As a growing number of travellers seek out authentic and personalised experiences when travelling, therein lies the opportunities for cultural heritage tourism to have an impact on business travel, heard attendees of a recent webinar hosted by the Pacific-Asia Travel Association (PATA).

“Cultural heritage tourism is about having a real ‘living experience’,” said Montakarn Suvanatap Kittipaisalsilp, programme officer for culture at Unesco Bangkok, Thailand. “The chance to sleep in an actual historic place can be heightened to another level, for example by dressing up in costume or following the local way of life, cooking food and taking part in traditional rituals.”

Authenticity and sensitivity

For Tourism & Events Queensland, cultural heritage and tourism is about presenting culture authentically and gaining permission for stories to be told.

“It’s about understanding the sensitivities around particular communities and just how unique the culture is,” said Laura Jones, Tourism & Events Queensland, stakeholder & industry engagement director. “When we're working with artists, we’re always ensuring that we have permission when using images.”

Sanghoon Lee, executive director of the tourism industry division at Seoul Tourism Organization added that it is necessary to introduce measures to help preserve local cultural points of interest, so that a balance can be struck between tourism and cultural heritage.

He highlighted how Bukchon Hanok Village, a Korean traditional village in Seoul, has suffered from an influx of tourism. Seoul Metropolitan Government introduced initiatives such as a limit on the amount of time tourists can spend in the area, a crackdown on illegal parking and an increase in cleaning services.

Heritage homestays

For destinations, tourism interest and dollars can help to preserve important history, both built and living, while for governments, there is economic and political capital to be gained from cultural tourism.

Airbnb, for instance, recently partnered with India’s Ministry of Tourism to find and promote unique cultural stays in venues such as palaces, art deco buildings and colonial-era villas, according to director of public policy, APAC Steven Liew.

“This kind of tourism can be good for everyone if it's done properly, and we're preserving the architectural heritage of a place,” said Steven Liew, director of public policy, APAC at Airbnb. “We're driving tourism to a more dispersed area across markets and we believe that heritage tourism is a game changer in how people can travel and enjoy local culture.”