The term ‘cultural tourism’ has been used interchangeably with ‘heritage tourism’. However, a number of researchers have tried to define cultural tourism by approaching it through a number of alternative ways. One of the best known conceptual definitions of cultural tourism has been provided by Richards, who stated that cultural tourism is ‘the movement of persons to cultural attractions away from their normal place of residence, with the intention to gather new information and experiences to satisfy their cultural needs’. However, Richards provided also a technical definition of cultural tourism, stating that cultural tourism includes ‘all movements of persons to specific cultural attractions, such as heritage sites, artistic and cultural manifestations, arts and drama outside their normal place of residence’. According to Silberberg, cultural tourism is defined as ‘visits by persons from outside the host community motivated wholly or in part by interest in the historical, artistic, scientific or lifestyle/heritage offerings of a community, region, group or institution’. Fridgen also described cultural tourism from the visitors’ perspective, stating that ‘... for outsiders, the culture of an area can represent an attraction in and of itself. This is sometimes called cultural tourism’. Therefore, tourists interested in culture may seek exposure to local behaviours and traditions, to different ways of life or to vestiges of a vanishing lifestyle. Yet tourism permits only selective exposure to other cultures. However, Fridgen also identified the partiality that cultural tourists experience and went on to note that ‘... frequently, an area’s culture is displayed through stage presentations often for pay. Because tourists generally stay in an area for a short time, what the tourist actually sees is just a faint reflection of the true culture’ (Source: International Cultural Tourism).
Cultural Tourism: Living New Cultural Milieus
