Preserving intangible heritage and culture through tourism: a

review of issues

Professor Eric Laws

James Cook University, Australia

Assoc. Prof. Noel Scott

School of Tourism, The University of Queensland

Tourism market is changing

FROM Passive viewing

• artefacts

• cultural dances

• events

• visiting heritage sights

TO Active involvement and interactive experiences

• Active involvement,

• Learning,

• Aesthetic appreciation and meaning

• Entertaining stories

Popping the ‘tourist bubble’

Engaging with culture-heritage resources rather than gazing at

them from within a “tourist bubble

Intangible cultural heritage

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) offers a way of addressing

• the stories,

• cultural practices,

• music,

• food preparation methods

• lives of ethnic groups

Because it is active and can be used to encourage involvement,

learning etc.

Tourism helps preserve intangible cultural heritage

Tourism offers an opportunity to help preserve ICH resources by

providing money and support to those communities and people

who “own” and “maintain” ICH

Can we “commercialise” ICH while at the same time maintaining their authenticity and also benefiting local

people.

Tourist carrying capacity of the destination community.

Resilience of the local community and its capacity to withstand the

pressure of “alien” behaviour.

Resilience of the local culture and its capacity to withstand the

pressure of market-led promotion and demand for packaged and

commoditized culture.

Types of tourists.

Adaptability of the visitors.

Introduction of suitable management strategies, which may include

spatial segregation into dedicated host and guest precincts, and

strategies to distract visitors from communities, sites and settings

that may be particularly vulnerable to any level of visitation.

Lessons from Leeds Castle, Kent and visitor management initiatives in Canterbury 

• A shift from increasing demand to altering its character and

managing its flow

* Providing meaning and fulfilment rather than emphasising

facilities and services

* Shifting from standardised tourism to distinctive experiences

* Respecting rather than exploiting the environment

* Adaptation rather than general solutions

* A long term view

* An optimisation approach in place of maximisation.

* Viewing employees as hosts rather than an hierarchical

approach

Questions

Eric Laws e.laws@runbox.com

Noel Scott noel.scott@uq.edu.au