What is Cultural & Heritage Tourism?
Background
The recognition and promotion of cultural and heritage tourism is a relatively new development in the U.S. travel industry. While Europe has been marketing its arts, culture, history and heritage to attract tourism for generations, the movement has gained strength here in the U.S. largely within the last 30 years.
Heritage tourism in the United States was born during the celebration of the American bicentennial in 1976. Organizers of historical commemorations realized that there was an enormous interest in experiencing and learning about American history and heritage. Assisted by the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Heritage Tourism Program, this field of the tourism industry grew exponentially.
Around 1989, some forward-thinking tourism bureaus felt the need to dedicate personnel specifically to promote the artistic, cultural, and historical attractiveness of their towns, cities, regions and states. These professionals were able to market the growing opportunities for travelers to experience places through their art and history. Over the next two decades, cultural and heritage tourism continued to expand, evolve, and respond to changes in travel, technology, and consumer trends.
Growth
In 1995, “Cultural Tourism in the United States, A Position Paper for the White House Conference on Travel and Tourism” was published, outlining the course of direction for a national cultural tourism initiative. Architects of the plan included the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum Sciences and the President’s Council on the arts and Humanities. These groups also worked in partnership with a wide range of cultural and heritage organizations to develop a national profile for cultural & heritage tourism.
As a result, Offices of Cultural Tourism began to appear more frequently. Some offices became part of their city’s convention and visitors’ bureaus, or its tourism marketing corporations; some became part of regional arts councils or state offices of tourism or councils on the arts and culture. Heritage tourism was also growing with offices cropping up in various agencies. Some were under Department of Parks and Recreation, some under local city government, some under historical or museum commissions.
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