3) planning and institutionalization (Chapters 7–11). Part 1 examines capacities for managing the presentation and preservation of culture heritage sites and destinations. The first chapter focuses on the Italian alpine city of Trento and discusses how culture affects the nature and scale of local regeneration. The second chapter, on Tophane, Istanbul, focuses on the complex relationships among heritage, urban renewal, and tourism. The author of this chapter, in particular, looks into how different local economic, social, and ethnic groups have altered their attitudes in regards to the use of heritage as well as how heritage is dealt with by the authorities in a neo-liberal context, including real estate development, entertainment, and tourism. The third chapter uses Küçükyalı Arkeo Park in Istanbul to explore archæological site project management. This chapter also examines the problem of poverty and poor education among disadvantaged communities in archæological work including the use of labour in response to these problems. Part 2 explains how mangers of heritage sites have become more interested in tourism as a means to attract visitors and increase the attractiveness of related destinations and businesses. Chapter 4 illustrates the importance of collaboration among different stakeholders in developing heritage tourism strategies. The authors use Foça, Izmir (Turkey) as a case study and, with the help of 50 interviews, examine the Slow Food movement and its role as a catalyst in stimulating consumers’ demand which, in turn, encourages a coalition of farmers and food producers to preserve their gastronomic traditions and heritage food by establishing Turkey’s first Earth Market. Chapter 5 analyses the relation between heritage and sports events. Chapter 6 focuses on the importance of social media and http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2016.09.015
2
Book Review / Annals of Tourism Research xxx (2016) xxx–xxx
electronic word-of-mouth in Istanbul. Drawing on reviews from TripAdvisor, the authors shine light on the importance of Istanbul’s image from visitors’ perspectives. Part 3 (Chapters 7–11) examines the relationship and integration between different organizations in heritages sites to achieve some form of cooperative stockholder relationship. In Chapter 7, the author focuses on the multiple UK World Heritage Sites, arguing that management of historic sites should aim to preserve them for future generations. The chapter offers a theoretical foundation, ‘‘Heritage Custodianship Theory”, through which mangers of World Heritage Sites can become custodians, integrating conservation of collective resource with the interest of stakeholders. Relying on the importance of ‘‘territorial vocation”, Chapter 8 contributes to the debate on territorial vocation and governance processes by giving an alternative vision, which the author calls ‘‘situations”, which he sees as a unified and systemic approach compared to more fragmented traditional governance model. Chapter 9 builds on the relationship among heritage, tourism, and development as perceived by the Portuguese government and institutional stakeholders. In Chapter 10, the authors analyse governance dynamics in Italian state museums, starting with reflections on the topic suggested by current scholarly and political debates. The final chapter of the book presents an integrated tourism destination planning method including the key elements of responsible tourism approach, aimed at enhancing the effective planning of heritage tourism destinations. There is no doubt that a single book cannot paint the full picture of heritage tourism but undoubtedly this volume achieves what it is set out to accomplish and provides a deep view of heritage tourism, and bridges the gap between theory and practice. A majority of the case studies are based on Turkey, which limits the international approach and coverage of the book. In terms of presentation, the book has clear type and a comprehensive index. The book can be recommended for both undergraduate and postgraduate students to support students’ studying heritage tourism and related topics. The book has also a useful set of contributions for practitioners that industry readers will find interesting. Reference Nuryanti, W. (1996). Heritage and postmodern tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 23(2), 249–260.
Roya Rahimi Department of Marketing, Innovation, Leisure, and Enterprise, University of Wolverhampton, City Campus Molineux (North), Wolverhampton WV1 1AD, UK E-mail address: [email protected] Assigned 23 June 2016. Submitted 9 Septemper 2016. Accepted 15 Septemper 2016.