Turismul Cultural Urban Definiții și Concepte

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THE URBAN CULTURAL TOURISM: CONCEPT AND PARTICULARITIES

Abstract: The dynamics of urban tourism is the result of the action of a complex of factors among which the increase of interest for cultural objectives, the amplification of domestic and international social contacts and the development of business tourism. As a result of these factors, we can talk about an increase in the importance of urban and, implicitly, cultural tourism. Analyzing the motivation of travel flows in urban space, one can conclude that attractions such as famous history and characters, cultural elements, recreation and entertainment, events and festive occasions, buildings, monuments and sculptures, as well as natural beauty are among the preferences of the visitors and represent defining elements in choosing the travel destination. The image of a touristic town includes not only elements related to natural and anthropic potential, but is composed of many other factors related to economic stability, public services, infrastructure, living standards of the inhabitants etc., which together contribute to the assertion of identity of the urban destination.

Key-words: tourism, cultural, urban, historical, city, destination, heritage

JEL classification: Z32

1. Introduction

At the basis of the affirmation and development of cultural tourism, as a form of recreation and knowledge, there are three main requirements: to protect and preserve the entire cultural heritage – national and international; to prepare and provide high quality tourism services; to respect the way of life of indigenous peoples.

Another approach, centered on the organization of the cultural tourism product, mentions that in order for a trip to be included in the sphere of cultural tourism, it must meet certain conditions: to be motivated by the desire of knowledge; to make use of a tourism product of cultural significance (monument, work of art, show etc.); to assume the intervention of a mediator – person, document, audio-visual material – to highlight the cultural product.

In this context, the interconnections of cultural tourism with the other forms of tourism, the presence of cultural motives in recreation, recreation, spa etc. are explained.

2. Urban cultural tourism – concepts and characteristics

Starting from the premise that a large number of cultural attractions and events are located in urban centers, cultural tourism crosses the urban one. Indeed, many papers consider the cultural tourism as a form of urban tourism, with about 35-40% of city travel being motivated by leisure and cultural programs.

The dynamics of urban tourism is the result of the action of a complex of factors among which the increase of interest for cultural objectives, the amplification of domestic and international social contacts and the development of business tourism. As a result of these factors, we can talk about an increase in the importance of urban and, implicitly, cultural tourism.

Urban cultural tourism represents those travels that refer to visiting the objectives related to the historic heritage (archaeological and historic sites, monuments, castles, religious buildings, parks and gardens etc.), visiting museums (archeology, history, natural sciences, art, botanical gardens, zoo parks etc.), participation in cultural events (opera, ballet, theater, music festivals, dance, film, traditional celebrations etc.), industrial and technical tourism (sightseeing), specific constructions, urban architectural assemblies etc.).

Since the historical attractions are predominantly in the cities, cultural tourism is naturally associated with urban tourism. (Richards, G., 1999)

Competitive investments in the cultural facilities and the infrastructure needed to host tourists in urban areas have a direct impact on the economy and induce an improvement in living standards. Moreover, an urban cultural center is a “factor that determines the value of the city that adds to other local factors (accessibility, fiscal climate, human capital, stability), which determines the competitiveness of the city in the global economy”. (Van den Berg et al., 1995)

Space organization of cultural resources in the city and their relations with the infrastructure (hotels, transportation, commercial areas) are important for the success of the development strategy for cultural tourism.

As a relatively recent research has shown (SPSEP, 2000), the cultural resources of the territory have a number of consequences that help to exploit them. An area centered on such resources can maximize the cultural experience of tourists and reduce the information barriers, improving the value of tourism products, but also enhancing the potential appearance of a conflict between the touristic function and the other functions of the city. These two contrasting elements must find a balance in the organization of "tourist agglomerations".

The cultural sector of a city consists of the physical characteristics of the city and cultural heritage, on one hand, and the cultural facilities in the widest sense, including events, exhibitions, institutions and infrastructure, such as theaters, museums, galleries, libraries, recreational facilities and trade with art, on another hand. (De Brabander, G.; Gijsbrechts, E., 1994)

A researcher talked about a “derived” cultural product, consisting in those activities that exploit the cultural attraction of the city, such as souvenir shops and the service sector and about an “additional” product, which is the “infrastructure needed to make the product proper, such as the means of transport or the car parks”. (Jansen-Verbeke, M., 1988)

While the products themselves are relatively immobile due to their partial non-reproducible nature, in the so-called historical destinations, complementary activities can be freely located in the vast tourist region.

3. Theories on the urban cultural tourism

3.1. Theory of the life cycle of tourism destinations

Specialists in the field have shown that any tourist location has a development path that follows a cyclical pattern. The initial enunciation of Butler's lifetime scheme in 1980 uses as an absolute measure the absolute number of visitors. (Butler, R.W., 1980)

In the first stages of tourism development, the city attracts tourists who can be considered as pioneers. The attention given to a particular city may not never reach a level of tourist interest, but if it reaches this level, there will be numerous investments in infrastructure, services and promotion. The city could enter in a stage of development. In this period, the material and non-material benefits coming from the tourism activity will increase a lot and the local economy will have an upward trend.

In the next stage of development, local industry is being strengthened and foreign investors appear. As the number of tourists increases, it is reached the threshold of hosting capacity, followed by overcrowding and stagnation or even a tourist decline in the conditions the environmental characteristics of the respective tourist area are negatively affected. Thus, tourists will head to other areas.

The lifecycle model promotes an active touristic management that smoothes the fluctuations predicted by visitors and leading to avoidance of decline through a “strategy of renewal of that area” (Van den Borg, J., 1991). However, this purely descriptive scheme comes with little guidance in terms of tourism policy. The normative and predictive value of the life cycle scheme has been criticized in many ways. Even if the scheme is accurate from the descriptive point of view, a normative analysis assumes that the economy at the basis of the life cycle mechanism is adapted to the tourist situation.

3.2. The theory of agglomerations, cultural agglomerations and the tourism industry in historic cities

Agglomerations are the specific organizations in the network. They can also be defined as systemic geographically focused relationships, relationships between public and private organizations in a particular industry, relationships with different purposes and occurring in different forms. Most often they are based on principles of collaboration as a result of historical and socio-economic links between agents.

The standard theory of industrial organizations suggests that group production is organized to lead to positive technological and pecuniary externalities. While premiums depend essentially on the degree of cooperation among actors involved in regional production, the latter are present in a very competitive environment.

It was stated that "the cultural tourism industry is now closer to the paradigm of fordist mass production than the flexible, innovative and innovative post-industrial model of quality optimization, model of successful cities and regions within the global economy" (Russo, A.P., 1998)

The economic weight of tourist goods packages dominates the production process by offering little chances of coordinating local distributors, poorly organized and highly specialized. Offering a package of services is far more profitable than offering alternative itineraries or visits to specialized museums as long as there is no coordination strategic relationship between tourism operators and the cultural industry. Even if there is a potential demand for less standardized products, it may not be convenient for the tourism industry to provide these services.

In the long run, this model does not meet the challenges of international competition and maintenance of the comparative advantages enjoyed by historic cities. Moreover, it leads to the weakening of the bases of social and economic circumstances on which the continuity of the local community depends.

4. Policies and programs sustaining urban cultural tourism

In this context, a European policy for European urban centers has been established for the valorization of the existing cultural assets, oriented towards the development of the components of the tourism product offered, as the development of the internal and external transport modes, ensuring a fluent circulation, encouraging less common transport.

It is important to have permanent developing connections and collaborations with the local public administrations, in order to ensure some quality urban services, from which the tourists also benefit.

Since 1990, with the support of the Council of Europe, a series of cities have the status of cultural capitals of the continent. These concerns prove the interest shown towards the cultural phenomenon at the national, regional and world-wide level for the development of new cultural policies, in order to provide wider access to culture, active participation of citizens, better recognition of cultural and linguistic diversity, encouraging creativity, finding partnership-based funding solutions between public, private and civil society etc.

As a result of the overburdening of Europe's great patrimonial cities in the last decade of the 20th Century, the idea of ​​supporting small towns with alternative forms of culture may reduce the flow of tourism in these large metropolises. In this respect, certain activities can be capitalized or special technical objectives can be built.

4. Conclusion

One of the fundamental features of tourism planning is the creation of a favorable image of the city for both the visitors and the local communities in their ensemble. In this context, an important role is played by urban marketing, whose main purpose must be to create a strong link between public policies and consumer demands, contributing to the overall vision of the strategy.

The image of a touristic town includes not only elements related to natural and anthropic potential, but is composed of many other factors related to economic stability, public services, infrastructure, living standards of the inhabitants etc., which together contribute to the assertion of identity of the urban destination.

In a narrow sense, touristic urban planning includes a set of specific solutions and actions aimed to organize, arrange or rehabilitate the urban space meant to contribute to the increase of the role of tourism in local economies, its harmonious integration among other urban functions and, on this basis, the increase of the attractiveness of the touristic city. In this context, specific actions aim the natural landscapes, the development and diversification of tourism infrastructure, the promotion of events, the foundation of urban design on aesthetic principles, the rehabilitation of the built heritage and the historical centers.

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