Cultural Heritage Tourism Handbook - LinkBC

3.5 The Cultural/Heritage Tourism Traveller: a SnapshotFrom the USThe US Department of Commerce publishesprofiles of the cultural/heritage market in thatcountry. Their 2010 report 25 notes the proportionof all tourists in the US engaged in cultural/heritage activities. Again, these activities rankquite highly on the list of priorities for Americans:Tourist Activity ParticipationWhile in the US2009 % 2010 % % ChangeShopping 90 90 .3Dining in Restaurants 86 86 0Visit Historical Places 68 68 .2Sightseeing in Cities 60 59 -.09Art Gallery/Museum 41 41 -.01Cultural Heritage Sites 40 41 -0.7Visit Small Towns 36 37 1.5Amusement/Theme Parks 32 34 2.1Visit National Parks 34 34 0.2Concert/Play/Musical 30 20 -0.3A considerable amount of research has allowed us to create a profile of the typical cultural/heritagetraveller. One excellent source is Cultural and Heritage Traveller, a sporadic publication from the USOffice of Travel and Tourism Industries. It offers key characteristics of the ‘typical’ cultural/heritagetourist, who is:Well-Educated: More likely to have college or university degrees than the general traveller, and willing to do homework,often arriving with detailed prior knowledge of the attraction.Well-Heeled: Enjoying significantly higher incomes than general travellers, thanks to an older demographic profileand higher education levels.Well-Travelled: Taking more trips per year compared to general travellers.Canada’s Place in the WorldAccording to the World Tourism Organization,Canada is 15th among the world’s top tourismdestinations. The top-ranking destinations arethose with significant culture and heritage tourismofferings. European destinations featuring “oldworld” culture lead the list. France, a country thatbills itself as the very essence of culture, is on top.China, which considers itself the world’s oldestcivilization, places third behind the US, but if HongKong is included it leapfrogs the Americans topull into a near tie with France.Scanning the list, you’ll notice almost every nationbut Canada relies primarily on culture and heritageas its key attractor for visitors. We have roomto become a more popular tourism destinationby nurturing our cultural/heritage product.Comparison of Global 2010 Leading Tourism Destinations2010 International Arrivals (m)1. France2. USA3. China4. Spain5. Italy6. UK7. Turkey8. Germany9. Malaysia10. Mexico11. Austria12. UkraineResearch by the CTC 26 and its provincial-territorial partners probedCanadian and American tourists to determine what they seek in aleisure vacation. Among the top benefits sought by visitors are to:“Most cultural travellers want to enrich theirlives with new travel experiences. For them,Note: Egypt and Morocco are listed as top destinationsin the Middle East and Africa respectively,despite not making the ‘top 20.’Source: World Tourism Organization, (2011), UNWTO TourismHighlights 2011 Edition.13. Russia14. Hong Kong15. Canada16. Thailand17. Greece... Egypt... Morocco0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90• Share stories or have something interesting to talk about backhome (80%).• Stimulate the mind/be intellectually challenged (77%).• Renew personal connections with people other than family (73%).• Gain new knowledge of history, other cultures or other places(69%).• Enrich one’s perspective on life (64%).• See or do something different (52%).(% = very or somewhat important):a leisure or vacation trip is not completewithout visiting a museum, historic site orlandmark or attending a cultural event orarts performance.”– Federal, Provincial, Territorial Cultural/Heritage andTourism Initiative 2722 23