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Cultural Tourism is one of the oldest forms of Special Interest Tourism that is related to a country or a region’s culture. It is linked to people’s lifestyle, history, art, architecture, religion and in general to every element that helped shape their way of life.
Cultural Tourism has been defined as the movement of persons to cultural attractions away from their normal place of residence, with the intention to gather new information and experiences to satisfy their cultural needs.(Richards, 1996).These cultural needs can include the solidification of one’s own cultural identity, by observing the exotic ‘’other’’.
Niemczyk (2008, 2010, 2011 a) interprets cultural tourism as a form of travel which is connected with the voluntary departure from one’s place of residence, during one’s time off work, for a continuous period of not more than 12 months without any break. This involves the participant being aware to a lesser or greater degree of the place where he or she is visiting; in which culture (the core element of the tourist product) plays a significant role when planning a journey. This is oriented towards: becoming acquainted with new places, their communities, cultures, their interest in art, architecture and history, participation in cultural and artistic events, a ‘’return to one’s routes’’ and contact with the sacrum ; during which a tourist experiences the reception and cultural wealth of a given location. Hence, personal contact with the local environment – in particular, the cultural environment as well as its natural surroundings, plays a key role in becoming acquainted with the culture of the target place. From all the above it is evident that Culture is one of the factors that can improve the competitiveness of the tourism destination.
Niemczyk also underlines the fact that the most important components, which attract tourists with uniqueness and exceptionality, are the cultural asset resources of a chosen place. These are assets created by human skills, with artistic, historic and objective value. They may have both tangible and intangible dimensions, concerning both past and contemporary life. These are the features of historic monuments, museums, architecture, folklore, legends and tales connected with a region and the lifestyle of its inhabitants, to name a few. They constitute the major force attracting tourists oriented towards ‘’ contact’’ – getting to know and getting involved with the culture of an area.
Research often using questionable method, has indicated that between 35 per cent and 80 per cent of all tourists are cultural tourists.(Mandala 2009, Molle and Deckert 2009, Richards 1996, TV 2013).We may say that cultural tourists represent a new type of mass tourist, who seek meaningful travel experiences. (Mckercher and Du Cros, 2003)
Cultural Tourism is viewed as a ‘’good’’ form of tourism because it does no harm to the environment and the local culture, contributing at the same time a lot to a region’s economy because it has been proved that it attracts wealthy visitors.
Thessaloniki is an excellent destination for cultural tourism. For 2013, National Geographic Magazine included Thessaloniki in its top tourist destinations worldwide, while in 2014 Financial Times, FDI magazine (Foreign Direct Investments) declared Thessaloniki as the best mid –sized European city of the future for human capital and lifestyle. |
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