Cultural Tourism

Cultural tourism (or culture tourism) is the subset of tourism concerned with a country or region's culture, especially its arts. Cultural tourism includes tourism in urban areas, particularly historic or large cities and their cultural facilities such as museums and theatres. It can also include tourism in rural areas showcasing the traditions of indigenous cultural communities (i.e. festivals, rituals), and their values and lifestyle. Culture has always been a major object of travel. Heritage, culture and the arts have long contributed to appeal of tourist destination. It is generally agreed that cultural tourists spend more than standard tourists do.

One type of cultural tourism destination is living cultural areas. This trend is evident in the rise in the volume of tourists who seek adventure, culture, history, archaeology and interaction with local people. For an indigenous culture that has stayed largely separated from the surrounding majority, tourism can present both advantages and problems. On the positive side are the unique cultural practices and arts that attract the curiosity of tourists and provide opportunities for tourism and economic development. On the negative side is the issue of how to control tourism so that those same cultural amenities are not destroyed and the people do not feel violated.

Cultural heritage tourism (or just heritage tourism) is a branch of tourism oriented towards the cultural heritage of the location where tourism is occurring. It involves visiting historical or industrial sites (that may include old canals, railways, battlegrounds, etc.), modern urban districts, coastal or island ecosystems, and inland natural areas. The overall purpose is to gain an appreciation of the past. It also refers to the marketing of a location to members of a diaspora who have distant family roots there. Decolonization and immigration form the major background of much contemporary heritage tourism. Falling travel costs have also made heritage tourism possible for more people.

Heritage tourism can also be attributed to historical events that have been dramatized to make them more entertaining (theme parks and country clubs) - for example, a historical tour of a town or city using a theme such as Cossacks or Vikings.

Literary tourism is a type of cultural tourism that deals with places and events from fictional texts as well as the lives of their authors. This could include following the route a fictional character charts in a novel, visiting particular settings from a story or tracking down the haunts of a novelist.

Literary tourists are specifically interested in how places have influenced writing and at the same time how writing has created place. In order to become a literary tourist you only need a novel and an inquisitive mind-set; however, there are literary guides, literary maps, and literary tours to help you on your way.

Garden tourism is a type of niche tourism involving visits or travel to botanical gardens and places which are significant in the history of gardening. Garden tourists often travel individually in countries with which they are familiar but often prefer to join organized garden tours in countries where they might experience difficulties with language, travel or finding accommodation in the vicinity of the garden.

The list of famous gardens which attract garden tourists from afar includes: Sissinghurst Castle Garden and Stourhead in England, Versailles and Giverny in France, Keukenhof in Holland, Villa d'Este and Villa Lante in Italy, Alhambra in Spain, Longwood Gardens and Filoli in the USA, Taj Mahal in India, Ryōan-ji in Japan. In the year 2000 the Alhambra and the Taj Mahal both received over 2 million visitors. This poses problems for the landscape manager.

Michel de Montaigne was one of the earliest garden tourists to record his impressions of gardens (1580). At the start of the twenty-first century Britain had the largest number of gardens open to the public for tourist visits: over 3,500 gardens are listed in Gardens of England and Wales Open for Charity (the 'Yellow Book').

Culinary tourism is valued by tourism industry professionals as one of the most popular niches in the world's tourism industry. Culinary tourism is defined as the pursuit of unique and memorable eating and drinking experiences, according to the International Culinary Tourism Association. Culinary tourism differs from agritourism in that culinary tourism is considered a subset of cultural tourism (cuisine is a manifestation of culture) whereas agritourism is considered a subset of rural tourism. Culinary tourism and agritourism are linked, as the seeds of cuisine can be found in agriculture.

Culinary tourism is not just experiences of the highest caliber - that would be gourmet tourism. This is perhaps best illustrated by the notion that culinary tourism is about what is unique and memorable, not what is necessarily pretentious and exclusive. Similarly, wine tourism and beer tourism are also regarded as subsets of culinary tourism.

Wine tourism refers to tourism whose purpose is or includes the tasting, consumption or purchase of wine, often at or near the source. Wine tourism can consist of visits to wineries, vineyards and restaurants known to offer unique vintages, as well as organized wine tours, wine festivals or other special events.

Many wine regions around the world have found it financially beneficial to promote such tourism; accordingly, growers associations and others in the hospitality industry in wine regions have spent significant amounts of money over the years to promote such tourism. This is true not only to "Old World" producers (such as Spain, Portugal, France or Italy), but also for the so-called "New World wine" regions (such as Australia, Argentina, Chile, United States or South Africa), where wine tourism plays an important role in advertising their products. In Argentina, for example, the Mendoza Province is becoming one of the tourist destinations in the country as Argentine wine strides to gain international recognition. Similarly, the National Wine Centre of Australia showcases the Australian wine industry, and visitors from around the world visit Northern California's Wine Country.