The history of cultural and heritage tourism goes back thousands of years in time: the ancient Greeks or Romans had travels with this motivation, already, but the medieval pilgrimages can also be categorised here, as can the Grand Tour starting in the 18th century. Today it is one of the most rapidly developing branches of tourism.
Although the ancient travels were primarily motivated by reasons of internal or external urge like religion or state administration (where the travellers either followed their inner or external forces when making decisions on the destination of the travel, the route leading there and the services applied), in the Roman Empire we could see examples with similar motivations like today, i.e. leisure and culture-oriented tours. In history it was actually the Romans who first developed tourism into an industry, as they were the first to leave their place of residence in larger numbers in order to have fun, learn culture and see the world. Visiting the Egyptian pyramids or the Greek cities meant a similar heritage experience for the antique Roman traveller to the experience of a culture-oriented traveller of the 21st century. The Great Journey becoming popular in the ancient Roman Empire, with Hellas, Asia Minor and Egypt as the main destinations, was very much similar to the later Grand Tour. The original list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World can be taken as a preliminary of today‘s cultural routes (Photo 4). Cultural motivation during the ancient travels was often related to religion too, so the contemporary tourism services were usually established in the vicinity of holy places; also, several sites of mythology became important touristic destinations.
Photo 4
It is only the Pyramids of Giza from the seven wonders of the ancient world that still exist Foto4_Piramis.jpg
Photo by Michalkó, Gábor 2005
In the centuries following the fall of the Roman Empire the political and social relations transformed. As a consequence of the disintegration of centralised state power, the security taken almost for granted in Europe in the time of the so-called ‗Pax Romana‘ ceased to exist, and a few centuries later only fragments of the very well built Roman road network of approximately 200,000 kilometres could be found, the rest perished (Photo 5).
Photo 5
Remains of the Via Appia Antica in Rome Foto5_Romai_ut.jpg
Photo by Rátz, Tamara 2009
In the centuries of the Middle Ages travelling became definitely dangerous, and the majority of the population lost their rights of free movement after the establishment of the feudal system. Although the interest in the heritage of the old days remained – as it is demonstrated by Viking graffiti in the Hagia Sophia cathedral in Istanbul from the 9th century (Photo 6) –, in the absence of security, travels with entertainment, cultural or educational motivations almost completely disappeared.
(Photo 6)
Viking graffiti from the 9th century on the southern window sill of the Hagia Sophia cathedral Foto6_Viking_graffiti.jpg
Photo by Rátz, Tamara 2010
As a result of the strengthening of Christianity, religious tourism aiming at pilgrimage places became the most important touristic activity: already in the ancient times Rome was a significant pilgrimage place, as was Santiago de Compostela (the El Camino pilgrimage leading to the tomb of Saint James is walked by 130-140 thousand annually), a destination that is becoming very popular again these days. The penetration of Christianity had a considerable impact on city architecture too: medieval gothic cathedrals still attract millions of tourists to e.g. Chartres or Canterbury. Examining the relationship of tourism and culture, travels of the guild apprentices and of the students and professors should also be mentioned: they were catalysts for the development of culture in Europe, because these wonderers returned to their places of origin, taking back the habits and culture that they had learnt elsewhere.
Arts, architectural, arts history and educational tours similar to the present forms of cultural tourism first appeared in Italy in the 14th century, after the birth of Renaissance, and then they spread to other countries of Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. The Renaissance time was characterised by the discovery and rebirth of the Antique civilisation, receding from the Church, the spread of secular thinking, realistic attitude to life, the desire for knowledge and the joy of life and love of beauty. All these ideals appeared in arts and architecture but also in everyday life. The values of Renaissance culture are still among the most important attractions of cultural tourism today (Photo 7).
Photo 7
Villa Capra (―La Rotonda‖) – an important work of the Italian renaissance architect, Andrea Palladio, near Vicenza
(The architecture of Palladio – ―Palladian villas in the city of Vicenza and the province of Veneto‖ – is now on the UNESCO world heritage list)
Foto7_La_Rotonda.jpg
Photo by Rátz, Tamara 2007
From the 16th century, the start of the new era, bourgeois development and the rearrangement of the social class relations, the increase of leisure time end discretionary income led to a process that allowed the democratisation of tourism and resulted in the birth of the Grand Tour (―Great European Journey‖) which was extremely important for the development of cultural tourism. The original objective of the Grand Tour, especially popular in the 17th and 18th centuries, was the visit of places of cultural and historical relevance: mainly young English aristocrats spent some two years with the visiting of the major cultural centres of Europe. The classic route of the Grand Tour included destinations like Paris, Florence, Venice, Rome, and after the mid-1700s – the exploration of Pompeii and Herculaneum – Naples also became a destination that could not be missed. The list of destinations visited contained locations that well represented certain phases of the cultural development of Europe and which are also among the most important destinations of cultural and heritage tourism today.
The first package tour centred on cultural heritage was organised at the end of 19th century by Thomas Cook, the ―father of tour operators‖, for the visit of the antique Egyptian sights of interest, but a significant number of English guests arrived at that time at Italy (Photo 8) and Greece, too. In the field of cultural and heritage tourism, the organisation of the tourism services into packages can be especially important. The tourists take a serious risk, anyway, by buying an intangible service, and without knowing the space they visit they are rarely able to put together on their own a complex product that they want to enjoy. In the area of cultural tourism, in addition, it frequently happens that visitors travel to destinations with foreign and exotic culture where the maker of the tourism package does not only carry out practical organisation tasks but also has a key role in making smoother the encounter of different cultures.
Photo 8
The Babington‘s Tea Rooms operating by the Spanish Steps in Rome since 1893 was originally established to serve the English travellers arriving at the city
Foto8_Babington.jpg Photo by Rátz, Tamara 2009
In the development of cultural and heritage tourism a significant boom took place in the second half of the 20th century. This was partly due to the same reasons that resulted in the explosive development of the tourism sector as a whole (increased leisure time, growing discretionary income, growing mobility, development and expansion of the services supply of the tourism sector) but there were also specific reasons in the background:
· The growing schooling level of the population in the advanced economies – because the higher the school education of a person, the more s/he is interested in culture and heritage values, both in the leisure time in his/her everyday life and as a tourist.
· The more and more active participation of media in the promotion and propaganda of cultural programmes and attractions – in addition to the weekly or monthly periodicals and TV and radio programmes specialised on culture and/or tourism, almost all lifestyle magazines edited for either men or women feature cultural programme offers and/or tourism section, thus the average consumers get much more information, they are exposed to much more promotional stimuli triggering consumption.
· The creation of new, exciting heritage tourism – heritage centres using the latest technical devices, offering an interactive experience, like e.g. the Jorvik Viking Centre in York in England are definitely more attractive for visitors interested in culture but having no in-depth classical education than heritage sites left in their original conditions and thereby almost incomprehensible without additional information. A similar role is played by different cultural events which make past a liveable experience (Photo 9).
Photo 9
Reminiscing of a popular feast called Floralia in Aquincum Foto9_Floralia.jpg
Photo by Rátz, Tamara 2009
· The increase of the individual and social recognition and support of heritage tourism – in the history of the mankind, the nostalgic appreciation of the tangible elements of the past is a relatively new phenomenon, as a result of which values that have been preserved from the past are now protected much more strictly. Activities and hobbies done for getting to know the past and the identity of the individual and the narrow or wider community – from family history research through the systematic visit of World Heritage sites to participating in the replay of historical battles – have become a pastime enjoying the recognition of the society.
· An increased demand for new forms of travelling, programmes and activities – parallel to the growing number of ―experienced tourists‖ (i.e. the ones who have been regularly travelling for decades, have had a very large number of experiences and now posses a significant basis for comparison, and are able to clearly state their demands and preferences), the number of visitors on the tourism market longing for real experiences is constantly growing.