Identifying cultural tourism: a theoretical methodological proposal

Abstract

Despite the fact that cultural tourism is an area of tourism with a great potential, there is not, at the moment, enough official information to be able to really identify this sector and its particular needs, to understand how the tourist relates to the heritage, or which main areas should be considered in the cultural tourism management. Faced with this situation, this paper proposes the setting up of a methodology which would help us to obtain more precise information about the number of cultural tourists visiting cultural attractions and their cultural behaviour – a methodology which would put tourists into categories depending on whether their interest in culture is high, medium or low. This information is basic to suggest ways of improving the management of cultural tourism.

Keywords:

• visitor management
• culture
• cultural heritage
• market segmentation
• tourist type

Notes

The movement of people refers to their travelling outside the area in which they usually travel, leading them to be in a space which can be considered out of the ordinary. This spatial threshold is one element (among others) that cannot be dissociated from the definition of tourism.