Culture and tourism were two of the major growth industries of the 20th century, and towards the end of the century the combination of these two sectors into ‘cultural tourism’ had become one of the most desirable development options for countries and regions around the world.
As the recent OECD report on The Impact of Culture on Tourism (2009) noted, cultural tourism accounted for almost 360 million international tourism trips in 2007, or 40% of global tourism. In value terms, the contribution of cultural tourism is even greater, since cultural tourists are estimated to spend as much as one third more on average than other tourists (Richards 2007).
However, the rapid growth of cultural tourism from the preserve of the elite Grand Tourists to a major industry in the 20th Century has also caused problems. Growing numbers of tourists at major sites and in small communities has raised questions about the sustainability of this new form of mass tourism. In particular it has become harder for destinations to profile their culture among the welter of products on offer, each desperate to claim their uniqueness. There are a growing number of places in search of new forms of articulation between culture and tourism which can help to strengthen rather than water down local culture, which can raise the value accruing to local communities and improve the links between local creativity and tourism. Many places are therefore turning to creative development strategies, or different forms of creative tourism in the process. This paper examines why and how cultural tourism is being transformed into creative tourism.