Heritage and Cultural Tourism Management Assignment

Program	Diploma in Travel and Tourism
Unit Number and Title	Heritage and Cultural Tourism Management
QFC Level	Level 4

Introduction

Among the various industries in the business environment, the travel and tourism sector is the most flourishing and booming industry. The momentum of this industry has enhanced as the customer preferences in the tourism and their desire to visit different parts of the world enhanced. The globalization has also contributed to the development and emergence of this sector. The huge amount of disposable income and the work pressure of the individuals make them to think about the tours and trips so as to make their holiday enjoyable. This has also enhanced the demands and expectations of the customers in the travel and tourism sector (Sharpley and Stone, 2014). The purpose of the tourism for the tourists is different from individuals to individuals. Some individuals considers the tourism for fun and for spending time outdoor while some one considers it as the exploration of the heritage and culture of different nations. Nowadays the tourism based on the culture and heritage of the host destinations are gaining importance. UK is one such holiday spot which is enriched with many historical and cultural values. Bath city, VA and science museum are some among them. This sector of the travel and tourism is also contributing to the development of TTS in UK. It empowers the nation UK with economic stability, reduction in unemployment etc. UK stands 5^th among 50 nations in its culture and heritage value. It has also provided more than one hundred thousand job opportunity to the people of UK (Picard and Giovine, 2014).

This heritage and cultural tourism management assignment explores the growth and development of the culture and heritage industry in UK. Various case studies are also explored along with it so as to support and evidence the outcomes of the research. This report also highlights the impact of the culture and heritage industry, potential conflicts, purposes etc. it also speaks about various private and public limited organizations which influence this sector.

Task 1

1.1 Analyze the growth and development of the UK heritage and culture industry.

The culture and heritage of the nation encompasses the cultural values, beliefs, and attitude etc of the nation as well as that of the population. The traditional values and beliefs of the nation are bound to this. As far as the nation UK is taken into consideration, it is a place with lots of cultural values and beliefs (Xie, 2015). This nation is also blessed with many historical spots which raise the fame and prestige of the nation. The city of bath, Stonehenge, Roman empire in Germany, the museums in London and various parts of UK, Buckingham palace etc are some of the spots which highlights the historical values. The growth and development of these heritage spots are jointly performed by the private as well as the government organizations (Conlin and Bird, 2014). For analyzing the growth of the culture and the heritage sector of TTM in UK a historical spot “the city of bath” can be taken into consideration. Georgian spa city is considered as the most ancient world heritage site which was discovered before 500BC. This ancient Roman spa city is popular for its marvellous hot water spring, heritage value, Georgian architecture etc. this spa was anciently considered as sacred site and has built temple around it dedicating it to their goddess. The famous baths of the city was built around the fourth century was also the attracting for the sick and the poor people. Now this city has opened to the world tourists and the tourists from different pat of the world come here to explore its heritage value (Clayton, et al, 2014.).

During the period of Elizabeth 1 the city of bath underwent with many renovations and many neo classical buildings were built so as to entertain the tourists and to make their visit comfortable. Apart from the sick and the poor people, educated people and scholars also started preferring to visit this place. For making the transportation to this heritage spot easier in 1800, the government opened canals like Kenneth, Avon, etc. some events like the “Bath International festival” was planned and conducted so as to attract the tourists from different parts of the world. After the Second World War the government and other private limited organization has invested in the maintenance of the infrastructure of the heritage spot. This approach has contributed to the growth and development of the city of bath (Crouch, 2015). Stonehenge is another historical spot in UK, which is also one among the Seven Wonders of the World. This is a unique monument in the world and its construction began around 5000 years ago. Today the average number of visitors to this place is around 800000 per year. The tourists gather this place in the summer to watch the sun rise at this ancient historical site. The infrastructure of Stonehenge highlights its spectacular workshop which attracts the attention of the tourists from different parts of the world. Over the millennia since the construction some of the great deal of its atmosphere has lost. Now the government has taken appropriate measures to preserve it. The introduction of the highway near by this inevitable infrastructure has made the visitors to see the spot with ease and to enjoy its heritage value. The arrangements of pedestrian pass way is also organized which made the visitors to enjoy the beauty of stone, sunrise etc.

                                               Stonehenge

These cultural and heritage spots of the nation UK has contributed to the increase in the inflow of the tourists from different parts of the world. Considering the scope of the cultural and heritage sector in UK, the events like the Olympic Games, Queens’s diamond jubilee etc are also conducted which has visitors from various parts of the world which made the event a great success.

1.2 Discuss potential conflicts in the conservation of heritage and cultural resources using the case study of Lhasa, Tibet

Tibet one of the historical spot in China has considerable heritage and cultural value. This spot is associated with various monasteries and religious temples like Dalai Lama. The hostile nature of the Tibetian population along with the cultural holiday spots acted as the attraction of huge number of visitors and more than 10 million visitors visited the spot in a year. The potential conflicts rose when the Chinese government started some actions to modify the infrastructure of the capital of Tibet, Lhasa. The government’s plan was to renovate the old city of Lhasa outside the traditional temple Jokhang. This action was to enhance the convenience and comfort of the tourists who come to visit the heritage spots in the Tibet. The expectation of the government was to gain more revenue out of the culture and heritage tourism. But the public argues that through the renovation activities and the huge inflow of the tourists, the heritage value of the spot will be lost. Apart from this some private business organization also have some plan to build up Tibetan theme parks for attracting the customers and to enhance the profitability (Yuan, 2015).

From the public point of view if such a big theme park comes in the middle of the town as a part of the promoting tourism, the public life will be disturbed as it provides accommodation to 1100 family. It can cause pollutions like air, water, and noise pollution; can hinder the privacy of the public. Apart from this the people also argue that the tourist will be from different parts of the world and it can question the credibility of the culture and heritage of the Tibet. Since the theme park is also associated with luxury hotels, their buying potential will be high which can lead to inflation. Another potential conflict which can be considered is the construction of such theme parks can also affect the public life and daily routines. This project proposed by the private organization can cause severe damage to the culture and the heritage resources. The huge inflow of the customers or visitors can also lead to the increase in the consumption of the food and will result in the increase in the waste disposal. This can hinder the secrecy and the silence of the monasteries in the Tibet. The government or any other private firm is not coming up with the remedies for the conservation of the cultural and heritage resources along with the tourism enhancement plans (Li and Xu, 2016).

Task 2

2.1 Assess the purpose of heritage and culture attractions in meeting the needs of different customers

Each and every organization in the business environment has its purposes. Similarly the culture and heritage organizations or tourist spots in the TTS has purposes. Some of the purposes of the heritage and cultural attractions in UK are analyzed here. Some of the primary purpose of the culture and heritage attractions in UK in general includes

• Spreading the heritage and cultural values to the visitors positively so that the fame and prestige of the nation is enhanced.
• Providing the credible information to the visitors depending on their specific needs.
• Attracting the visitors through which the nation can generate huge revenue through heritage and cultural tourism (Chhabra, 2015.).
• To be credible, informative, ethical, environmentally and socially responsible.

Two culture and heritage attractions of UK are taken into consideration, British Museum and The Natural history Museum to assess their functional purpose and their purpose to meet the customer specific needs (Silva and Saraiva, 2015).

The purpose of the British Museum: This museum is an organization which functions in the support of the government of UK. This museum holds the antique collection of the arts of ancient UK. The primary purpose of this museum is to highlight the cultural values of the nation through various arts. The credibility and the trust worthy operations of British museum also contribute to the attraction of the visitors towards it. It considers that it becomes its responsibility and purpose to make the visitors aware about the traditional values and belief. This museum holds a considerable collection of antiques which is the finest in the exiting museums in the world. This museum makes the visitors aware about the human history spanning around over two million years. They provide this accessibility for free which forms another attraction of the British Museum (Harris, 2015).

Through conducting research on the policies and procedures of the British Museum, it is identified that the primary purpose of it is to make its collection available for public and to make it freely accessible. Through this their motive is to spread different human cultures so that the visitors could understand the differences and can get into a mutual engagement.

                                              The British Museum

This museum enables the visitors to perform a cross cultural investigation which is very essential in the modern market due to globalization. The Museum considers that its purpose is to reach the world wide audience and to teach the public the diversity of the cultural truths in different parts of the world. The operations of the BM initially focused on London, and then spread to UK and then worldwide. The website of the BM has its purpose to act as the laboratory of comparative cultural investigation rather than just checking the information regarding the museum.

The purpose of British Museum in meeting the needs of different customers:

The different types of customers who approach the BM are the students, media, families, scientists, scholars etc.

• Students: the students need from the BM is to conduct research based on their curriculum, learning purposes and to develop reports based on the culture and heritage values. Nowadays this topic is gaining importance and hence the inflow of students also has increased. Hence the BA becomes responsible to meet the academic demands of the students (Hinton, 2015).
• Media: the Medias approach such museum for preparing the documents and gather information regarding the cultures so as to do some programs, recreations etc. Here the purpose of the BA is to provide clear and credible information to the media so that correct information is delivered to the customers.
• Families: the requirement of the families will also be similar from a cultural museum. Their curiosity for knowing about the various cultures should be met by the BA through proper explanation and interpretation.
• Scientists: This group of customers visits the BM for the intension of conducting research on the cultural values of the various nations of the world. It becomes the purpose of the BM to serve this need of the scientists

The purpose of the Natural History Museum: The natural history museum which is based on England is considered as the world’s most prestigious museum which is popular for the tourism visit, research, exhibits, programs or events, nature and for the teachers. The primary purpose of the NHM is to inspire and to discover the wonder of the nature and the culture of the world. It also highlights the responsibility of the humans towards the nature and the ancient culture of the world. it understands the relationship of the human beings with the other species and other communities in the world. Based on this context they conduct the investigation and interpretations are performed (Stringer, 2015).

                                          Natural history Museum

Its credible and extensive collections are interpreted in the form of integrating the global research and engaging the learning experience of the students. They consider the purpose of the museum is to provide a better understanding to the visitors about their investigations and interpretations. The curiosity thirst of the visitors is also quenched through valid and evidenced responses. They also inspire their audience to enjoy through visit the museum and to value the historical aspects of earth as well as the cultural beliefs of others. It also generates an awareness to the public about the historical evolution of the earth, other species etc and about the cultural diversity in the world.

The purpose of the Natural History Museum in meeting the needs of different customers:

The visitors of the NHM may be the students, general tourists, naturalists, scientists, teachers etc. the purpose of the NHM to meet the demands of its customers depends on the type of the customer visit. Students their requirement will be learning purposes about the various historical specimens. Through meeting this demand of the student, they can develop a well-informed future generations and can meet their learning needs. The naturalists and the scientists can be provided with relevant information which can support them in their research. They can also entertain the visitors through its various events and programs which is applicable to all categories of the customers. The general tourists can also be made satisfied with the credible and curious information, programs etc which will make their trip worth (Buck and Stringer, 2015).

Task 3

3.1 Evaluate the impact of different types of ownership on the management of heritage and cultural sites.

The management of the cultural and heritage site is very critical. There are various types of ownership which monitors and controls the cultural and heritage sites of UK. The two main board category of ownership is the public sector and the commercial owners. The public sector owners will the government authorized or the not for profit organizations like the WTO which monitors, manages and maintains the functioning of the heritage sites. The main objective of these organizations is the welfare of the nation and the public. For example for enhancing the travelling convenience of the tourists to the city of bath, the government invested in the clearance of the water ways. The intervention of the Chinese government in the renovation of Lhasa of Tibet is another example of the public ownership.

The commercial ownership involves the intervention of the large business organizations in the maintenance of the heritage site. Through building a luxury theme park in Tibet, its owner can have the ownership of the heritage spots in Tibet. These commercial sectors will be profit oriented and focus of revenue generation rather than the public convenience. The main objective of such organizations is income generation. Even though almost all the culture and the heritage spots are controlled and monitored by the public or not for profit organizations, some of the spots are bought by the private sectors. From the research it has been identified that the private organizations are least bothered about the value of the cultural spots (Barile and Saviano, 2015).

This public and private ownership can impact the cultural and heritage spot both positively and negatively.

• Through public ownership or through the government ownership the heritage spots can be safe guarded appropriately. The tourists will also gain a perception of credibility when a particular spot is owned by the government. The negative side is that the entire functioning of the spots will be changed with the change in the political party.
• Through the intervention of the private ownership, the promotional activities, customer service and other business activities will be fast and smooth which can gain the attention of the public. The negative side is the business oriented mind set of the private organizations.
• The combined ownership of the public and the private can impact the heritage spot more effectively. The involvement of the private sector can make the revenue generation and public intervention can ensure the safety and welfare of the public as well as the tourists.
• The public organization focus on the conservation of the heritage where as the private sector organization would come up with new ideas and technologies so as to increase the revenue.
• The heritage organizations like Victoria and Alberta Museum in London which is owned publically focus on the education and learning purposes rather than generating revenue.

3.2 Analyze roles and responsibilities of organizations in the heritage and cultural industry.

Many organizations, government agencies, specialist conservation groups, voluntary groups, etc work for the welfare of the heritage and cultural industry. Two such organizations department of national trust and natural England are taken into consideration for analysis. The roles and responsibilities of this organization in heritage and culture industry are analyzed here.

National trust: The primary role of the National Trust organization is the preservation of the culture and heritage of a particular heritage spot or geographical location. There are many divisions for this trust which spreads across the country and manage the heritage spots specifically. As the region changes there will be slight changes in its roles and responsibilities. The primary function of this organization is to preserve the items which are historically significant. Conservation of the national beauty and nature also comes under its responsibility. The mode of functioning of this organization is the private but non-profit organization. The collaborative functioning mode of this trust makes it an efficient organization which can support the growth and development of the culture and heritage industry. Initially this trust was opened and worked as a charitable trust in England and later on transformed to the private non-profit organization. This organization focuses on maintain a good trust and morality in the culture and the heritage industry. The member of the national trust will also get a credible promotional opportunity as it is linked with the government support.

Natural England: The natural England is an association which indulges with the conservation of parks and other natural reserves. This is a public organization and is supported by the government of UK. This organization is responsible for the natural environment of UK. Its span of authorization includes the preservation of the trees, plants, wild life, landscape, fresh water, marine environment etc. it also becomes the responsibility if this organization to make the tourist happy and to understand and gather the knowledge regarding the accessibility of these resources. This organization focuses on the preservation of the healthy natural environment around the cultural heritage spots like Stonehenge, providing the provision of the enjoyment of the natural environment and the resources, sustainable use of the national environment, providing safety and security to the tourists who visit UK. This organization safe guards the natural beauty of the cultural heritage spots like the city of bath which is very relevant for its maintenance (Gillingham, et al, 2015). 

Task 4

4.1 Evaluate methods and media used for interpretation within the heritage and cultural industry for tourists.

The interpretation of the information and knowledge in an effective manner is very essential for the culture and the heritage spot. As these spots highlights the culture and heritage the visitors should get a clear and credible understanding about the spot as to fulfil the purpose of the organization and to meet the needs of the visitors. Especially while considering the case of the museums the interpretation of their findings, monuments etc are very essential. Two museums the British museum and the natural history museum are taken into consideration for evaluating the methods and Medias used for the interpretation of the information to the tourists.

The British museum: This museum interprets the information regarding various cultures in the form of art. One of the methods which this museum has adopted for interpretation of the Celtic art legacy is mentioned here. A continuous series of television show is hosted in the television on museum which is presented by the BBC co-presenter Alice. In this presentation she discuss about the considerations of the Celtic art. Through this the visitors will be getting a clear picture about the artistic monuments. They also conduct various events which highlight various cultural and heritage beliefs. This provides the viewers a clear understanding about the cultural values of the other parts of the world. They have also provided the accessibility to have the floor paln on the entrance so that the customers can identify their area of interest.  There are specific sections for the students, teachers, researchers etc based on the purpose of the visit.

They also conduct various exhibitions based on specific cultures which reveal more information regarding the selected culture. There are staff members to guide the visitors in the museums as well as in the exhibitions. The availability of the multilingual staff members makes the visit of the tourists satisfactory. They also conducts press meet so as to highlight their programs and the events to the public and to the world. special learning sessions are arranged for the kids, teacher learning, adult learning etc. research projects are also made available to the researchers like the “empires of faith “.

The natural history museum: This museum is associated with varied unique locusassignments.with expertise and technological interpretations through which the questions and the curiosity of the visitors are answered. With the available locusassignments.of the findings of the museums the visitors can interpret and analyze locusassignments.with their provision of the state-of-the-art facilities. There are more than 350 scientific staff members who can answer the questions of the visitors. These staffs are multilingual who can attend the visitors with ease and hostile. The organizations have adopted some advanced technologies for the interpretation of the wide collection of their data. As a part of effective interpretation, the management of natural history museum has digitized largest part of its collections. The customers are also provided with the digital access to the data through making use of the data portal (Jansen. and Mije, 2015).

The management has arranged virtual reality technology for the interpretation of the marine environment; coral reef etc. for serving this purpose a 3D journey is arranged for the purpose of providing the visitors a clear understanding about the world’s largest coral reef. Video clips and other attractive programs are arranged for having a better look on the twelfth century. Through this the visitors can look into the past habitat and can understand the concepts clearly. This organization also conducts various exhibitions and special events for making the interpretation process more clear and efficient. The floor plan and event timings are mentioned in the plan list of the museums so that the customers will get a clear idea to plan their visit.

Apart from this both organizations the British museum and the natural history museum have a well-developed websites through which getting relevant information is very easy.

Conclusion

The culture and heritage industry is the booming sector in the TTS. The curiosity of the tourists to know about the various cultures and the huge amount of the disposable income as contributed to the momentum of this industry. UK is such a nation which stands in the fifth position while considering the cultural and heritage value. The growth and development of the culture and the heritage industry in UK is analyzed with the examples of the city of bath and the Stonehenge. The potential conflicts in the case study of Lhasa, Tibet for the conservation of cultural heritage are also determined. With the support of the two cultural heritage spot British museums and the natural history museum, its purpose is analyzed. The impact of the different types of the public and the commercial ownership on the cultural heritage spots are evaluated. The method of interpretation of database concept is also analyzed effectively.    

Reference

Buck, L.T. and Stringer, C.B., 2015. A rich locality in South Kensington: the fossil hominin collection of the Natural History Museum, London. Geological Journal, 50(3), pp.321-337.
Barile, S. and Saviano, M., 2015. From the Management of Cultural Heritage to the Governance of the Cultural Heritage System. In Cultural Heritage and Value Creation (pp. 71-103). Springer International Publishing.
Conlin, M.V. and Bird, G.R. eds., 2014. Railway heritage and tourism: Global perspectives (Vol. 37). Channel View Publications.
Chhabra, D., 2015. A cultural hospitality framework for heritage accommodations. Journal of Heritage Tourism, (ahead-of-print), pp.1-7.
Clayton, W., Ben-Elia, E., Parkhurst, G. and Ricci, M., 2014. Where to park? A behavioural comparison of bus Park and Ride and city centre car park usage in Bath, UK. Journal of Transport Geography, 36, pp.124-133.
Crouch, T., 2015. The City of Bath-World Spa and World Heritage. ICOMOS–Hefte des Deutschen Nationalkomitees, 52, pp.83-92.