Sustainable Cultural Tourism: Small-Scale Solutions

This practical text guides tourism planning and development efforts from within cultures-addressing regional linkages, the tourism plan, visitor surveys, marketing, cultural centers and museums, job creation, and enterprise development, as well as evaluation of sustainability. A new paradigm for a value-based approach is discussed with examples throughout the book. Planning processes illustrate ways of integrating culture into sustainable tourism development and case studies at the end of each chapter identify community-based success factors. Lists for further reading are presented at the end of each chapter.

From the Back Cover

Cultural tourism of the future will foster authenticity and learning experiences through small-scale, linked enterprise networks. This book presents a value-based planning and development method for cultural tourism, coming from within the community context. Through planning and sustainable practices, tourism can support earned livelihood, cultural retention, and resource protection.

Sustainability is possible through a worldview that respects cultural values and natural cycles, rather than a lineal, profit-based economic perspective. Culture guides actions, and is therefore the cornerstone of economic and ecological sustainability. The author designed this book to emphasize a cyclical process of community-based planning, development, evaluation and redirection.

Special Features:

• A step-by-step process for cultural tourism planning and sustainable community development,
• A methodology for planning cultural tourism from within cultures,
• A framework for integrating culture into each step of the process,
• An emphasis on the regional approach and collaborative actions,
• Methods for both community and visitor surveys,
• Strategies for cultural retention and teaching programs,
• Guidelines for culturally-based entrepreneurial programs and small enterprise development,
• A process for developing a cultural center,
• Techniques for writing a business plan and starting a culturally-based tour enterprise, and
• A framework for assessing cultural sustainability.